mader.xyzUlm, Germany
M.Sc. thesis · ITA Heidelberg · 2024

Monte Carlo Coagulation

Can sampling only the collisions that matter stand in for the full calculation of how dust grows into planets?

Institute
Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Heidelberg
Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Cornelis P. Dullemond
Degree
M.Sc. Physics, 2024
Monte Carlo Coagulation
HL Tauri, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), CC BY 4.0
Overview

Planets start as dust grains that stick together. Integrating the Smoluchowski equation for that is expensive; my thesis sampled the collisions stochastically instead and measured how much accuracy that trades for speed.