The inner solar system spins much more slowly than it should. Now, scientists may know why.



A recent research may shed light on why the inner solar system rotates far more slowly than what is predicted by the principles of contemporary physics.

Around newborn stars, a thin circle of gas and dust called an accretion disk spirals. The remaining star-forming material in these disks, where planets develop, is only a small portion of the mass of the star. The inner half of the disk should spin faster as the material spirals gently inward toward the star in accordance with the rule of conservation of angular momentum, just like figure skaters spin faster when they draw their arms closer to their bodies.

The inner solar system, which encompasses the terrestrial planets and spans from the sun to the asteroid belt, does not rotate as quickly as would be anticipated by the rule of conservation of angular momentum, according to earlier findings. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have shown how particles in the accretion disk interact using novel simulations of a fictitious accretion disk.

The concept of angular momentum conservation holds that the angular momentum in a system remains constant. "Angular momentum is equal to velocity times radius," the Caltech researchers noted in a statement. So, if the skater's radius falls as a result of pulling in their arms, increasing spin velocity is the only method to maintain angular momentum.

Why then does the inner accretion disk's angular momentum not remain constant? The statement said earlier study has shown that the rotating speed of infalling gas may be slowed by friction between parts of the accretion disk or magnetic fields that produce turbulence (and friction).

Paul Bellan, a professor of applied physics at Caltech and a co-author of the study, stated in the statement, "That disturbed me." "People frequently seek to attribute turbulence to events they do not fully comprehend. There is already a significant cottage industry debating whether turbulence is responsible for the loss of angular momentum in accretion disks."

Bellan researched the motions of individual atoms, ions, and gas in an accretion disk as well as how particles behave before, during, and after collisions in order to comprehend angular momentum loss. While neutral atoms are simply influenced by gravity, charged particles such as electrons and ions are impacted by both gravity and magnetic fields.

The scientists simulated an accretion disk of 1,000 charged particles slamming against 40,000 neutral particles under magnetic and gravitational forces using computer simulations. They discovered that positively charged ions, or cations, spiral inward and negatively charged particles, or electrons, move outward toward the edge of the accretion disk when neutral atoms contact with a considerably lower number of charged particles. The neutral particles, meanwhile, experience angular momentum loss and spiral toward the center.

With a positive terminal close to the disk's center and a negative terminal at its perimeter, the accretion disk in turn functions as a massive battery. From both sides of the disk, these terminals produce strong currents or jets of material that go into space.

The model was huge enough to behave exactly like trillions upon trillions of colliding neutral particles, electrons, and ions circling a star in a magnetic field, Bellan said in the release. "This model has precisely the perfect degree of detail to capture all of the key properties," Bellan added.

— Unusual new solar wave type defies physics

According to the statement, the computer simulations show that while angular momentum is lost, canonical angular momentum, which is made up of the initial ordinary angular momentum as well as an extra amount that relies on the charge of a particle and the magnetic field, is conserved.

The inward motion of ions and the outward motion of electrons, which are brought about by collisions, increase the canonical angular momentum of both, the researchers said, because electrons are negative and cations are positive. When neutral particles collide with charged particles, they lose angular momentum and move inward, which cancels out the rise in the canonical angular momentum of the charged particles.

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