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1. Large-scale poloidal magnetic field dynamo leads to powerful jets in GRMHD simulations of black hole accretion with toroidal field

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa955  

   Liska, M; Tchekhovskoy, A; Quataert, E (May 2020, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT Accreting black holes (BHs) launch relativistic collimated jets, across many decades in luminosity and mass, suggesting the jet launching mechanism is universal, robust, and scale-free. Theoretical models and general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations indicate that the key jet-making ingredient is large-scale poloidal magnetic flux. However, its origin is uncertain, and it is unknown if it can be generated in situ or dragged inward from the ambient medium. Here, we use the GPU-accelerated GRMHD code h-amr to study global 3D BH accretion at unusually high resolutions more typical of local shearing box simulations. We demonstrate that turbulence in a radially extended accretion disc can generate large-scale poloidal magnetic flux in situ, even when starting from a purely toroidal magnetic field. The flux accumulates around the BH till it becomes dynamically important, leads to a magnetically arrested disc (MAD), and launches relativistic jets that are more powerful than the accretion flow. The jet power exceeds that of previous GRMHD toroidal field simulations by a factor of 10 000. The jets do not show significant kink or pinch instabilities, accelerate to γ ∼ 10 over three decades in distance, and follow a collimation profile similar to the observed M87 jet. 

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2. JWST Peers into the Class I Protostar TMC1A: Atomic Jet and Spatially Resolved Dissociative Shock Region

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdfca  

   Harsono, D; Bjerkeli, P; Ramsey, J P; Pontoppidan, K M; Kristensen, L E; Jørgensen, J K; Calcutt, H; Li, Z-Y; Plunkett, A (July 2023, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract Outflows and winds launched from young stars play a crucial role in the evolution of protostars and the early stages of planet formation. However, the specific details of the mechanism behind these phenomena, including how they affect the protoplanetary disk structure, are still debated. We present JWST NIRSpec integral field unit observations of atomic and H₂lines from 1 to 5.1μm toward the low-mass protostar TMC1A. For the first time, a collimated atomic jet is detected from TMC1A in the [Feii] line at 1.644μm along with corresponding extended H₂2.12μm emission. Toward the protostar, we detected spectrally broad Hiand Heiemissions with velocities up to 300 km s⁻¹that can be explained by a combination of protostellar accretion and a wide-angle wind. The 2μm continuum dust emission, Hi, Hei, and Oiall show emission from the illuminated outflow cavity wall and scattered line emission. These observations demonstrate the potential of JWST to characterize and reveal new information about the hot inner regions of nearby protostars; in this case, a previously undetected atomic wind and ionized jet in a well-known outflow. 

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3. A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05843-w  

   Lu, Ru-Sen; Asada, Keiichi; Krichbaum, Thomas P.; Park, Jongho; Tazaki, Fumie; Pu, Hung-Yi; Nakamura, Masanori; Lobanov, Andrei; Hada, Kazuhiro; Akiyama, Kazunori; et al (April 2023, Nature)

   Abstract The nearby radio galaxy M87 is a prime target for studying black hole accretion and jet formation 1,2 . Event Horizon Telescope observations of M87 in 2017, at a wavelength of 1.3 mm, revealed a ring-like structure, which was interpreted as gravitationally lensed emission around a central black hole 3 . Here we report images of M87 obtained in 2018, at a wavelength of 3.5 mm, showing that the compact radio core is spatially resolved. High-resolution imaging shows a ring-like structure of $${8.4}_{-1.1}^{+0.5}$$ 8.4 − 1.1 + 0.5 Schwarzschild radii in diameter, approximately 50% larger than that seen at 1.3 mm. The outer edge at 3.5 mm is also larger than that at 1.3 mm. This larger and thicker ring indicates a substantial contribution from the accretion flow with absorption effects, in addition to the gravitationally lensed ring-like emission. The images show that the edge-brightened jet connects to the accretion flow of the black hole. Close to the black hole, the emission profile of the jet-launching region is wider than the expected profile of a black-hole-driven jet, suggesting the possible presence of a wind associated with the accretion flow. 

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4. Magnetization of Relativistic Current-carrying Jets with Radial Velocity Shear

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac634a  

   Król, Dominika Ł.; Stawarz, Łukasz; Begelman, Mitchell C.; Martí, José-María; Perucho, Manel; Petrenko, Bohdan A. (April 2022, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Astrophysical jets, launched from the immediate vicinity of accreting black holes, carry away large amounts of power in a form of bulk kinetic energy of jet particles and electromagnetic flux. Here we consider a simple analytical model for relativistic jets at larger distances from their launching sites, assuming a cylindrical axisymmetric geometry with a radial velocity shear, and purely toroidal magnetic field. We argue that as long as the jet plasma is in magnetohydrostatic equilibrium, such outflows tend to be particle dominated, i.e., the ratio of the electromagnetic to particle energy flux, integrated over the jet cross-sectional area, is typically below unity, σ < 1. At the same time, for particular magnetic and radial velocity profiles, magnetic pressure may still dominate over particle pressure for certain ranges of the jet radius, i.e., the local jet plasma parameter β pl < 1, and this may be relevant in the context of particle acceleration and production of high-energy emission in such systems. The jet magnetization parameter can be elevated up to the modest values of σ ≲  ( 10 ) only in the case of extreme gradients or discontinuities in the gaseous pressure, and a significantly suppressed velocity shear. Such configurations, which consist of a narrow, unmagnetized jet spine surrounded by an extended, force-free layer, may require an additional poloidal field component to stabilize them against current-driven oscillations, but even this will not substantially elevate their σ parameter. 

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5. SOLIS: XVI. Mass ejection and time variability in protostellar outflows: Cep E

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202142931  

   de A. Schutzer, A.; Rivera-Ortiz, P. R.; Lefloch, B.; Gusdorf, A.; Favre, C.; Segura-Cox, D.; López-Sepulcre, A.; Neri, R.; Ospina-Zamudio, J.; De Simone, M.; et al (June 2022, Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Context. Protostellar jets are an important agent of star formation feedback, tightly connected with the mass-accretion process. The history of jet formation and mass ejection provides constraints on the mass accretion history and on the nature of the driving source. Aims. We characterize the time-variability of the mass-ejection phenomena at work in the class 0 protostellar phase in order to better understand the dynamics of the outflowing gas and bring more constraints on the origin of the jet chemical composition and the mass-accretion history. Methods. Using the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) interferometer, we have observed the emission of the CO 2–1 and SO N J = 5 4 –4 3 rotational transitions at an angular resolution of 1.0″ (820 au) and 0.4″ (330 au), respectively, toward the intermediate-mass class 0 protostellar system Cep E. Results. The CO high-velocity jet emission reveals a central component of ≤400 au diameter associated with high-velocity molecular knots that is also detected in SO, surrounded by a collimated layer of entrained gas. The gas layer appears to be accelerated along the main axis over a length scale δ 0 ~ 700 au, while its diameter gradually increases up to several 1000 au at 2000 au from the protostar. The jet is fragmented into 18 knots of mass ~10 −3 M ⊙ , unevenly distributed between the northern and southern lobes, with velocity variations up to 15 km s −1 close to the protostar. This is well below the jet terminal velocities in the northern (+ 65 km s −1 ) and southern (−125 km s −1 ) lobes. The knot interval distribution is approximately bimodal on a timescale of ~50–80 yr, which is close to the jet-driving protostar Cep E-A and ~150–20 yr at larger distances >12″. The mass-loss rates derived from knot masses are steady overall, with values of 2.7 × 10 −5 M ⊙ yr −1 and 8.9 × 10 −6 M ⊙ yr −1 in the northern and southern lobe, respectively. Conclusions. The interaction of the ambient protostellar material with high-velocity knots drives the formation of a molecular layer around the jet. This accounts for the higher mass-loss rate in the northern lobe. The jet dynamics are well accounted for by a simple precession model with a period of 2000 yr and a mass-ejection period of 55 yr. 

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