ASPCS
 
Back to Volume
Paper: Magnetocentrifugal Jets and Winds
Volume: 323, Star Formation in the Interstellar Medium: In Honor of David Hollenbach, Chris McKee, and Frank Shu
Page: 307
Authors: Li, Z.-Y.; Krasnopolsky, R.; Anderson, J.M.; Blandford, R.
Abstract: We developed a ZEUS-based MHD code that allows us to follow the evolution of magnetocentrifugal winds from their launching surface to large, observable distances. We find that, in agreement with the asymptotic analysis of Shu et al., magnetocentrifugal winds are strongly stratified in density at large distances, with a dense axial jet surrounded by a more tenuous, wide-angle component. There is no guarantee, however, that the jet would become cylindrically collimated all the way to the equator, or that it would contain most of the wind material. The shape and mass flux fraction of the axial jet depend on the wind launching conditions, which are unknown at the present. We found a simple relation between the flow velocities at large, observable distances and the rotation rate of the wind launching surface. Applying this relation to the low velocity component of the DG Tau wind, we deduce that it is driven from a region on the disk ranging from ∼ 0.3 to 4 AU from the central star. The launching location of the high velocity component also observed in this source remains unclear.
Back to Volume