This paper considers the possible emergence of traveling waves within an evolving interstellar gas cloud. To model this evolution, we use Euler–Poisson equations with the additional assumptions that the gas is incompressible, stratified, and self-gravitating. Within this framework, we establish that when the cloud has low density, the speed of these traveling waves is low. We suggest that the self-gravitational coalescence of embedded solid matter in the gas to form larger aggregates, such as cometary nuclei, may occur in the vicinity of wave crests where the mass density is highest. This idea is consistent with the widely agreed mechanism for planetary formation in proto-planetary disks, namely, that the accumulation of solids to form larger planetoids is initiated at the location of pressure maxima in the gas disk.
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Traveling waves in an evolving interstellar gas cloud
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6 June 2023
Research Article|
June 26 2023
Traveling waves in an evolving interstellar gas cloud

Mayer Humi
Mayer Humi
a)
(Formal analysis)
Department of Mathematical Sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: mhumi@wpi.edu
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: mhumi@wpi.edu
J. Math. Phys. 64, 063101 (2023)
Article history
Received:
September 21 2022
Accepted:
June 05 2023
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Our solar system’s origins
Citation
Mayer Humi; Traveling waves in an evolving interstellar gas cloud. J. Math. Phys. 6 June 2023; 64 (6): 063101. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0127453
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