MHD Jets, Flares, and Gamma Ray Bursts

Abstract

Recent numerical simulations of MHD jets from accretion disks are briefly reviewed with emphasis on the scaling law for jet speed and the role of magnetic reconnection in relation to time variability in accretion disks, jets, and flares. On the basis of these studies, possible interpretation is given on why statistical properties of peak intensity, peak interval, and peak duration of gamma ray bursts (log-normal distribution) are different from those in solar flares and black hole accretion disks (power-law distribution). From these considerations, a new model, ``magnetized plasmoid model'', is proposed for a central engine of gamma ray bursts. (see http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~shibata/grb_final/grb.pdf for pdf files including both text and figures)