Abstract

The research of how planets form is one of the key branches in astrophysics. Planet formation takes place in the so called proto-planetary disk, an accretion disk which establishes after the collapse of a molecular cloud. 99 per cent of the disk mass consists out of hydrogen and helium gas while only one percent is stored in granular matter in form of dust grains. Gas turbulence controls not only the evolution of the proto-planetary disk. The turbulent motion determines how fast the dust grains collide and where they can grow to pebbles and planetesimals, the first building blocks of planets.

In my talk I will present state-of-the-art 3D radiative non-ideal magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of the gas and the dust component in protoplanetary disks. The simulation results reveal the detailed gas and dust dynamics, including the regions with active magneto-rotational instability and the locations for which we expect dust pebbles to concentrate and grow. The results demonstrate the important role of the ionization transition zones as formation sides of planets in the disk. Finally I summarize how we can further benefit from our models as we compare them to recent disk observations and outline the next big steps, needed to advance in our understanding how and where planets form.