Disk Winds and the Accretion--Outflow Connection

TL;DR

This paper reviews the connection between accretion disks and jets in young stars, proposing a magnetized disk wind model supported by recent simulations and discussing magnetic field roles in angular momentum transport.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework linking jets to magnetized, centrifugally driven disk winds, supported by recent numerical simulations and analysis of magnetic field effects.

Findings

Jets are powered by accretion and driven by magnetic fields.

Numerical simulations support the magnetocentrifugal wind model.

Large-scale magnetic fields influence disk angular momentum transport.

Abstract

We review recent observational and theoretical results on the relationship between circumstellar accretion disks and jets in young stellar objects. We then present a theoretical framework that interprets jets as accretion-powered, centrifugally driven winds from magnetized accretion disks. Recent progress in the numerical simulation of such outflows is described. We also discuss the structure of the underlying magnetized protostellar disks, emphasizing the role that large-scale, open magnetic fields can play in angular momentum transport.