The launching condition of a jet driven by the magnetic field and radiation pressure of an accretion disc

Abstract

We find that the cold gas can be magnetically launched from the disc surface with the help of the radiation pressure if the angular velocity of the radiation pressure dominated accretion disc is greater than a critical value, which decreases with increasing the disc thickness H/R (radiation pressure). This indicates the force exerted by the radiation from the disc indeed helps launching the outflow. The rotational velocity of the gas in the disc depends on the strength of the magnetic field threading the disc and the inclination B_z/B_r of the field line at the disc surface. The launching condition for the cold gas at the disc surface sets an upper limit on the magnetic field strength, which is a function of the field line inclination B_z/B_r and the disc thickness H/R. This implies a more strict constraint on the maximal jet power can be extracted from a radiation pressure dominated accretion disc than that derived conventionally on the equipartition assumption.