Award Date

5-1-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Physics and Astronomy

First Committee Member

Zhaohuan Zhu

Second Committee Member

Jason Steffen

Third Committee Member

Rebecca Martin

Fourth Committee Member

Arya Udry

Number of Pages

104

Abstract

Binary stars are common outcomes of the star formation process, with nearly half of Sun-like stars forming as part of a binary pair. The presence of a second star adds additional complexity and dynamical effects to the planet formation process in the surrounding circumbinary disk. In this work, I investigate the behavior of a circumbinary disk using hydrodynamic modeling, specifically in the case where the disk is misaligned to the binary orbital plane. Around eccentric binaries, highly inclined disks can align themselves perpendicular to the binary orbital plane. These "polar disks'' can produce vortices and spiral arms when the disk viscosity is low. These vortices may accelerate the formation of polar-aligned circumbinary planets. Precession induced from the binary can distort the disk and cause it to warp in three-dimensional space. I examine the behavior of disk warping around a central binary using both analytic and numerical methods, deriving a new criterion for disk breaking. These criteria show consistency with both simulations and observed disks.

Keywords

accretion; binaries:general; hydrodynamics; methods:numerical; protoplanetary disks

Disciplines

Astrophysics and Astronomy

File Format

pdf

File Size

15400 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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