Relativistic outflows from a GRMHD mean-field disk dynamo

TL;DR

This paper presents GRMHD simulations of thin accretion disks around black holes demonstrating how a mean-field dynamo can generate large-scale magnetic flux, influence accretion, and produce relativistic jets and winds.

Contribution

It introduces a resistive GRMHD model with a mean-field dynamo mechanism that produces large-scale magnetic flux and explores its effects on disk dynamics and jet formation.

Findings

Dynamo-generated magnetic flux expands into the corona.

Strong magnetic fields support jet and wind launching.

A Poynting flux-dominated jet is driven by the Blandford-Znajek mechanism.

Abstract

We present simulations of thin accretion disks around black holes investigating a mean-field disk dynamo in our resistive GRMHD code (Vourellis et al. 2019) that is able to produce a large scale magnetic flux. We consider a weak seed field in an initially thin disk, a background (turbulent) magnetic diffusivity and the dynamo action. A standard quenching mechanism is applied to mitigate the otherwise exponential increase of the magnetic field. Comparison simulations of an initial Fishbone-Moncrief torus suggest that reconnection may provide another quenching mechanism. The dynamo-generated magnetic flux expands from the disk interior into the disk corona, becomes advected by disk accretion, and fills the axial region of the domain. The dynamo leads to an initially rapid increase in magnetic energy and flux, while for later evolutionary stages the growth stabilizes. Accretion towards the black hole depends strongly on the magnetic field structure that develops. The radial field component supports extraction of angular momentum and thus accretion. It also sets the conditions for launching a disk wind, initially from inner disk area. When a strong field has engulfed the disk, strong winds are launched that are predominantly driven by the pressure gradient of the toroidal field. For rotating black holes we identify a Poynting flux-dominated jet, driven by the Blandford-Znajek mechanism. This axial Poynting flux is advected from the disk and therefore accumulates at the expense of the flux carried by the disk wind, that is itself regenerated by the disk dynamo.