Linear instability in thermally-stratified quasi-Keplerian flows

TL;DR

This paper identifies a new thermohydrodynamic linear instability in thermally-stratified quasi-Keplerian flows, which could explain angular momentum transport in protoplanetary disks where magnetic effects are negligible.

Contribution

It reveals a previously unrecognized thermal instability in quasi-Keplerian flows, expanding understanding beyond magnetorotational instability in astrophysical disk dynamics.

Findings

Thermal stratification induces linear instability in quasi-Keplerian flows.

Flow stability increases with higher Richardson or Prandtl numbers.

Instability can occur at low Richardson numbers with small axial wavelengths.

Abstract

Quasi-Keplerian flow, a special regime of Taylor-Couette co-rotating flow, is of great astrophysical interest for studying angular momentum transport in accretion disks. The well-known magnetorotational instability (MRI) successfully explains the flow instability and generation of turbulence in certain accretion disks, but fails to account for these phenomena in protoplanetary disks where magnetic effects are negligible. Given the intrinsic decrease of the temperature in these disks, we examine the effect of radial thermal stratification on 3-D global disturbances in linearised quasi-Keplerian flows under radial gravitational acceleration mimicking stellar gravity. Our results show a thermohydrodynamic linear instability for both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric modes across a broad parameter space of the thermally-stratified quasi-Keplerian flow. Generally, decreasing Richardson or Prandtl numbers stabilises the flow, while a reduced radius ratio destabilises it. This work also provides a quantitative characterisation of the instability. At low Prandtl numbers $Pr$, we observe a scaling relation of the linear critical Taylor number $Ta_c\propto$$Pr^{-6/5}$. Extrapolating the observed scaling to high $Ta$ and low $Pr$ may suggest the relevance of the instability to accretion disks. Moreover, even slight thermal stratification, characterised by a low Richardson number, can trigger the flow instability with a small axial wavelength. These findings are qualitatively consistent with the results from a traditional local stability analysis based on short wave approximations. Our study refines the thermally-induced linearly-unstable transition route in protoplanetary disks to explain angular momentum transport in dead zones where MRI is ineffective.