Exploring the feedback of asymmetric jets on the orbital motions in protoplanetary disks

Protoplanetary disks are often associated with powerful bipolar jets. In most cases the two jet lobes carry a different amount of linear momentum. We investigate the dynamical feedback of such an asymmetric jet on its launch region in the disk. We adopt a Hamiltonian formulation and solve for the departures from the initial Keplerian orbits with a symplectic integrator. The back-reaction effect produces a shift in the position of the orbits toward the weaker jet lobe, deforming the shape of the inner disk. The loci of the orbits oscillate quasiperiodically, alternating radial and vertical displacements. The amplitude is a small fraction of the disk thickness, and is proportional to the momentum imbalance. Such motions can contribute to the onset of turbulence, and to the mixing of molecular material.