Evolution of self-gravitating magnetized tori in axisymmetric simulations

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  • 30 October 2003
Abstract
We study the evolution of self-gravitating, but stable, tori under the influence of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) by means of 2D MHD numerical simulations performed with Zeus-2D. We find the behaviour of the MRI to be similar in a self-gravitating disk and in a zero mass disk: the linear growth is followed by a turbulent phase during which angular momentum is transported outward. Self-gravitating tori quickly develop a dual structure composed of an inner thin keplerian disk fed by a thicker self-gravitating disk. When compared with zero mass tori simulations, we find the self-gravitating potential to smooth the effect of the MRI: the final state shows a much more coherent structure than what is obtained in non self-gravitating runs. We discuss the expected changes that will occur in 3D simulations.

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