Mario Flock awarded ERC Consolidator Grant worth 2.13 million Euros
Mario Flock, scientific group leader in the Department of Planet- and Star Formation (PSF) at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, has been awarded one of the prestigious Consolidator Grants of the European Research Council (ERC) worth 2.13 million euros. The scientific aim of the project is to understand the growth process of young planets with the help of simulations and to make specific predictions for observations.

Mario Flock is a recognized expert in the field of numerical modelling of physical processes in protoplanetary disks and has been working at the MPIA in Heidelberg for many years. He has now successfully acquired an ERC Consolidator Grant as the P.I. project leader. The project, entitled RAPTOR - Revealing Accreting Planets Through Observations and Refined simulations, combines theory and observation in this exciting field of research about forming planetary systems.
Already centuries ago, researchers suspected that our own planetary system was formed from a disk-like structure of gas and dust. The reason for this was the easily observable fact that all the planets in our solar system orbit the sun in an almost perfect plane. It was further assumed that such a process might be of a general nature and it was therefore also expected to find planetary systems around other stars. However, it took until the end of the 20th century before this assumption could actually be confirmed by observations of such protoplanetary disks around other stars and the discovery of exoplanets, as both the detection of such disks and of exoplanets themselves was only possible thanks to the modern observation techniques available today.
Thousands of exoplanets are now known and the disks of young, newly forming planetary systems can also be studied using state-of-the-art observation methods. However, the exact physical processes - i.e. how planets can actually form from the primordial material and continue to grow and how exactly both Earth-like rocky planets and Jupiter-like gaseous planets are formed in this process - are still unclear in detail and therefore an exciting area of modern astrophysical research.

The aim of Mario Flock's new ERC project is to understand the growth of young planets. This is to be done with the help of global 3D radiation and magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Such computer simulations work - in very simplified terms – as follows: they combine the physical properties of the material of such disks (i.e. gas and dust), the spatial geometry of these structures and, above all, the physical laws (such as gravity) and influences (such as magnetic fields or the radiation of the central star). These parameters are simulated in the computer and their development over time is followed in fast motion, so to speak. With improving computing power, better codes and finer resolution in the form of a large number of grid points, for which the local physical parameters are calculated continuously, such simulations then deliver results that can be compared and checked against observations.
"For our project, we want to develop a new adaptive grid that allows us to track the mass flows of gas and dust close to the respective planets. We are interested in two areas: firstly, the inner regions of protoplanetary disks, in which we are investigating the growth of rocky planets," says Mario Flock. "We furthermore want to investigate the outer regions, where we analyze the accretion - i.e. the collection of material - on gas planets."
Another important goal is to use this simulation data to make specific predictions for observations. This involves, for example, predicting spectral signatures such as Hydrogen-alpha emission or the continuum emission of dust from local disks that form around these planets. These will be measurable quantities that might finally help to better detect these young planets.
The European Research Council has provided a total of 2.13 million Euros for Mario Flock's ERC project. In addition to Mario Flock's leadership role, this extensive funding will also make it possible to finance a postdoctoral position over the next five years and two PhD positions over four years.
The ERC offers various funding programs within the framework of its program. All applications for funding must demonstrate the excellence of the scientists involved and, above all, the outstanding importance of the projects applied for.
KJ