Protoplanetary Disk Winds via Magnetorotational Instability: Formation of an Inner Hole and a Crucial Assist for Planet Formation

By constructing a global model based on three-dimensional local magnetohydrodynamical simulations, we show that the disk wind driven by magnetorotational instability (MRI) plays a significant role in the dispersal of the gas component of protoplanetary disks. Because the mass loss timescale of the MRI-driven disk winds is proportional to the local Keplerian rotation period, a gas disk dynamically evaporates from the inner region, possibly creating a gradually expanding inner hole, while a sizable amount of the gas remains in the outer region. The disk wind is highly time dependent with a quasi-periodicity of several times the Keplerian rotation period at each radius, which will be observed as the time variability of protostar-protoplanetary disk systems. These features persistently hold even if a dead zone exists because the disk winds are driven from the surface regions where ionizing cosmic rays and high energy photons can penetrate. Moreover, the predicted inside-out clearing significantly suppresses the infall of boulders to a central star and the type I migration of proto-planets, which are favorable for the formation and survival of planets.