  We examine a physical process that leads to the efficient formation of gas
giant planets around intermediate mass stars. In the gaseous protoplanetary
disks surrounding rapidly-accreting intermediate-mass stars we show that the
midplane temperature (heated primarily by turbulent dissipation) can reach >
1000 K out to 1 AU. Thermal ionization of this hot gas couples the disk to the
magnetic field, allowing the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) to generate
turbulence and transport angular momentum. Further from the central star the
ionization fraction decreases, decoupling the disk from the magnetic field and
reducing the efficiency of angular momentum transport. As the disk evolves
towards a quasi-steady state, a local maximum in the surface density and in the
midplane pressure both develop at the inner edge of the MRI-dead zone, trapping
inwardly migrating solid bodies. Small particles accumulate and coagulate into
planetesimals which grow rapidly until they reach isolation mass. In contrast
to the situation around solar type stars, we show that the isolation mass for
cores at this critical radius around the more massive stars is large enough to
promote the accretion of significant amounts of gas prior to disk depletion.
Through this process, we anticipate a prolific production of gas giants at ~1
AU around intermediate-mass stars.
