Turbulent transport and its effect on the dead zone in protoplanetary discs

Context. Protostellar accretion discs have cool, dense midplanes where externally originating ionisation sources such as X-rays or cosmic rays are unable to penetrate. This suggests that for a wide range of radii, MHD turbulence can only be sustained in the surface layers where the ionisation fraction is sufficiently high. A dead zone is expected to exist near the midplane, such that active accretion only occurs near the upper and lower disc surfaces. Recent work, however, suggests that under suitable conditions the dead zone may be enlivened by turbulent transport of ions from the surface layers into the dense interior.