III.6.3. Gravitational Instability (Mass of Planetesimal)

We derive the dispersion relation and find the condition for the gravitational instability of a disk. We apply the condition to study the gravitational instability of a dust rich layer and estimate the mass of a planetesimal. The size of a planetesimal is similar to the size of a comet. The gravitational instability model for planetesimal formation is reasonable, but there is a problem to be solved before accepting it as a theory for the planetesimal formation.

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