Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “MAGNETIC DISKS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Scenarios for Ultrafast Gamma-Ray Variability in AGN

We analyze three scenarios to address the challenge of ultrafast gamma-ray variability reported from active galactic nuclei. We focus on the energy requirements imposed by these scenarios: (i) external cloud in the jet, (ii) relativistic blob propagating through the jet material, and (iii) production of high-energy gamma-rays in the magnetosphere gaps. We show that while the first two scenarios are not constrained by the flare luminosity, there is a robust upper limit on the luminosity of flares generated in the black hole magnetosphere. This limit depends weakly on the mass of the central black hole and is determined by the accretion disk magnetization, viewing angle, and the pair multiplicity. For the most favorable values of these parameters, the luminosity for 5-minute flares is limited by 2×10{sup 43} erg s{sup −1}, which excludes a black hole magnetosphere origin of the flare detected from IC 310. In the scopes of scenarios (i) and (ii), the jet power, which is required to explain the IC 310 flare, exceeds the jet power estimated based on the radio data. To resolve this discrepancy in the framework of scenario (ii), it is sufficient to assume that the relativistic blobs are not distributed isotropically in the jet reference frame. A realization of scenario (i) demands that the jet power during the flare exceeds by a factor 10{sup 2} the power of the radio jet relevant to a timescale of 10{sup 8} years.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

RINGED SUBSTRUCTURE AND A GAP AT 1 au IN THE NEAREST PROTOPLANETARY DISK

We present long baseline Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the 870 μm continuum emission from the nearest gas-rich protoplanetary disk, around TW Hya, that trace millimeter-sized particles down to spatial scales as small as 1 au (20 mas). These data reveal a series of concentric ring-shaped substructures in the form of bright zones and narrow dark annuli (1–6 au) with modest contrasts (5%–30%). We associate these features with concentrations of solids that have had their inward radial drift slowed or stopped, presumably at local gas pressure maxima. No significant non-axisymmetric structures are detected. Some of the observed features occur near temperatures that may be associated with the condensation fronts of major volatile species, but the relatively small brightness contrasts may also be a consequence of magnetized disk evolution (the so-called zonal flows). Other features, particularly a narrow dark annulus located only 1 au from the star, could indicate interactions between the disk and young planets. These data signal that ordered substructures on ∼au scales can be common, fundamental factors in disk evolution and that high-resolution microwave imaging can help characterize them during the epoch of planet formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of global accretion disks with vertical magnetic fields

We report results of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of global accretion disks threaded with weak vertical magnetic fields. We perform the simulations in the spherical coordinates with different temperature profiles and accordingly different rotation profiles. In the cases with a spatially constant temperature, because the rotation frequency is vertically constant in the equilibrium condition, general properties of the turbulence excited by magnetorotational instability are quantitatively similar to those obtained in local shearing box simulations. On the other hand, in the cases with a radially variable temperature profile, the vertical differential rotation, which is inevitable in the equilibrium condition, winds up the magnetic field lines in addition to the usual radial differential rotation. As a result, the coherent wound magnetic fields contribute to the Maxwell stress in the surface regions. We obtain nondimensional density and velocity fluctuations ∼0.1-0.2 at the midplane. The azimuthal power spectra of the magnetic fields show shallower slopes, ∼m {sup 0} – m {sup –1}, than those of velocity and density. The Poynting flux associated with the MHD turbulence drives intermittent and structured disk winds as well as sound-like waves toward the midplane. The mass accretion mainly occurs near the surfaces, and the gas near the midplane slowly moves outward in the time domain of the present simulations. The vertical magnetic fields are also dragged inward in the surface regions, while they stochastically move outward and inward around the midplane. We also discuss an observational implication of induced spiral structure in the simulated turbulent disks.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ad Hoc File Systems for High-Performance Computing

Storage backends of parallel compute clusters are still based mostly on magnetic disks, while newer and faster storage technologies such as flash-based SSDs or non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) are deployed within compute nodes. Including these new storage technologies into scientific workflows is unfortunately today a mostly manual task, and most scientists therefore do not take advantage of the faster storage media. One approach to systematically include nodelocal SSDs or NVRAMs into scientific workflows is to deploy ad hoc file systems over a set of compute nodes, which serve as temporary storage systems for single applications or longer-running campaigns. This paper presents results from the Dagstuhl Seminar 17202 “Challenges and Opportunities of User-Level File Systems for HPC” and discusses application scenarios as well as design strategies for ad hoc file systems using node-local storage media. The discussion includes open research questions, such as how to couple ad hoc file systems with the batch scheduling environment and how to schedule stage-in and stage-out processes of data between the storage backend and the ad hoc file systems. Also presented are strategies to build ad hoc file systems by using reusable components for networking and how to improve storage device compatibility. Various interfaces and semantics are presented, for example those used by the three ad hoc file systems BeeOND, GekkoFS, and BurstFS. Their presentation covers a range from file systems running in production to cutting-edge research focusing on reaching the performance limits of the underlying devices.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Analysis Report for Exascale Storage Requirements for Scientific Data.

Over the next 10 years, the Department of Energy will be transitioning from Petascale to Exascale Computing resulting in data storage, networking, and infrastructure requirements to increase by three orders of magnitude. The technologies and best practices used today are the result of a relatively slow evolution of ancestral technologies developed in the 1950s and 1960s. These include magnetic tape, magnetic disk, networking, databases, file systems, and operating systems. These technologies will continue to evolve over the next 10 to 15 years on a reasonably predictable path. Experience with the challenges involved in transitioning these fundamental technologies from Terascale to Petascale computing systems has raised questions about how these will scale another 3 or 4 orders of magnitude to meet the requirements imposed by Exascale computing systems. This report is focused on the most concerning scaling issues with data storage systems as they relate to High Performance Computing- and presents options for a path forward. Given the ability to store exponentially increasing amounts of data, far more advanced concepts and use of metadata will be critical to managing data in Exascale computing systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Challenges and Opportunities of User-Level File Systemsfor HPC

The performance gap between magnetic disks and data processing on HPC systems has become that huge that an efficient data processing can only be achieved by introducing non-volatile memory (NVRAM) as a new storage tier. Although the benefits of hierarchical storage have been adequately demonstrated to the point that the newest leadership class HPC systems will employ burst buffers, critical questions remain for supporting hierarchical storage systems, including: How should we present hierarchical storage systems to user applications, such that they are easy to use and that application code is portable across systems? How should we manage data movement through a storage hierarchy for best performance and resilience of data? How do the particular I/O use cases mandate the way we manage data? There have been many efforts to explore this space in the form of file systems, with increasingly more implemented at the user level. This is because it is relatively easy to swap in new, specialized user-level file systems for use by applications on a case-by-case basis, as opposed to the current mainstream approach of using general-purpose, system-level file systems which may not be optimized for HPC workloads and must be installed by administrators. In contrast, file systems at the user level can be tailored for specific HPC workloads for high performance and can be used by applications without administrator intervention. Many user-level file system developers have found themselves “having to reinvent the wheel” to implement various optimizations in their file systems. Thus, a main goal of this meeting was to bring together experts in I/O performance, file systems, and storage, and collectively explore the space of current and future problems and solutions for I/O on hierarchical storage systems in order to begin a community effort in enabling user-level file system support for HPC systems. We had a lively week of learning about each other’s approaches as well as unique I/O use cases that can influence the design of a community-driven file and storage system standards. The agenda for this meeting contained talks from participants on the following high level topics: HPC storage and I/O support today; what do HPC users need for I/O; existing userlevel file system efforts; object stores and other alternative storage systems; and components for building user-level file systems. The talks were short and intended to be conversation starters for more in-depth discussions with the whole group. The participants engaged in lengthy discussions on various questions that arose from the talks including: Are we ready to program to a memory hierarchy versus block devices? Are the needs of HPC users reflected in our existing file systems and storage systems? Should we drop or keep POSIX moving forward? What do we mean when we say “user-level file system”? Do we all mean the same thing? How should the IO 500 benchmark be defined so it is fair and useful? and How are stage-in and stage-out actually going to work? The report for this seminar contains a record of the talks from the participants as well as the resulting discussions. Our hope is that the effort initiated during this seminar will result in long-term collaborations that will benefit the HPC community as a whole.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Formation of Magnetically Truncated Accretion Disks in 3D Radiation-transport Two-temperature GRMHD Simulations

Multiwavelength observations suggest that the accretion disk in the hard and intermediate states of X-ray binaries (XRBs) and active galactic nucleus transitions from a cold, thin disk at large distances into a hot, thick flow close to the black hole (BH). However, the formation, structure, and dynamics of such truncated disks are poorly constrained due to the complexity of the thermodynamic, magnetic, and radiative processes involved. We present the first radiation-transport two-temperature general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of truncated disks radiating at ~35% of the Eddington luminosity with and without large-scale poloidal magnetic flux. We demonstrate that when a geometrically thin accretion disk is threaded by large-scale net poloidal magnetic flux, it self-consistently transitions at small radii into a two-phase medium of cold gas clumps floating through a hot, magnetically dominated corona. This transition occurs at a well-defined truncation radius determined by the distance out to which the disk is saturated with magnetic flux. The average ion and electron temperatures in the semiopaque corona reach, respectively, $T_i$ ≳ 10 10 K and $T_e$ ≳ 5 × 10 8 K. The system produces radiation, powerful collimated jets, and broader winds at the total energy efficiency exceeding 90%, the highest ever energy extraction efficiency from a spinning BH by a radiatively efficient flow in a GRMHD simulation. This is consistent with jetted ejections observed during XRB outbursts. The two-phase medium may naturally lead to broadened iron line emission observed in the hard state.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

MAGNETIC FIELDS IN COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS OF DISK GALAXIES

Observationally, magnetic fields reach equipartition with thermal energy and cosmic rays in the interstellar medium of disk galaxies such as the Milky Way. However, thus far cosmological simulations of the formation and evolution of galaxies have usually neglected magnetic fields. We employ the moving-mesh code AREPO to follow for the first time the formation and evolution of a Milky Way-like disk galaxy in its full cosmological context while taking into account magnetic fields. We find that a prescribed tiny magnetic seed field grows exponentially by a small-scale dynamo until it saturates around z = 4 with a magnetic energy of about 10% of the kinetic energy in the center of the galaxy's main progenitor halo. By z = 2, a well-defined gaseous disk forms in which the magnetic field is further amplified by differential rotation, until it saturates at an average field strength of ∼6 μG in the disk plane. In this phase, the magnetic field is transformed from a chaotic small-scale field to an ordered large-scale field coherent on scales comparable to the disk radius. The final magnetic field strength, its radial profile, and the stellar structure of the disk compare well with observational data. A minor merger temporarily increases the magnetic field strength by about a factor of two, before it quickly decays back to its saturation value. Our results are highly insensitive to the initial seed field strength and suggest that the large-scale magnetic field in spiral galaxies can be explained as a result of the cosmic structure formation process.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE LARGE-SCALE MAGNETIC FIELDS OF THIN ACCRETION DISKS

Large-scale magnetic field threading an accretion disk is a key ingredient in the jet formation model. The most attractive scenario for the origin of such a large-scale field is the advection of the field by the gas in the accretion disk from the interstellar medium or a companion star. However, it is realized that outward diffusion of the accreted field is fast compared with the inward accretion velocity in a geometrically thin accretion disk if the value of the Prandtl number P{sub m} is around unity. In this work, we revisit this problem considering the angular momentum of the disk to be removed predominantly by the magnetically driven outflows. The radial velocity of the disk is significantly increased due to the presence of the outflows. Using a simplified model for the vertical disk structure, we find that even moderately weak fields can cause sufficient angular momentum loss via a magnetic wind to balance outward diffusion. There are two equilibrium points, one at low field strengths corresponding to a plasma-beta at the midplane of order several hundred, and one for strong accreted fields, {beta} {approx} 1. We surmise that the first is relevant for the accretion of weak, possibly external, fields through the outer parts of the disk, while the latter one could explain the tendency, observed in full three-dimensional numerical simulations, of strong flux bundles at the centers of disk to stay confined in spite of strong magnetororational instability turbulence surrounding them.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

RADIAL TRANSPORT OF LARGE-SCALE MAGNETIC FIELDS IN ACCRETION DISKS. II. RELAXATION TO STEADY STATES

We study the time evolution of a large-scale magnetic flux threading an accretion disk. The induction equation of the mean poloidal field is solved under the standard viscous disk model. Magnetic flux evolution is controlled by two timescales: one is the timescale of the inward advection of the magnetic flux, τ{sub adv}. This is induced by the dragging of the flux by the accreting gas. The other is the outward diffusion timescale of the magnetic flux τ{sub dif}. We consider diffusion due to the Ohmic resistivity. These timescales can be significantly different from the disk viscous timescale τ{sub disk}. The behaviors of the magnetic flux evolution are quite different depending on the magnitude relationship of the timescales τ{sub adv}, τ{sub dif}, and τ{sub disk}. The most interesting phenomena occur when τ{sub adv} << τ{sub dif}, τ{sub disk}. In such a case, the magnetic flux distribution approaches a quasi-steady profile much faster than the viscous evolution of the gas disk, and the magnetic flux has also been tightly bundled to the inner part of the disk. In the inner part, although the poloidal magnetic field becomes much stronger than the interstellar magnetic field, the field strength is limited to the maximum value that is analytically given by our previous work. We also find a condition for the initial large magnetic flux, which is a fossil of the magnetic field dragging during the early phase of star formation that survives for a duration in which significant gas disk evolution proceeds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Linear stability of magnetized massive protoplanetary disks

Magnetorotational instability (MRI) and gravitational instability (GI) are the two principle routes to turbulent angular momentum transport in accretion disks. Protoplanetary disks (PPDs) may develop both. This paper aims to reinvigorate interest in the study of magnetized massive PPDs, starting from the basic issue of stability. The local linear stability of a self-gravitating, uniformly magnetized, differentially rotating, three-dimensional stratified disk subject to axisymmetric perturbations is calculated numerically. The formulation includes resistivity. It is found that the reduction in the disk thickness by self-gravity (SG) can decrease MRI growth rates; the MRI becomes global in the vertical direction, and MRI modes with small radial length scales are stabilized. The maximum vertical field strength that permits the MRI in a strongly self-gravitating polytropic disk with polytropic index Γ = 1 is estimated to be B{sub z,max}≃c{sub s0}Ω√(μ{sub 0}/16πG), where c{sub s0} is the midplane sound speed and Ω is the local angular velocity. In massive disks with layered resistivity, the MRI is not well localized to regions where the Elsasser number exceeds unity. For MRI modes with radial length scales on the order of the disk thickness, SG can enhance density perturbations, an effect that becomes significant in the presence of a strong toroidal field, and which depends on the symmetry of the underlying MRI mode. In gravitationally unstable disks where GI and MRI growth rates are comparable, the character of unstable modes can transition smoothly between MRI and GI. Implications for nonlinear simulations are discussed briefly.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

EXCLUSION OF COSMIC RAYS IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: STELLAR AND MAGNETIC EFFECTS

Cosmic rays (CRs) are thought to provide an important source of ionization in the outermost and densest regions of protoplanetary disks; however, it is unknown to what degree they are physically present. As is observed in the solar system, stellar winds can inhibit the propagation of CRs within the circumstellar environment and subsequently into the disk. In this work, we explore the hitherto neglected effects of CR modulation by both stellar winds and magnetic field structures and study how these processes act to reduce disk ionization rates. We construct a two-dimensional protoplanetary disk model of a T-Tauri star system, focusing on ionization from stellar and interstellar FUV, stellar X-ray photons, and CRs. We show that stellar winds can power a heliosphere-like analog, i.e., a ''T-Tauriosphere,'' diminishing CR ionization rates by several orders of magnitude at low to moderate CR energies (E{sub CR} {<=} 1 GeV). We explore models of both the observed solar wind CR modulation and a highly simplified estimate for ''elevated'' CR modulation as would be expected from a young T-Tauri star. In the former (solar analog) case, we estimate the ionization rate from galactic CRs to be {zeta}{sub CR} {approx} (0.23-1.4) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -18} s{sup -1}. This range of values, which we consider to be the maximum CR ionization rate for the disk, is more than an order of magnitude lower than what is generally assumed in current models for disk chemistry and physics. In the latter elevated case, i.e., for a ''T-Tauriosphere,'' the ionization rate by CRs is {zeta}{sub CR} {approx}< 10{sup -20} s{sup -1}, which is 1000 times smaller than the interstellar value. We discuss the implications of a diminished CR ionization rate on the gas physics by estimating the size of the resulting magnetorotational instability dead zones. Indeed, if winds are as efficient at CR modulation as predicted here, short-lived radionuclides (now extinct) would have provided the major source of ionization ({zeta}{sub RN} {approx} 7.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -19} s{sup -1}) in the planet-forming zone of the young solar nebula.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Magnetorotational Turbulence Transports Angular Momentum in Stratified Disks with Low Magnetic Prandtl Number but Magnetic Reynolds Number above a Critical Value

The magnetorotational instability (MRI) may dominate outward transport of angular momentum in accretion disks, allowing material to fall onto the central object. Previous work has established that the MRI can drive a mean-field dynamo, possibly leading to a self-sustaining accretion system. Recently, however, simulations of the scaling of the angular momentum transport parameter {alpha}{sub SS} with the magnetic Prandtl number Pm have cast doubt on the ability of the MRI to transport astrophysically relevant amounts of angular momentum in real disk systems. Here, we use simulations including explicit physical viscosity and resistivity to show that when vertical stratification is included, mean field dynamo action operates, driving the system to a configuration in which the magnetic field is not fully helical. This relaxes the constraints on the generated field provided by magnetic helicity conservation, allowing the generation of a mean field on timescales independent of the resistivity. Our models demonstrate the existence of a critical magnetic Reynolds number Rm{sub crit}, below which transport becomes strongly Pm-dependent and chaotic, but above which the transport is steady and Pm-independent. Prior simulations showing Pm-dependence had Rm < Rm{sub crit}. We conjecture that this steady regime is possible because the mean field dynamo is not helicity-limited and thus does not depend on the details of the helicity ejection process. Scaling to realistic astrophysical parameters suggests that disks around both protostars and stellar mass black holes have Rm >> Rm{sub crit}. Thus, we suggest that the strong Pm dependence seen in recent simulations does not occur in real systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

MAGNETOROTATIONAL TURBULENCE TRANSPORTS ANGULAR MOMENTUM IN STRATIFIED DISKS WITH LOW MAGNETIC PRANDTL NUMBER BUT MAGNETIC REYNOLDS NUMBER ABOVE A CRITICAL VALUE

The magnetorotational instability (MRI) may dominate outward transport of angular momentum in accretion disks, allowing material to fall onto the central object. Previous work has established that the MRI can drive a mean-field dynamo, possibly leading to a self-sustaining accretion system. Recently, however, simulations of the scaling of the angular momentum transport parameter {alpha}{sub SS} with the magnetic Prandtl number Pm have cast doubt on the ability of the MRI to transport astrophysically relevant amounts of angular momentum in real disk systems. Here, we use simulations including explicit physical viscosity and resistivity to show that when vertical stratification is included, mean-field dynamo action operates, driving the system to a configuration in which the magnetic field is not fully helical. This relaxes the constraints on the generated field provided by magnetic helicity conservation, allowing the generation of a mean field on timescales independent of the resistivity. Our models demonstrate the existence of a critical magnetic Reynolds number Rm{sub crit}, below which transport becomes strongly Pm-dependent and chaotic, but above which the transport is steady and Pm-independent. Prior simulations showing Pm dependence had Rm < Rm{sub crit}. We conjecture that this steady regime is possible because the mean-field dynamo is not helicity-limited and thus does not depend on the details of the helicity ejection process. Scaling to realistic astrophysical parameters suggests that disks around both protostars and stellar mass black holes have Rm >> Rm{sub crit}. Thus, we suggest that the strong Pm dependence seen in recent simulations does not occur in real systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Flux Eruption Events Drive Angular Momentum Transport in Magnetically Arrested Accretion Flows

We evolve two high-resolution general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of advection-dominated accretion flows around nonspinning black holes (BHs), each over a duration ~3 × 10 5 GM BH /c 3 . One model captures the evolution of a weakly magnetized (SANE) disk and the other that of a magnetically arrested disk (MAD). Magnetic flux eruptions in the MAD model push out gas from the disk and launch strong winds with outflow efficiencies at times reaching 10% of the incoming accretion power. Despite the substantial power in these winds, average mass outflow rates remain low out to a radius ~100GM BH /c 2 , only reaching ~60%–80% of the horizon accretion rate. The average outward angular momentum transport is primarily radial in both modes of accretion, but with a clear distinction: magnetic flux eruption–driven disk winds cause a strong vertical flow of angular momentum in the MAD model, while for the SANE model, the magnetorotational instability (MRI) moves angular momentum mostly equatorially through the disk. Further, we find that the MAD state is highly transitory and nonaxisymmetric, with the accretion mode often changing to a SANE-like state following an eruption before reattaining magnetic flux saturation with time. The Reynolds stress changes directions during such transitions, with the MAD (SANE) state showing an inward (outward) stress, possibly pointing to intermittent MRI-driven accretion in MADs. Pinning down the nature of flux eruptions using next-generation telescopes will be crucial in understanding the flow of mass, magnetic flux, and angular momentum in sub-Eddington accreting BHs like M87* and Sagittarius A*.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Time resolved imaging of magnetization dynamics in hard disk writer yokes excited by bipolar current pulses

A partially built hard disk writer structure with a NiFe/CoFe/Ru/NiFe/CoFe synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) yoke was studied by time and vector resolved scanning Kerr microscopy. All three time dependent components of the magnetization were recorded simultaneously as a bipolar current pulse with 1 MHz repetition rate was delivered to the coil. The component of magnetization parallel to the symmetry axis of the yoke was compared at the pole and above a coil winding in the centre of the yoke. The two responses are in phase as the pulse rises, but the pole piece lags the yoke as the pulse falls. The Kerr signal is smaller within the yoke than within the confluence region during pulse cycling. This suggests funneling of flux into the confluence region. Dynamic images acquired at different time delays showed that the relaxation is faster in the centre of the yoke than in the confluence region, perhaps due to the different magnetic anisotropy in these regions. Although the SAF yoke is designed to support a single domain to aid flux conduction, no obvious flux beaming was observed, suggesting the presence of a more complicated domain structure. The SAF yoke writer hence provides relatively poor flux conduction but good control of rise time compared to single layer and multi-layered yokes studied previously.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Theoretical Model of X-Ray Jets from Young Stellar Objects

There is a subclass of X-ray jets from young stellar objects that are heated very close to the footpoint of the jets, particularly DG Tau jets. Previous models have attributed the strong heating to shocks in the jets. However, the mechanism that localizes the heating at the footpoint remains puzzling. We presented a different model of such X-ray jets, in which the disk atmosphere is magnetically heated. Our disk corona model is based on the so-called nanoflare model for the solar corona. We show that the magnetic heating near the disks can result in the formation of a hot corona with a temperature of ≳10{sup 6} K, even if the average field strength in the disk is moderately weak, ≳1 G. We determine the density and the temperature at the jet base by considering the energy balance between the heating and cooling. We derive the scaling relations of the mass-loss rate and terminal velocity of jets. Our model is applied to the DG Tau jets. The observed temperature and estimated mass-loss rate are consistent with the prediction of our model in the case of a disk magnetic field strength of ∼20 G and a heating region of <0.1 au. The derived scaling relation of the temperature of X-ray jets could be a useful tool for estimating the magnetic field strength. We also find that the jet X-ray can have a significant impact on the ionization degree near the disk surface and the dead zone size.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

On the role of pseudodisk warping and reconnection in protostellar disk formation in turbulent magnetized cores

The formation of rotationally supported protostellar disks is suppressed in ideal MHD in non-turbulent cores with aligned magnetic fields and rotation axes. A promising way to resolve this so-called 'magnetic braking catastrophe' is through turbulence. The reason for the turbulence-enabled disk formation is usually attributed to the turbulence-induced magnetic reconnection, which is thought to reduce the magnetic flux accumulated in the disk-forming region. We advance an alternative interpretation, based on magnetic decoupling-triggered reconnection of severely pinched field lines close to the central protostar and turbulence-induced warping of the pseudodisk of Galli and Shu. Such reconnection weakens the central split magnetic monopole that lies at the heart of the magnetic braking catastrophe under flux freezing. We show, through idealized numerical experiments, that the pseudodisk can be strongly warped, but not completely destroyed, by a subsonic or sonic turbulence. The warping decreases the rates of angular momentum removal from the pseudodisk by both magnetic torque and outflow, making it easier to form a rotationally supported disk. More importantly, the warping of the pseudodisk out of the disk-forming, equatorial plane greatly reduces the amount of magnetic flux threading the circumstellar, disk-forming region, further promoting disk formation. The beneficial effects of pseudodisk warping can also be achieved by a misalignment between the magnetic field and rotation axis. These two mechanisms of disk formation, enabled by turbulence and field-rotation misalignment respectively, are thus unified. We find that the disks formed in turbulent magnetized cores are rather thick and significantly magnetized. Implications of these findings, particularly for the thick young disk inferred in L1527, are briefly discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗