The importance of photosphere cooling in simulations of gravitational instability in the inner regions of protostellar discs

The fragmentation of protostellar discs via gravitational instability (GI) has been proposed as a mechanism for forming giant planets. We present methods and tests for a new implementation of radiative transfer in the Gasoline TreeSPH code with which we investigate the viability of this mechanism in the inner tens of au of discs. Accurate photosphere boundary treatments are of fundamental importance to the outcome of GI. We demonstrate that …