Dynamics on the Edge: Star-Disk Interaction

Abstract

Our understanding of the dynamical processes which control the structure and evolution of the interaction region between an accretion disk and the central star is reviewed. If the central star is unmagnetized, this interaction is in the form of a classical boundary layer. However, if the central star is strongly magnetized, it is expected that the inner disk is truncated by the stellar field, and the accretion flow follows the stellar field lines to the magnetic poles. Several outstanding questions remain regarding this picture. It is likely that numerical MHD simulations will prove essential to answering these questions. However, in order to model the MHD turbulence, angular momentum transport, and possible dynamo action associated with the dynamics of star-disk interaction, fully three-dimensional simulations spanning long dynamical times are required.