A&A 416, 423-435 (2004)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20034089

A model for electromagnetic extraction of rotational energy and formation of accretion-powered jets in radio galaxies

A. Hujeirat

Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
(Received 17 July 2003 / Accepted 21 November 2003 )

Abstract
A self-similar solution for the 3D axi-symmetric radiative MHD equations is presented, which revisits the formation and acceleration of accretion-powered jets in AGNs and microquasars. The model relies primarily on electromagnetic extraction of rotational energy from the disk plasma and forming a geometrically thin super-Keplerian layer between the disk and the overlying corona. The outflowing plasma in this layer is dissipative, two-temperature, virial-hot, advective and electron-proton dominated. The innermost part of the disk in this model is turbulent-free, sub-Keplerian rotating and advective-dominated. This part ceases to radiate as a standard disk, and most of the accretion energy is converted into magnetic and kinetic energies that go into powering the jet. The corresponding luminosities of these turbulent-truncated disks are discussed. In the case of a spinning black hole accreting at low accretion rates, the Blandford-Znajek process is found to modify the total power of the jet, depending on the accretion rate.

Key words: galaxies: jets -- black hole physics -- accretion, accretion disks -- magnetohydrodynamics -- radiative transfer

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