Gravitational instability of planetary gaps
Channel: MinKaiLin
Date: 10/06/2013

Direct imaging has reveal a class of wide-orbit giant planets, such as HD 95086b --- 4-5 Jupiter mass planet with semi-major axis of ~56AU. It has been suggested that long-period giant planets may have formed through gravitational instability of the protoplanetary disk. It is well-known giant planets open gaps in disks, and that gaps in massive disks are potentially gravitationally unstable. It is therefore important to understand the impact of such a gravitational instability on the orbital migration of the giant planets in massive disks.