Numerical simulations of type III planetary migration - I. Disc model and convergence tests

Abstract

We investigate the fast (type III) migration regime of high-mass protoplanets orbiting in protoplanetary discs. This type of migration is dominated by corotational torques. We study the details of flow structure in the planet's vicinity, the dependence of migration rate on the adopted disc model and the numerical convergence of models (independence of certain numerical parameters such as gravitational softening). We use two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with adaptive mesh refinement, based on the flash code with improved time-stepping scheme. We perform global disc simulations with sufficient resolution close to the planet, which is allowed to freely move throughout the grid. We employ a new type of equation of state in which the gas temperature depends on both the distance to the star and planet, and a simplified correction for self-gravity of the circumplanetary gas. We find that the migration rate in the type III migration regime depends strongly on the gas dynamics inside the Hill sphere (Roche lobe of the planet) which, in turn, is sensitive to the aspect ratio of the circumplanetary disc. Furthermore, corrections due to the gas self-gravity are necessary to reduce numerical artefacts that act against rapid planet migration. Reliable numerical studies of type III migration thus require consideration of both the thermal and the self-gravity corrections, as well as a sufficient spatial resolution and the calculation of disc-planet attraction both inside and outside the Hill sphere. With this proviso, we find type III migration to be a robust mode of migration, astrophysically promising because of a speed much faster than in the previously studied modes of migration. © 2008 RAS.