Onset of planet formation in the warm inner disk: Colliding dust aggregates at high temperatures

Abstract

Aims. Collisional growth of dust occurs in all regions of protoplanetary disks with certain materials dominating between various condensation lines. The sticking properties of the prevalent dust species depend on the specific temperatures. The inner disk is the realm of silicates spanning a wide range of temperatures from room temperature up to sublimation beyond 1500 K. Methods. For the first time, we carried out laboratory collision experiments with hot levitated basalt dust aggregates of 1 mm in size. The aggregates are compact with a filling factor of 0.37 ± 0.06. The constituent grains have a wide size distribution that peaks at about 0.6 μm. Temperatures in the experiments are varied between approximately 600 and 1100 K. Results. Collisions are slow with velocities between 0.002 and 0.15 m s-1, i.e., relevant for protoplanetary disks. Aside from variations of the coefficients of restitution due to varying collision velocities, the experiments show low sticking probability below 900 K and an increasing sticking probability starting at 900 K. Conclusions. This implies that dust can grow to larger size in hot regions, which might change planet formation. One scenario is an enhanced probability for local planetesimal formation. Another scenario is a reduction of planetesimal formation as larger grains are more readily removed as a consequence of radial drift. However, the increased growth at high temperatures likely changes planetesimal formation one way or the other.