Planetesimal formation via the streaming instability with multiple grain sizes

ABSTRACT Kilometre-sized planetesimals form from pebbles of a range of sizes. We present the first simulations of the streaming instability (SI) that begin with a realistic, peaked size distribution, as expected from grain growth predictions. Our 3D numerical simulations directly form planetesimals via the gravitational collapse of pebble clouds. Models with multiple grain sizes show spatially distinct dust populations. The smallest grains in the size distribution do not participate in the formation of filaments or the planetesimals that are formed by the remaining ∼80 per cent of the dust mass. This implies a size cutoff for pebbles incorporated into asteroids and comets. Disc observations cannot resolve this dust clumping. However, we show that clumping, combined with optical depth effects, can cause significant underestimates of the dust mass, with 20–80 per cent more dust being present even at moderate optical depths if the SI is active.