Newborn stars are surrounded by protoplanetary disks, swirling plasmas that can constitute the core of a developing solar system. EU-funded scientists studied the disordered movement of the constituent gases to get a grasp of how they make this transformation.
By better understanding the nature of gases, scientists hope to learn more about how particles interact with each other and coagulate to ultimately form planets. The challenge is to develop correct models for the structure of the discs, describing how density and temperature change with distance from the star.
Further details: Swirling secrets in stars' planet-forming discs