The formation of planetesimals, the kilometer-sized planetary precursors, is still a puzzling
process. Considerable progress has been made over the past years in the physical …

Context. The sticking of micron-sized dust particles caused by surface forces within
circumstellar disks is the first stage in the production of asteroids and planets. The key …

Context. The growth processes from protoplanetary dust to planetesimals are not fully
understood. Laboratory experiments and theoretical models have shown that collisions …

Rapid orbital drift of macroscopic dust particles is one of the major obstacles to planetesimal
formation in protoplanetary disks. We re-examine this problem by considering the porosity …

Water ice is one of the most abundant materials in dense molecular clouds and in the outer
reaches of protoplanetary disks. In contrast to other materials (eg, silicates), water ice is …

Accumulation of dust and ice particles into planetesimals is an important step in the planet
formation process. Planetesimals are the seeds of both terrestrial planets and the solid cores …

Collisions between dust aggregates are the key to understand the formation of
planetesimals because the collision inevitably takes place in protoplanetary disks. To clarify …

Context. Several barriers have been proposed in planetesimal formation theory: bouncing,
fragmentation, and radial drift problems. Understanding the structure evolution of dust …

Context. The formation of planetesimals is often accredited to the collisional sticking of dust
grains. The exact process is unknown, as collisions between larger aggregates tend to lead …

Context. In protoplanetary discs, micron-sized dust grows to form millimetre-to centimetre-
sized pebbles but encounters several barriers during its evolution. Collisional fragmentation …