The Importance of Ambipolar Heating in the Standard Thin Accretion Disk with Outflows

Abstract

This study examines the importance of the thermal effects of ambipolar diffusion (AD), by analyzing the governing properties in the middle and outer regions of a standard thin accretion disk with outflows. To accomplish this, we derive the nonideal magnetohydrodynamic equations, considering both the dynamical and thermal impacts of AD in these regions of the disk. In a stationary state, we utilize the self-similar technique to analyze the vertical structure of a disk with outflows and express the ambipolar diffusivity in terms of the Alfvén velocity and the Elsässer number. Our main focus is on the vertical temperature profile at large radii of the disk when the values of the Elsässer number are small. While the findings indicate that AD heating has minimal effects within the disk, it does play a critical role near the disk surface. When the Elsässer number is low, there is a notable rate of outflows and disk evaporation, resulting in angular momentum transport in these regions. This issue becomes important when we decrease the value of turbulent viscosity, as it leads to highlighting the AD heating effect. This allows the surface regions to become hotter and results in an increase in the drive of the outflows. The results of this research may be important for studying disk coronae and disk dispersal in the middle and outer regions of the thin accretion disk.