Poster abstract details

MHD Simulation of Magnetic Channeling and Spindown in Rotating Hot-Star Winds
Asif ud-Doula, Stanley Owocki and Richard Townsend

Abstract

Based on MHD simulation study of magnetic channeling in radiatively driven stellar winds, we examine here the dynamical effects of stellar
rotation in the 2-D axisymmetric case of an aligned dipole surface field. We characterize the stellar rotation in terms of a parameter W(=Vrot/Vorb) (the ratio of the equatorial surface rotation speed to orbital speed). We find that rotation effects are weak for models with Alfven radius (RA) smaller than the Kepler co-rotation radius (RK), RA < RK, but can be substantial and even dominant for models with RA > RK. In particular, by extending our simulations to very strong magnetic confinement case, we find that these do indeed show clear formation of the rigid-body disk predicted in previous analytic models, with however a rather complex, dynamic behavior characterized by both episodes of downward infall and outward breakout that limit the buildup of disk mass. Overall, the results provide an intriguing glimpse into the complex interplay between rotation and magnetic confinement, and form the basis for a full MHD description of the rigid-body disks expected
in strongly magnetic Bp stars like Sigma Ori E.