We present the results of axisymmetric simulations of MRI-driven accretion onto a rapidly rotating, magnetized star accreting in the propeller regime. The stellar magnetosphere corotates with the star, forming a centrifugal barrier at the disc-magnetosphere boundary which inhibits matter accretion onto the star. Instead, the disc matter accumulates at the disc-magnetosphere interface and slowly diffuses into the inner magnetosphere where it picks up angular momentum and is quickly ejected from the system as an outflow. Due to the interaction of the matter with the magnetosphere, this wind is discontinuous and is launched as discrete plasmoids. If the ejection rate is lower than the disc accretion rate, the matter accumulates at the disc-magnetosphere boundary faster than it can be ejected. In this case, accretion onto the star proceeds through the episodic accretion instability in which episodes of matter accumulation are followed by simultaneous accretion and ejection. During the accretion phase of this instability in which matter flows onto the star in funnel streams, we observe a corresponding rise in the outflow rate. Both the accretion and ejection processes observed in our simulations are highly non-stationary. The stars undergo strong spin-down due to the coupling of the stellar field with the disc and corona and we measure the spin-down timescales of around 1 Myr for a typical CTTS in the propeller regime.

We use axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic simulations to investigate the launching and collimation of jets emerging from the disc–magnetosphere boundary of accreting magnetized stars. Our analysis shows that the matter flows into the jet from the inner edge of the accretion disc. It is magnetically accelerated along field lines extending up from the disc and simultaneously collimated by the magnetic pinch force. In the reference run which we use for analysis, the matter in the jet crosses the Alfvén surface a few R* above the disc and the fast magnetosonic surface ∼13R* above the disc. At larger distances, the magnetic pressure is a few times smaller than the total matter pressure, but the magnetic force continues to accelerate and collimate the jet. In steady state, we observe a matter ejection‐to‐accretion ratio of ∼0.2. Across different simulation runs, we measure a range of half‐opening angles between Θ≈ 4° and 20° at the top of the simulation region, depending on the degree of magnetization in the outflow. We consider the case of stars undergoing epochs of high accretion [such as EX Lupi (EXors), FU Orionis (FUORs) and Classical T Tauri Stars (CTTSs)] where the stellar magnetosphere is strongly compressed by the incoming accretion disc. For a typical EXor (mass 0.8 M⊙, radius 2 R⊙) accreting at ∼10−5 M⊙ yr−1, we measure poloidal velocities in the jet ranging from 30 km s−1 on the outer edge of the jet to more than 260 km s−1 on the inner edge. In general, the models can be applied to a variety of magnetized stars – white dwarfs, neutron stars and brown dwarfs – which exhibit periods of high accretion.

Inward migration of low-mass planets and embryos of giant planets can be stopped at the disc-cavity boundaries due to co-orbital corotation torque. We performed the first global three-dimensional (3D) simulations of planet migration at the disc-cavity boundary, and have shown that the boundary is a robust trap for low-mass planets and embryos. A protoplanetary disc may have several such trapping regions at various distances from the star, such as at the edge of the stellar magnetosphere, the inner edge of the dead zone, the dust-sublimation radius and the snow lines. Corotation traps located at different distances from a star, and moving outward during the disc dispersal phase, may possibly explain the observed homogeneous distribution of lowmass planets with distance from their host stars.

Observations of jets from young stellar objects reveal the asymmetric outflows from some sources. A large set of 2.5D MHD simulations has been carried out for axisymmetric viscous/diffusive disc accretion to rotating magnetized stars for the purpose of assessing the conditions where the outflows or jets are asymmetric relative to the equatorial plane. We consider initial magnetic fields that are symmetric about the equatorial plane and consist of a radially distributed field threading the disc (disc-field) and a stellar dipole field. (1). For pure disc-fields the symmetry or asymmetry of the outflows is affected by the midplane plasma β of the disc (where β is the ratio of the plasma pressure to the magnetic pressure). For the low density discs with small plasma β values, outflows are observed to be symmetric to within 10% over timescales of hundreds of inner disc orbits. For the denser higher β discs, the coupling of the upper and lower coronal plasmas is broken, and quasi-periodic field motion in the two hemispheres becomes different. This asymmetry leads to asymmetric episodic outflows. (2.) Accreting stars with a stellar dipole field and no disc-field exhibit episodic, two component outflows -a magnetospheric wind and an inner disc wind from somewhat larger radial distances. Both are characterized by similar velocity profiles but the magnetospheric wind has densities 10 times that of the disc wind. (3.)Adding a disc-field parallel to the stellar dipole field acts to enhance the magnetospheric winds but suppress the disc wind. (4.) In contrast, adding a disc-field which is anti-parallel to the stellar dipole field in the disc acts to suppress the magnetospheric and disc winds. Our simulations reproduce some key features of observations of asymmetric outflows of T Tauri stars.

A brief review of the origin of jets from disc-accreting rotating magnetized stars is given. In most models, the interior of the disc is characterized by a turbulent viscosity and magnetic diffusivity ('alpha' discs) whereas the coronal region outside the disc is treated using ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Extensive MHD simulations have established the occurrence of long-lasting outflows in the case of both slowly and rapidly rotating stars. (1) Slowly rotating stars exhibit a new type of outflow, conical winds. Conical winds are generated when stellar magnetic flux is bunched up by the inward motion of the accretion disc. Near their region of origin, the winds have a thin conical shell shape with half opening angle of ∼30• . At large distances, their toroidal magnetic field collimates the outflow forming current carrying, matter dominated jets. These winds are predominantly magnetically and not centrifugally driven. About 10-30% of the disc matter from the inner disc is launched in the conical wind. Conical winds may be responsible for episodic as well as long lasting outflows in different types of stars. (2) Rapidly rotating stars in the 'propeller regime' exhibit twocomponent outflows. One component is similar to the matter dominated conical wind, where a large fraction of the disc matter may be ejected in this regime. The second component is a high-velocity, low-density magnetically dominated axial jet where matter flows along the open polar field lines of the star. The axial jet has a mass flux of about 10% that of the conical wind, but its energy flux, due to the Poynting flux, can be as large as for the conical wind. The jet's magnetically dominated angular momentum flux causes the star to spin down rapidly. Propeller-driven outflows may be responsible for protostellar jets and their rapid spin-down.When the artificial requirement of symmetry about the equatorial plane is dropped, the conical winds are found to come alternately from one side of the disc and then the other, even for the case where the stellar magnetic field is a centered axisymmetric dipole.Recent MHD simulations of disc accretion to rotating stars in the propeller regime have been done with no turbulent viscosity and no diffusivity. The strong turbulence observed is due to the magneto-rotational instability. This turbulence drives accretion in the disc and leads to episodic conical winds and jets.