Physical processes in protoplanetary disks

Philip J. Armitage

Published 2015-09-21Version 1

This review introduces physical processes in protoplanetary disks relevant to accretion and the initial stages of planet formation. After reprising the elementary theory of disk structure and evolution, I discuss the gas-phase physics of angular momentum transport through turbulence and disk winds, and how this may be related to episodic accretion observed in Young Stellar Objects. Turning to solids, I review the evolution of single particles under aerodynamic forces, and describe the conditions necessary for the development of collective gas-particle instabilities. Observations show that disks are not always radially smooth axisymmetric structures, and I discuss how gas and particle processes can interact to form observable large-scale structure (at ice lines, vortices and in zonal flows). I conclude with disk dispersal.