Accretion, Outflows, and Winds of Magnetized Stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent magnetohydrodynamic simulations and observations of accretion, outflows, and winds in magnetized stars, highlighting how magnetic fields influence matter flow and observational properties across different star types.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in understanding magnetized star outflows, combining simulation results with observational data.

Findings

Magnetic fields truncate accretion disks and shape matter flow.

Outflows are driven by magnetic inflation and star rotation regimes.

Magnetic influence affects wind formation and observational signatures.

Abstract

Many types of stars have strong magnetic fields that can dynamically influence the flow of circumstellar matter. In stars with accretion disks, the stellar magnetic field can truncate the inner disk and determine the paths that matter can take to flow onto the star. These paths are different in stars with different magnetospheres and periods of rotation. External field lines of the magnetosphere may inflate and produce favorable conditions for outflows from the disk-magnetosphere boundary. Outflows can be particularly strong in the propeller regime, wherein a star rotates more rapidly than the inner disk. Outflows may also form at the disk-magnetosphere boundary of slowly rotating stars, if the magnetosphere is compressed by the accreting matter. In isolated, strongly magnetized stars, the magnetic field can influence formation and/or propagation of stellar wind outflows. Winds from low-mass, solar-type stars may be either thermally or magnetically driven, while winds from massive, luminous O and B type stars are radiatively driven. In all of these cases, the magnetic field influences matter flow from the stars and determines many observational properties. In this chapter we review recent studies of accretion, outflows, and winds of magnetized stars with a focus on three main topics: (1) accretion onto magnetized stars; (2) outflows from the disk-magnetosphere boundary; and (3) winds from isolated massive magnetized stars. We show results obtained from global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and, in a number of cases compare global simulations with observations.