Aerodynamics of solid bodies in the solar nebula

Abstract

In a centrally condensed solar nebula, the pressure gradient in the gas causes the nebula to rotate more slowly than the free orbital velocity. Drag forces cause the orbits of solid bodies to decay. Their motions have been investigated analytically and numerically for all applicable drag laws. The maximum radial velocity developed is independent of the drag law, and insensitive to the nebular mass. Results are presented for a variety of model nebulae. Radial velocities depend strongly on particle size, reaching values on the order of 104 cm/s for metre-sized objects. Possible consequences include: mixing of solid matter within the solar nebula on short timescales, collisions leading to rapid accumulation of planetesimals, fractionation of bodies by size or density, and production of regions of anomalous composition in the solar nebula.