Nonradial and nonpolytropic astrophysical outflows

XI. Simulations of the circumstellar environment of RY Tauri

¹ Laboratoire Univers et Théories, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 92190 Meudon, France
e-mail: christophe.sauty@obspm.fr
² Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier/CNRS, Place E. Bataillon, cc072, 34095 Montpellier, France
³ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
⁴ Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal

Received: 16 September 2021
Accepted: 13 June 2022

Abstract

Context. Recent observational evidence has shown that RY Tau may present two different outflow stages, a quiescent and a more active stage. We try to model this phenomenon.

Aims. We have performed new 2.5D magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the possible accretion-outflow environment of RY Tau based on analytical solutions with the aim to reduce the relaxation time.

Methods. We used the analytical self-similar solution that we used to model the RY Tau microjet as initial conditions. In the closed field line region of the magnetosphere, we reversed the direction of the flow and increased the accretion rate by increasing the density and velocity. We also implemented the heating rate and adjusted it according to the velocity of the flow. The accretion disk was treated as a boundary condition.

Results. The simulations show that the stellar jet and the accreting magnetosphere attain a steady state in only a few stellar rotations. This confirms the robustness and stability of self-similar solutions. Additionally, two types of behavior were observed that are similar to the behavior observed in RY Tau. Either the steady stellar outflow and magnetospheric inflow are separated by a low static force-free region or the interaction between the stellar jet and the magnetospheric accretion creates episodic coronal mass ejections that originate from the disk and bounce back onto the star.

Conclusions. The ratio of mass-loss rate to mass-accretion rate that coincides with the change in behavior observed in RY Tau lies within the range of ratios that have been measured during the period in which the initial microjet was analyzed.