PHYS/ASTR Colloquium: "Forming Planetesimals in Solar and Extrasolar Nebulae" - Dr. Rixin Li (51 Peg b Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley)

Abstract: The first step in planet formation is to build
planetesimals from dust particles in protoplanetary disks.
The origin and demographics of planetesimals are crucial
to understanding the Solar System, exoplanetary systems,
and circumstellar disks. In this talk, I will present our
latest works on planetesimal formation via the streaming
instability, a mechanism to aerodynamically concentrate
dust particles and produce planetesimals. I will also
discuss the implications and connections between our
high-resolution simulation results and recent disk
observations, as well as Solar System explorations.