Charged tori in spherical gravitational and dipolar magnetic fields

Abstract: A Newtonian model of non-conductive, charged, perfect fluid tori orbiting in combined spherical gravitational and dipolar magnetic fields is presented and stationary, axisymmetric toroidal structures are analyzed. Matter in such tori exhibits a purely circulatory motion and the resulting convection carries charges into permanent rotation around the symmetry axis. As a main result, we demonstrate the possible existence of off-equatorial charged tori and equatorial tori with cusps enabling outflows of matter from the torus also in the Newtonian regime. These phenomena represent qualitatively a new consequence of the interplay between gravity and electromagnetism. From an astrophysical point of view, our investigation can provide insight into processes that determine the vertical structure of dusty tori surrounding accretion disks.