BIPOLAR JETS LAUNCHED FROM MAGNETICALLY DIFFUSIVE ACCRETION DISKS. I. EJECTION EFFICIENCY VERSUS FIELD STRENGTH AND DIFFUSIVITY

We investigate the launching of jets and outflows from magnetically diffusive accretion disks. Using the PLUTO code, we solve the time-dependent resistive magnetohydrodynamic equations taking into account the disk and jet evolution simultaneously. The main question we address is which kind of disks launch jets and which kind of disks do not? In particular, we study how the magnitude and distribution of the (turbulent) magnetic diffusivity affect mass loading and jet acceleration. We apply a turbulent magnetic diffusivity based on α-prescription, but also investigate examples where the scale height of diffusivity is larger than that of the disk gas pressure. We further investigate how the ejection efficiency is governed by the magnetic field strength. Our simulations last for up to 5000 dynamical timescales corresponding to 900 orbital periods of the inner disk. As a general result, we observe a continuous and robust outflow launched from the inner part of the disk, expanding into a collimated jet of superfast-magnetosonic speed. For long timescales, the disk's internal dynamics change, as due to outflow ejection and disk accretion the disk mass decreases. For magnetocentrifugally driven jets, we find that for (1) less diffusive disks, (2) a stronger magnetic field, (3) a low poloidal diffusivity, or (4) a lower numerical diffusivity (resolution), the mass loading of the outflow is increased—resulting in more powerful jets with high-mass flux. For weak magnetization, the (weak) outflow is driven by the magnetic pressure gradient. We consider in detail the advection and diffusion of magnetic flux within the disk and we find that the disk and outflow magnetization may substantially change in time. This may have severe impact on the launching and formation process—an initially highly magnetized disk may evolve into a disk of weak magnetization which cannot drive strong outflows. We further investigate the jet asymptotic velocity and the jet rotational velocity in respect of the different launching scenarios. We find a lower degree of jet collimation than previous studies, most probably due to our revised outflow boundary condition.