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N. Haghighipour, A. P. Boss (Carnegie Institution of Washington, DTM)
We present the results of an extensive numerical study of the motions of small bodies, ranging from 1 micron to 100 m in size, subject to the drag force and the gravitational attraction of an inhomogeneous circumstellar disk. In a recent paper, we have shown that it is possible for small bodies to undergo rapid migrations in the vicinity of the locations of the density enhancements of a hydrostatically stable nebula (Haghighipour and Boss, 2002, astro-ph-0207345). Our previous study was limited to the motions of solids on the midplane of such a disk. In this paper, we extend our analysis to three dimensional cases and we show that it is possible for small solid bodies to migrate rapidly (i,e, <1000 years) toward the location of a local concentration such as a spiral arm or a clump in a gravitationally unstable solar nebula. We also discuss the application of the results to the process of planetesimals formation.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #3< br> © 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.