We investigate the generation of intrinsically asymmetric or one-sided outflows or jets from disk accretion onto rotating stars with complex magnetic fields using axisymmetric ( 2.5D ) magnetohydrodynamic simulations .
The intrinsic magnetic field of the star is assumed to consist of a superposition of an aligned dipole and an aligned quadrupole in different proportions .
The star is assumed to be rapidly rotating in the sense that the star ’ s magnetosphere is in the propeller regime where strong outflows occur .
Our simulations show that for conditions where there is a significant quadrupole component in addition to the dipole component , then a dominantly one-sided conical wind tends to form on the side of the equatorial plane with the larger value of the intrinsic axial magnetic field at a given distance .
For cases where the quadrupole component is absent or very small , we find that dominantly one-sided outflows also form , but the direction of the flow “ flip-flops ” between upward and downward on a time-scale of \sim 30 days for a protostar .
The average outflow will thus be symmetrical .
In the case of a pure quadrupole field we find symmetric outflows in the upward and downward directions .