A simple phenomenological model for grain clustering in turbulence

We propose a simple model for density fluctuations of aerodynamic grains, embedded in a turbulent, gravitating gas disc. The model combines a calculation for the behaviour of a group of grains encountering a single turbulent eddy, with a hierarchical approximation of the eddy statistics. This makes analytic predictions for a range of quantities including: distributions of grain densities, power spectra and correlation functions of fluctuations, and maximum grain densities reached. We predict how these scale as a function of grain drag time ts, spatial scale, grain-to-gas mass ratio ρ̃, strength of turbulence α, and detailed disc properties. We test these against numerical simulations with various turbulence-driving mechanisms. The simulations agree well with the predictions, spanning ts ∼ 10−4–10, ρ̃ ∼ 0−3, α ∼ 10−10– 10−2. Results from ‘turbulent concentration’ simulations and laboratory experiments are also predicted as a special case. Vortices on a wide range of scales disperse and concentrate grains hierarchically. For small grains this is most efficient in eddies with turnover time comparable to the stopping time, but fluctuations are also damped by local gas-grain drift. For large grains, shear and gravity lead to a much broader range of eddy scales driving fluctuations, with most power on the largest scales. The grain density distribution has a log-Poisson shape, with fluctuations for large grains up to factors 1000. We provide simple analytic expressions for the predictions, and discuss implications for planetesimal formation, grain growth, and the structure of turbulence.