Gravitational instability in binary protoplanetary discs: new constraints on giant planet formation

We use high-resolution three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) simulations to study the evolution of self-gravitating binary protoplanetary discs. Heating by shocks and cooling is included. We consider different orbital separations and masses of the discs. Massive discs (M∼ 0.1 M⊙) that fragment in isolation as a result of gravitational instability develop only transient overdensities in binary systems with a separation of about …