Magnetized Astrophysical Flows

This thesis combines two studies of astrophysical flows in which magnetic fields play a dominant role. The first concerns outflows from compact objects in which plasma is accelerated to highly relativistic speeds by strong, ordered magnetic fields. We generalize the theory of relativistic, ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) outflows by including an intense radiation source as is likely to occur in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). This represents a hybrid of the traditional fireball and electromagnetic models of GRBs, which posit respectively that the acceleration is accomplished by thermal pressure or magnetic stresses. We find that acceleration is more efficient and occurs over a larger range of radii than in a pure Poynting jet. We also uncover a distinct observational signature in the emitted spectrum when the Poynting flux exceeds the radiation energy flux due to the Compton up-scattering of photons within the relativistic flow. We then turn to study the accretion of magnetized protoplanetary disks (PPDs) in which the assumptions of ideal MHD begin to break down due to the low level of ionization. We develop a novel model that prescribes the profiles of the magnetic field and mass flux in PPDs by tying them to the field of a magnetized, radial protostellar wind. We find that the inner disk is more strongly magnetized and thus supports a higher accretion rate by both large scale stresses and turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI). This leads to an inside-out clearing of the inner disk that stalls at a low column density when particles are lofted from the midplane to higher altitudes where they suppress MRI turbulence. We calculate the long-term evolution of such a disk and show that the migration of planets is significantly slowed (or reversed), perhaps alleviating one of the central problems concerning the formation of planetary systems.Ph.D