Image Details
Caption: Figure 4.
Snapshots of gas density ρ and plasma β = (pt + pr)/pB in runs HS and NS. The outer disk is magnetically dominated with disordered poloidal fields, whereas the inner disk has comparable magnetic and radiation energy densities, negligible thermal energy, and a highly structured poloidal magnetic field. Inset panels have width 100 rg. (a)–(b) Contours of ρ. We also show axisymmetrized mass flux streamlines (ρui, white), which show outflows at high latitudes in both runs. (c)–(d) Contours of plasma β. While β ≈ 10−1 at ≈500–1000 rg, it reaches unity ≲200 rg (where radiation pressure is much larger than thermal). The BH in HS powers magnetized R. D. Blandford & R. L. Znajek (1977) jets where β < 1. We also show contours of ﹩\sqrt{| {{\rm{\Phi }}}_{{\rm{P}}}| }﹩ (Equation (4), black). In both runs, the magnetic field develops a single, large-scale polarity (solid lines) closer to the BH but features structures of opposite polarity (dashed lines) in the southern hemisphere at larger radii.
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.