Experimental study of clusters in dense granular gas and implications for the particle stopping time in protoplanetary disks

In protoplanetary disks, zones of dense particle configuration promote planet formation. Solid particles in dense clouds alter their motion through collective effects and back reaction to the gas. The effect of particle-gas feedback with an ambient solid-to-gas ratios epsilon > 1 on the stopping time of particles is investigated. In experiments on board the International Space Station we studied the evolution of a dense granular gas while interacting with air. We observed diffusion of clusters released at the onset of an experiment but also the formation of new dynamical clusters. The solid-to-gas mass ratio outside the cluster varied in the range of about epsilon(avg) similar to 2.5-60. We find that the concept of gas drag in a viscous medium still holds, even if the medium is strongly dominated in mass by solids. However, a collective factor has to be used, depending on.avg, i.e. the drag force is reduced by a factor 18 at the highest mass ratios. Therefore, flocks of grains in protoplanetary disks move faster and collide faster than their constituents might suggest.

Automated summary

In protoplanetary disks, dense particle configurations play a significant role in planet formation by influencing the motion of solid particles and their interaction with gas. The study found that even with a solid-to-gas ratio greater than 1, the concept of gas drag in a viscous medium still applies, but with a reduction factor dependent on the average mass ratio. This leads to faster movement and collisions of grain flocks in protoplanetary disks than expected based on their constituents.