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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Effect of radiation forces on disk accretion by weakly magnetic neutron stars

Radiation forces are shown to be more important than general relativistic corrections to Newtonian gravitational forces in determining the motion of particles accreting onto a slowly rotating neutron star if the luminosity of the star is greater than about 1 percent of the Eddington critical luminosity (ECL). This is so even if the radius of the star is less than the radius of the innermost stable orbit. In particular, radiation drag causes matter accreting from a disk to lose angular momentum and spiral inward. At luminosities greater than about 0.2 ECL, a substantial fraction of the accreting matter can transfer most of its angular momentum and gravitational binding energy to the radiation field before reaching the stellar surface. These results have important implications for the X-ray spectra, time variability, and spin evolution of neutron stars with very weak magnetic fields and the prospects for detecting general relativistic effects near such stars.

Miller, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The nonaxisymmetric baroclinic instability in thin accretion disks

The instability of linear, nonaxisymmetric baroclinic waves in the radiative regions of a thin accretion disk is investigated with simplifying assumptions used in the representation of the structure of the basic state. As in stars with rotation laws deviating from rotation on cylinders, the departure from barotropy ('baroclinicity') resulting from such rotation feeds potential energy from the basic state into the kinetic energy of the baroclinic motions. The baroclinic instability is considered as a possible mechanism for driving turbulence in disks. Estimations of the Reynolds stress from baroclinic waves indicate that the degree of baroclinicity in stationary disk models is insufficient to account for the large viscosity inferred from observations of, e.g., cataclysmic variables.

Cabot, W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Is the Oort A-value a universal growth rate limit for accretion disk shear instabilities?

A weak-field local MHD instability that is of importance to accretion disks is examined. The maximum growth rate of the instability is found to be not only independent of the magnetic field strength but independent of field geometry as well. In particular, all Keplerian disks are unstable in the presence of any weak poloidal field, with the ratio of the maximum growth rate to disk angular velocity given by 3/4. The maximum growth rate of any weak field configuration that is not purely toroidal is given by the local Oort A-value of the disk. The behavior is studied by using a form of the dynamical Hill equations. It is conjectured that the Oort A-value is an upper bound to the growth rate of any instability feeding upon the free energy of differential rotation.

Balbus, Steven A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Theory of protostellar accretion disks

I will present an overview of the current paradigm for the theory of gaseous accretion disks around young stars. Protostellar disks form from the collapse of rotating molecular cloud cores. The disks evolve via outward angular momentum transport provided by several mechanisms: gravitational instabilities, thermal convective turbulence, and magnetic stresses. I will review the conditions under which these mechanisms are efficient and consistent with the observed disk evolutionary timescales of several million years. Time permitting, I will discuss outbursts in protostellar disks (FU Orionis variables), the effect of planet formation on disk structure, and the dispersal of remnant gas.

Ruden, S.↗
NASA NTRS2011

AGN Unification, X-Ray Absorbers and Accretion Disk MHD Winds

We present the 2D photoionization structure of the MHD winds of AGN accretion disks. We focus our attention on a specific subset of winds, those with poloidal currents that lead to density profiles n(r) \propto 1/r. We employ the code XSTAR to compute the local ionization balance, emissivities and opacity which are then used in the self-consistent transfer of radiation and ionization of a host of ionic species of a large number of elements over then entire poloidal plane. Particular attention is paid to the Absorption Measure Distribution (AMD), namely their hydrogen-equivalent column of these ions per logarithmic 7 interval, dN_H/dlog ? (? = L/n(r)r(sup 2) is the ionization parameter), which provides a measure of the winds' radial density profiles. For the given density profile, AMD is found to be independent of ?, in good agreement with analyses of Chandra and XMM data, suggesting the specific profile as a fundamental AGN property. Furthermore, the ratio of equatorial to polar column densities of these winds is \simeq 10(exp 4); as such, it is shown they serve as the "torus" necessary for AGN unification with phenomenology consistent with the observations. The same winds are also shown to reproduce the observed columns and velocities of C IV and Fe XXV of SAL QSOs once the proper ionizing spectra and inclination angles are employed.

Kazanas, Demos↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hot accretion disks with pairs: Effects of magnetic field and thermal cyclocsynchrotron radiation

We show the effects of thermal cyclosynchrotron radiation and magnetic viscosity on the structure of hot, two-temperature accretion disks. Magnetic field, B, is assumed to be randomly oriented and the ratio of magnetic pressure to either gas pressure, alpha = P(sub mag)/P(sub gas), or the sum of the gas and radiation pressures, alpha = (P(sub mag)/P(sub gas) + P(sub rad)), is fixed. We find those effects do not change the qualitative properties of the disks, i.e., there are still two critical accretion rates related to production of e(sup +/-) pairs, (M dot)((sup U)(sub cr)) and (M dot)((sup L)(sub cr)), that affect the number of local and global disk solutions, as recently found by Bjoernsson and Svensson for the case with B = 0. However, a critical value of the alpha-viscosity parameter above which those critical accretion rates disappear becomes smaller than alpha(sub cr) = 1 found in the case of B = 0, for P(sub mag) = alpha(P(sub gas) + P(sub rad)). If P(sub mag) = alpha P(sub gas), on the other hand, alpha(sub cr) is still about unity. Moreover, when Comptonized cyclosynchrotron radiation dominates Comptonized bremsstrahlung, radiation from the disk obeys a power law with the energy spectral index of approximately 0.5, in a qualitative agreement with X-ray observations of active galactic nuclei (AGNS) and Galactic black hole candidates. We also extend the hot disk solutions for P(sub mag) = alpha(P(sub gas) + P(sub rad)) to the effectively optically thick region, where they merge with the standard cold disk solutions. We find that the mapping method by Bjoernsson and Svensson gives a good approximation to the disk structure in the hot region and show where it breaks in the transition region. Finally, we find a region in the disk parameter space with no solutions due to the inability of Coulomb heating to supply enough energy to electrons.

Kusunose, Masaaki↗
NASA NTRS2002

Evolution of Pre-Main Sequence Accretion Disks

The aim of this project is to develop a comprehensive global picture of the physical conditions in, and evolutionary timescales of, pre-main sequence accretion disks. The results of this work will help constrain the initial conditions for planet formation. To this end we plan to: (1) Develop much larger samples of 3-10 Myr-old stars to provide better empirical constraints on protoplanetary disk evolution; (2) Study the dusty emission and accretion rates in these systems, with ages closer to the expected epoch of (giant) planet formation at 3-10 Myr; and (3) Develop detailed model disk structures consistent with observations to infer physical conditions in protoplanetary disks and to constrain possible grain growth as the first stage of planetesimal formation.

Hartmann, Lee W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Nonlinear evolution of tidally distorted accretion disks: Two-dimensional simulations

According to a previously published linear analysis, the tidal distortion of accretion disks in binary star systems produces a local hydrodynamic instability to m = 1 internal waves, which may have arbitrarily small wavelengths in the absence of viscosity. The instability is three-dimensional and approximately incrompressible. To explore the nonlinear outcome of this instability, we develop a shearing-sheet approximation on scales comparable to the disk thickness. The large-scale azimuthal variation of the disk is represented by varying the local metric with time (local orbital phase). The hydrodynamic equations can then be posed two-dimensionally on local meridional planes. We solve these equations with a second-order gasdynamical code based on the Total-Variation-Diminishing scheme. Our simulations confirm the predicted linear growth rate. The modes saturate chaotically at velocities scaling as the product of the linear growth rate and the wavelength. If the wavelength is small compared with the disk thickness, the modes remain nearly incompressible even when nonlinear. The two-dimensional power spectrum of velocities after saturation is roughly isotropic and extends over a broad range of scales in an approximately power-law fashion. We measure the heating rate associated with the nonlinear dissipation of the modes. The dissipation implies a secular torque on the disk and a return of angular momentum to the secondary star via the tidal potential. The estimated torque is somewhat larger than the tidal torque produced by maximal disk viscosity (alpha approximately 1). At least in these two-dimensional simulations, however, there is no significant angular momentum flux within the disk.

Ryu, Dongsu↗
NASA NTRS1997

Polarization of Line Emission from an Accretion Disk and Application to ARP 102B

We model the polarization properties of line emission from an accretion disk under a range of assumptions about the source function and electron-scattering optical depth tau(sub es). For small values of tau(sub es) and modest viewing angles, polarization can be in excess of the Chandrasekhar result for tau(sub es) = infinity. The polarization vector can be either parallel or perpendicular to the projected direction of the disk axis. The polarization properties of the double-peaked H-alpha emission line of the broad-line radio galaxy Arp 102B observed by Antonucci, Hurt, and Agol can be understood in terms of electron scattering and line broadening within the line-emitting region if tau(sub es) is of order unity, and if the position angle of polarization is parallel to the projected disk axis. The required small tau(sub es) is consistent with the hypothesis that the Balmer lines in Arp 102B are produced by photoionization of the disk atmosphere.

Chen, Kaiyou↗
NASA NTRS1997

Line Emission from an Accretion Disk Around a Rotating Black Hole: Toward a Measurement of Frame Dragging

Line emission from an accretion disk and a corotating hot spot about a rotating black hole are considered for possible signatures of the frame-dragging effect. We explicitly compare integrated line profiles from a geometrically thin disk about a Schwarzschild and an extreme Kerr black hole, and show that the line profile differences are small if the inner radius of the disk is near or above the Schwarzschild stable-orbit limit of radius 6GM/sq c. However, if the inner disk radius extends below this limit, as is Possible in the extreme Kerr spacetime, then differences can become significant, especially if the disk emissivity is stronger near the inner regions. We demonstrate that the first three moments of a line profile define a three-dimensional space in which the presence of material at small radii becomes quantitatively evident in broad classes of disk models. In the context of the simple, thin disk paradigm, this moment-mapping scheme suggests formally that the iron line detected by the Advanced Satellite,for Cosmology and Astrophysics mission from MCG --6-30-15 (Tanaka et al.) is approximately 3 times more likely to originate from a disk about a rotating black hole than from a Schwarzschild system. A statistically significant detection of black hole rotation in this way may be achieved after only modest improvements in the quality of data. We also consider light curves and frequency shifts in line emission as a function of time for corotating hot spots in extreme Kerr and Schwarzschild geometries. The frequency-shift profile is a valuable measure of orbital parameters and might possibly be used to detect frame dragging even at radii approaching 6GM/sq c if the inclination angle of the orbital plane is large. The light curve from a hot spot shows differences as well, although these too are pronounced only at large inclination angles.

Bromley, Benjamin C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Black hole accretion disks - Coronal stabilization of the Lightman-Eardley instability

Physical processes by which the presence of a corona around a black hole can raise the threshold of onset of the Lightman-Eardley (L-E, 1976) instability are explored analytically. The L-E model predicts that an optically thick disk becomes unstable when the disk radiation pressure exceeds the disk gas pressure. The model has important implications for the validity of either the coronal disk or two-temperature disk models for accretion zones around black holes. It is shown that a corona can dissipate accreting gravitational energy through radiative cooling. Specific ratios of hard/soft X-rays are quantified for stable and unstable conditions. X-ray spectra from Cyg X-1 are cited as residing below the instability threshold value and thus are supportive of the coronal disk model.

Ionson, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Line-driven winds from accretion disks. I - Effects of the ionization structure

The basic characteristics of line-driven winds from UV accretion disks were investigated analytically and numerically. Stellar winds have been compared with the outflow from a disk surrounding a supermassive black hole. It is found that in the approximation of vertically streaming radiation close to the disk photosphere, the existence of steady disk winds depends crucially on their ionization structure, a basic difference when compared to the stellar winds. The necessary criteria for the line radiation force to support the disk wind are presented and discussed.

Vitello, Peter A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Accretion disk thermal instability in galactic nuclei

The nonlinear evolution and spatial propagation of the thermal instability in accretion disks in galactic nuclei are investigated. Integrations of the vertical structure of the disks are described for different alpha prescriptions, and the thermal stability is examined. Global time-dependent calculations of the unstable disks are performed which show that there are two distinct types of behavior according to the assumed prescription for the viscosity parameter: the 'purr' type and the 'roar' type. The roar type is analyzed in some detail.

Mineshige, S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Thermal continua of AGN accretion disks

We have computed the thermal continuum energy distribution of thermal radiation from the atmospheres of supermassive accretion disks around supermassive black holes. Non-LTE radiative transfer is combined with a model of the vertical structure at each radius appropriate to the low effective gravities of these disks. Locally, the Lyman edge of H can be in emission or absorption. When the emission is summed over the disk with Doppler and gravitational redshifts taken into account, the observed continuum typically shows little sign of a discontinuity near the Lyman edge. For relatively cool disks, the Lyman edge is in absorption, but it appears as a slope change extending over several hundred angstroms, rather than an abrupt discontinuity. Disks around Kerr black holes can explain the observed range of soft X-ray luminosities of AGN, but disks around Schwarzschild holes are much too faint in soft X-rays.

Shields, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Neutron viscosity in accretion disks

Neutron viscosity is investigated as a possible mechanism for the dissipation of kinetic energy into luminosity in the innermost parts of accretion disks around compact objects. Simplified models are presented of the self-consistent, steady-state accretion flows in which viscosity is provided by neutron collisions with accreting ions. Ion temperatures are determined by balancing the heating of ions by viscous dissipation to their cooling by Coulomb collisions with the electrons, providing a self-consistent solution between neutron production and their impact on energy dissipation. The results indicate that neutrons can indeed provide the necessary dissipation to sustain the steady-state accretion of matter at rates of about 10 to the -8th solar mass/yr or less, and electron temperatures of about 100 keV-1 MeV. Neutrons thus present a promising way of modeling bright Galactic X-ray sources.

Guessoum, Nidhal↗
NASA NTRS1988

Thermal limit cycles in supermassive accretion disks

Interpretations of the quasi-periodic outbursts of dwarf novae in terms of a thermal-viscous limit cycle mechanism operating in the accretion disk are discussed. Numerical solutions to vertical equilibrium equations are used to show that the limit cycle mechanism should occur in supermassive disks. The mechanism acts as a gate that modulates the rate of accretion reaching small radii, where most of the luminosity is produced. Formulas are derived for the period and outburst luminosity in terms of the black hole mass and the radius at which the unstable zone occurs.

Shields, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

EUV energy distributions of accretion disks in active galactic nuclei

We have calculated UV/EUV (300 A less than or = lambda less than or = 1500 A) continuous energy distributions of accretion disks in the centers of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) for disk luminosities in the range 0.1 L(sub Edd) and central masses ranging from 10(exp 8) solar mass to 10(exp 10) solar mass. The vertical gas pressure structure of the disk is obtained analytically, the temperature stratification and the resulting continuum radiation fields are calculated numerically. We show that weak Lyman edges are an intrinsic feature of such disks. The strength of the H I Lyman edge decreases for increasing accretion rate and fixed mass of the central black hole. It increases for increasing central mass and fixed luminosity in terms of the Eddington luminosity.

Storzer, H.↗