Speaker: Jacob Simon (ISU)

Title: Planetesimal Formation in Circumstellar Disks

Abstract: Planetesimals are small rocky (and sometimes icy) objects, typically 1-100 km in diameter (e.g., asteroids and comets in the Solar System). One of the largest unanswered questions in planetary astrophysics is: how do these planetesimals form in the disks that orbit young, newly formed stars (“circumstellar disks”)?  In this talk, I will discuss the component of my research program devoted to answering this important question. I will first provide an overview of planet formation and describe how planetesimals are an integral step in the planet formation process. I will then discuss the progress my group has made in understanding planetesimal formation with theoretical and computational models. In particular, by using computational fluid and particle dynamics, run on large-scale supercomputing facilities, we are working towards comparing the properties of planetesimals formed in our models to observational constraints made by telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope.  Finally, I will conclude with an outlook towards future progress. 

Short Bio: Jake Simon is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. in Astronomy (2010) at the University of Virginia, and his B.S. in Physics (2004) at the University of Illinois.  Before arriving at ISU, he served in several postdoctoral (including a NASA Sagan Fellowship) and research associate positions at the University of Colorado and the Southwest Research Institute.  His research is focused on a number of topics related to the earliest stages of planet formation, and he is also interested in how hot, ionized gas orbits and accretes onto black holes.