Publications by Year: 2012

2012
Matsakos T, Vlahakis N, Tsinganos K, Karampelas K, Sauty C, Cayatte V, Matt SP, Massaglia S, Trussoni E, Mignone A. Velocity asymmetries in young stellar object jets. Intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. [Internet]. 2012;545:A53. WebsiteAbstract
Context. It is well established that some YSO jets (e.g. RW Aur) display different propagation speeds between their blue and red shifted parts, a feature possibly associated with the central engine or the environment in which the jet propagates. Aims: To understand the origin of asymmetric YSO jet velocities, we investigate the efficiency of two candidate mechanisms, one based on the intrinsic properties of the system and the other on the role of the external medium. In particular, a parallel or anti-parallel configuration between the protostellar magnetosphere and the disk magnetic field is considered, and the resulting dynamics examined both in an ideal and in a resistive magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) regime. Moreover, we explore the effects of a potential difference in the pressure of the environment, as a consequence of the nonuniform density distribution of molecular clouds. Methods: Ideal and resistive axisymmetric numerical simulations were carried out for a variety of models, all of which are based on a combination of two analytical solutions, a disk wind and a stellar outflow. The initial two-component jet is modified by either inverting the orientation of its inner magnetic field or imposing a constant surrounding pressure. The velocity profiles are studied by assuming steady flows as well as after strong time variable ejection is incorporated. Results: Discrepancies between the speeds of the two outflows in opposite directions can indeed occur both due to unaligned magnetic fields and different outer pressures. In the former case, the asymmetry appears only on the dependence of the velocity on the cylindrical distance, but the implied observed value is significantly altered when the density distribution is also taken into account. On the other hand, a nonuniform medium collimates the two jets unevenly, directly affecting their propagation speed. A further interesting feature of the pressure-confined outflow simulations is the formation of static knots whose spacing seems to be associated with the ambient pressure. Conclusions: Jet velocity asymmetries are anticipated both when multipolar magnetic moments are present in the star-disk system and when nonuniform environments are considered. The latter is an external mechanism that can easily explain the large timescale of the phenomenon, whereas the former naturally relates it to the YSO intrinsic properties.
Sapountzis K, Vlahakis N. Steady-state rarefaction waves in magnetized flows and their application to gamma-ray burst outflows. In: ; 2012. pp. 19 - 19. WebsiteAbstract
We investigate the characteristics of a relativistic magnetized fluid flowing around a corner. If the flow is faster than the fast-magnetosonic speed the non-smooth boundary induces a rarefaction wave propagating in the body of the flow. The subsequent expansion is accompanied with a very efficient increase of the flow speed and bulk Lorentz factor. We apply this "rarefaction acceleration mechanism" to the collapsar model of gamma-ray bursts, in which a relativistic jet initially propagates in the interior of the progenitor star, before crossing the stellar surface with a simultaneous drop in the external pressure support. We integrate the steady-state equations using a special set of partial (r-self similar) solutions. The use of these solutions degrades the system of the complex, non-linear, 2nd order partial differential equations into a system of two 1st order ordinary differential equations whose integration is straightforward. For the conditions expected in a gamma-ray burst, a fully analytical solution can be obtained. The aim of this work is to better understand the results of recent time-depended numerical simulations and show that rarefaction acceleration is a plausible mechanism in gamma-ray burst outflows.