Title: Turbulence in the Inner Planet-Forming Regions of Circumstellar Disks

Abstract: The mechanism responsible for angular momentum transport and accretion in circumstellar (planet-forming) disks, and whether this mechanism is turbulent in nature, has significant implications for the early stages of planet formation. Although a disk of ionized gas is well-known to have turbulence driven by the magneto-rotational instability (MRI), planet-forming disks are primarily composed of neutral species and the disk is expected to accrete via a laminar mechanism (e.g., magnetically driven outflows). I present 3D local, magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the inner planet-forming region of circumstellar disks which fully account for low ionization phenomena. In these simulations, the gas is strongly turbulent, with turbulent velocities occasionally exceeding the speed of sound a few scale heights away from the mid-plane. This strong turbulence suggests that in general, turbulence should not be neglected when considering the inner disk. I will then examine the possible origin of the turbulence, which is current focus of my work.