High Resolution 3D Relativistic MHD Simulations of Jets

TL;DR

This paper presents high-resolution 3D simulations of relativistic magnetized jets with toroidal magnetic fields, revealing instabilities and jet stability features crucial for understanding astrophysical jet dynamics.

Contribution

It provides the first high-resolution 3D simulations showing the effects of toroidal magnetic fields on jet stability and morphology, challenging previous 2D axisymmetric results.

Findings

Toroidal magnetic fields induce kink instabilities leading to jet wiggling.

High-resolution simulations are essential for accurate jet dynamical analysis.

Jets maintain a relativistic spine despite instabilities.

Abstract

Relativistic magnetized jets are key elements in Active Galactic Nuclei and in other astrophysical environments. Their structure and evolution involves a complex nonlinear physics that can be approached by numerical studies only. Still, owing to a number of challenging computational aspects, only a few numerical investigations have been undertaken so far. In this paper, we present high-resolution three dimensional numerical simulations of relativistic magnetized jets carrying an initially toroidal magnetic field. The presence of a substantial toroidal component of the field is nowadays commonly invoked and held responsible for the process of jet acceleration and collimation. We find that the typical nose cone structures, commonly observed in axisymmetric two-dimensional simulations, are not produced in the 3D case. Rather, the toroidal field gives rise to strong current driven kink instabilities leading to jet wiggling. However, it appears to be able to maintain an highly relativistic spine along its full length. By comparing low and high resolution simulations, we emphasize the impact of resolution on the jet dynamical properties.