Simulating protostellar jets simultaneously at launching and observational scales

Abstract

We present the first 2.5-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of protostellar jets that include both the region in which the jet is launched magnetocentrifugally at scale lengths < 0.1 AU and where the propagating jet is observed at scale lengths >103 AU. These simulations, performed with the new adaptive mesh refinement MHD code AZEuS, reveal interesting relationships between conditions at the disk surface, such as the magnetic field strength, and direct observables such as proper motion, jet rotation, jet radius, and mass flux. By comparing these quantities with observed values, we present direct numerical evidence that the magnetocentrifugal launching mechanism is capable, by itself, of launching realistic protostellar jets. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printedin the U.S.A.