The Nonlinear Ohm's Law: Plasma Heating by Strong Electric Fields and its Effects on the Ionization Balance in Protoplanetary Disks

Abstract: The ionization state of the gas plays a key role in the MHD of protoplanetary disks. However, the ionization state can depend on the gas dynamics, because electric fields induced by MHD turbulence can heat up plasmas and thereby affect the ionization balance. To study this nonlinear feedback, we construct an ionization model that includes plasma heating by electric fields and impact ionization by heated electrons, as well as charging of dust grains. We show that when plasma sticking onto grains is the dominant recombination process, the electron abundance in the gas decreases with increasing electric field strength. This is a natural consequence of electron-grain collisions whose frequency increases with electron's random velocity. The decreasing electron abundance may lead to a self-regulation of MHD turbulence. In some cases, not only the electron abundance but also the electric current decreases with increasing field strength in a certain field range. The resulting N-shaped current--field relation violates the fundamental assumption of the non-relativistic MHD that the electric field is uniquely determined by the current density. At even higher field strengths, impact ionization causes an abrupt increase of the electric current as expected by previous studies. We find that this discharge current is multi-valued (i.e., the current--field relation is S-shaped) under some circumstances, and that the intermediate branch is unstable. The N/S-shaped current--field relations may yield hysteresis in the evolution of MHD turbulence in some parts of protoplanetary disks.