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NASA NTRS2011

Locating the Accretion Footprint on a Herbig Ae Star: MWC 480

Accretion is a fundamental process which establishes the dynamics of the protoplanetary disk and the final properties of the forming star. In solar-type stars, the star-disk coupling is determined by the magnetic field structure, which is responsible for funneling material from the disk midplane to higher latitudes on the star. Here, we use pan-chromatic data for the Herbig Ae star MWC 480 to address whether similar processes occur in intermediate-mass stars. MWC 480 has X-ray emission typical of actively accreting Herbig Ae stars, but with 5-9 x more photoelectric absorption than expected from optical and FUV data. We consider 3 sources for the absorption: the disk absorption in a wind or jet, and accretion. While we detect the disk in scattered light in are-analysis of archival HST data. the data are consistent with grazing illumination of the dust disk. We find that MWC 480's disk is stratified, geometrically thin, and is not responsible for the observed photoelectric absorption. MWC 480 drives a bipolar jet, but with a mass loss rate which is low compared to other Herbig Ae stars, where the outflow is more favorably oriented and enhanced photoelectric absorption is not seen. This excludes a jet or wind origin for the enhanced photoelectric absorption. We compare MWC 480's 0 VI emission with other Herbig Ae stars. The distribution of the emission in inclination, and lack of a correlation of profile shape and system inclination excludes equatorially-confined accretion for the FUSE Herbig Ae stars. The photoelectric absorption data further suggest that the accretion footprint on MWC 480 and other Herbig Ae stars is located at high temperate, rather than polar, latitudes. These findings support the presence of funneled accretion in MWC 480 and Herbig Ae stars, strengthening the parallel to T Tauri stars.

Grady, C. A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

A Systems-Level Perspective on Engine Ice Accretion

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation sector. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. This work focuses on developing an accurate and reliable algorithm for detecting the accretion of ice in the low pressure compressor of a generic 40,000 lbf thrust class engine. The algorithm uses only the two shaft speed sensors and works regardless of engine age, operating condition, and power level. In a 10,000-case Monte Carlo simulation, the detection approach was found to have excellent capability at determining ice accretion from sensor noise with detection occurring when ice blocks an average of 6.8% of the low pressure compressor area. Finally, an initial study highlights a potential mitigation strategy that uses the existing engine actuators to raise the temperature in the low pressure compressor in an effort to reduce the rate at which ice accretes.

May, Ryan D.↗

NASA NTRS2013

An Approach to Detect and Mitigate Ice Particle Accretion in Aircraft Engine Compression Systems

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation sector. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. This work focuses on developing an accurate and reliable algorithm for detecting the accretion of ice in the low pressure compressor of a generic 40,000 lbf thrust class engine. The algorithm uses only the two shaft speed sensors and works regardless of engine age, operating condition, and power level. In a 10,000-case Monte Carlo simulation, the detection approach was found to have excellent capability at determining ice accretion from sensor noise with detection occurring when ice blocks an average of 6.8 percent of the low pressure compressor area. Finally, an initial study highlights a potential mitigation strategy that uses the existing engine actuators to raise the temperature in the low pressure compressor in an effort to reduce the rate at which ice accretes.

May, Ryan D.↗

NASA NTRS2013

An Approach to Detect and Mitigate Ice Particle Accretion in Aircraft Engine Compression Systems

May, Ryan D.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Implementation and Validation of 3-D Ice Accretion Measurement Methodology

A research program has been implemented to develop and validate the use of a commercial 3-D laser scanning system to record ice accretion geometry in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel. A main component of the program was the geometric assessment of the 3- D laser scanning system on a 2-D (straight wing) and a 3-D (swept wing) airfoil geometries. This exercise consisted of comparison of scanned ice accretion to castings of the same ice accretion. The scan data were also used to create rapid prototype artificial ice shapes that were scanned and compared to the original ice accretion. The results from geometric comparisons on the straight wing showed that the ice shape models generated through the scan/rapid prototype process compared reasonably well with the cast shapes. Similar results were obtained with the geometric comparisons on the swept wing. It was difficult to precisely compare the scans of the cast shapes to the original ice accretion scans because the cast shapes appear to have shrunk during the mold/casting process by as much as 0.10-inch. However the comparison of the local ice-shape features were possible and produced better results. The rapid prototype manufacturing process was shown to reproduce the original ice accretion scan normally within 0.01-inch.

Icing↗

NASA NTRS2019

Physical Models for Accreting Pulsars at High Luminosity

A new window for better understanding the accretion onto strongly magnetized neutron stars in X-ray binaries is opening. In these systems the accreted material follows the magnetic field lines as it approaches the neutron star, forming accretion columns above the magnetic poles. The plasma falls toward the neutron star surface at near-relativistic speeds, losing energy by emitting X-rays. The X-ray spectral continua are commonly described using phenomenological models, i.e., power laws with different types of curved cut-offs at higher energies. Here we consider high luminosity pulsars. In these systems the mass transfer rate is high enough that the accreting plasma is thought to be decelerated in a radiation-dominated radiative shock in the accretion columns. While the theory of the emission from such shocks had already been developed by 2007, a model for direct comparison with X-ray continuum spectra in xspec or isis has only recently become available. Here we analyze the broadband X-ray spectra of the accreting pulsars Centaurus X-3 and 4U1626-67 obtained withNuSTAR. We present results from traditional empirical modeling as well as successfully apply the radiation-dominated radiative shock model. We also fit the energy-dependent pulse profiles of 4U 1626-67 using a new relativistic light bending model.

Pottschmidt, Katja↗

NASA NTRS2020

Peter Pan Disks: Long-lived Accretion Disks Around Young M Stars

WISEA J080822.18–644357.3, an M star in the Carina association, exhibits extreme infrared excess and accretion activity at an age greater than the expected accretion disk lifetime. We consider J0808 as the prototypical example of a class of M star accretion disks at ages ≳20 Myr, which we call "Peter Pan" disks, because they apparently refuse to grow up. We present four new Peter Pan disk candidates identified via the Disk Detective citizen science project, coupled with Gaia astrometry. We find that WISEA J044634.16–262756.1 and WISEA J094900.65–713803.1 both exhibit significant infrared excess after accounting for nearby stars within the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) beams. The J0446 system has >95% likelihood of Columba membership. The J0949 system shows >95% likelihood of Carina membership. We present new Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph optical spectra of all four objects, showing possible accretion signatures on all four stars. We present ground-based and TESS light curves of J0808 and 2MASS J0501–4337, including a large flare and aperiodic dipping activity on J0808, and strong periodicity on J0501. We find Paβ and Brγ emission indicating ongoing accretion in near-IR spectroscopy of J0808. Using observed characteristics of these systems, we discuss mechanisms that lead to accretion disks at ages ≳20 Myr, and find that these objects most plausibly represent long-lived CO-poor primordial disks, or "hybrid" disks, exhibiting both debris and primordial-disk features. The question remains: why have gas-rich disks persisted so long around these particular stars?

Steven M. Silverberg↗

NASA NTRS2021

Rapid accretion state transitions following the tidal disruption event AT2018fyk

Following a tidal disruption event (TDE), the accretion rate can evolve from quiescent to near- Eddington levels and back over months{years timescales. This provides a unique opportunity to study the formation and evolution of the accretion flow around supermassive black holes (SMBHs). We present two years of multi-wavelength monitoring observations of the TDE AT2018fyk at X-ray, UV, optical and radio wavelengths. We identify three distinct accretion states and two state transitions between them. These appear remarkably similar to the behaviour of stellar-mass black holes in outburst. The X-ray spectral properties show a transition from a soft (thermal-dominated) to a hard (power-law dominated) spectral state around Lbol ~few x 10^(-2) LEdd, and the strengthening of the corona over time ~100-200 days after the UV/optical peak. Contemporaneously, the spectral energy distribution (in particular, the UV-to-X-ray spectral slope alphaox ) shows a pronounced softening as the outburst progresses. The X-ray timing properties also show a marked change, initially dominated by variability at long (>day) timescales while a high frequency (~10-3 Hz) component emerges after the transition into the hard state. At late times (~500 days after peak), a second accretion state transition occurs, from the hard into the quiescent state, as identi fied by the sudden collapse of the bolometric (X-ray+UV) emission to levels below 10-3.4 LEdd. Our fi ndings illustrate that TDEs can be used to study the scale (in)variance of accretion processes in individual SMBHs. Consequently, they provide a new avenue to study accretion states over seven orders of magnitude in black hole mass, removing limitations inherent to commonly used ensemble studies.

T. Wevers↗

NASA NTRS2022

Electromagnetic Time and Wavelength Domain Predictions for Accreting Binary Black Holes

Accreting massive binary black holes in gaseous environments are keymulti-messenger sources for the LISA mission. We will present some ofthe latest predictions of the observational signatures of accreting binary black holes across the electromagnetic spectrum from the fieldand provide some of our own. In particular, we will provide a briefsummary of the progress made in our group to understand these systemstheoretically using high-performance simulations of generalrelativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and dynamic spacetimes.Simulating these systems realistically is challenging asradiation-coupled MHD must be considered over large dynamic ranges inspace and time. Constraining our view to the circumbinary disk regionfirst, we will show how the evolution duration, accretion disk size,mass ratio, and thermodynamics model affect the structure andvariability of the accretion flow. We particularly emphasize how theseparameters influence the over-density feature, or "lump", which orbitsthe binary near the edge of the cavity, since it is responsible formost of the electromagnetic emission's variability---a key signatureof a system being a binary. Extending to smaller length scales, wewill report on simulations following accretion all the down to theevent horizons so that we may begin to investigate how black hole spinaffects mini-disk dynamics, accretion rate, and jet power. We willalso report on our radiative transfer predictions for how black holespin alters the spectral energy distribution of these systems.Wrapping up, we will itemize the remaining key theoreticaltechnologies and directions needed to be accomplished to betterunderstand these sources, and assess strategies for searching for themin the coming decade.

Scott C Noble↗

DOE OSTI2015

THE RATE OF GAS ACCRETION ONTO BLACK HOLES DRIVES JET VELOCITY

Accreting black holes are observed to launch relativistic, collimated jets of matter and radiation. In some sources, discrete ejections have been detected with highly relativistic velocities. These particular sources typically have very high mass accretion rates, while sources lower knot velocities are predominantly associated with black holes with relatively low mass accretion rates. We quantify this behavior by examining knot velocity with respect to X-ray luminosity, a proxy for mass accretion rate onto the black hole. We find a positive correlation between the mass-scaled X-ray luminosity and jet knot velocity. In addition, we find evidence that the jet velocity is also a function of polar angle, supporting the ''spine-sheath'' model of jet production. Our results reveal a fundamental aspect of how accretion shapes mechanical feedback from black holes into their host environments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Do circumnuclear dense gas disks drive mass accretion onto supermassive black holes?

We present a positive correlation between the mass of dense molecular gas (M{sub dense}) of ∼100 pc scale circumnuclear disks (CNDs) and the black hole mass accretion rate ( M-dot {sub BH}) in a total of 10 Seyfert galaxies, based on data compiled from the literature and an archive (median aperture θ {sub med} = 220 pc). A typical M{sub dense} of CNDs is 10{sup 7–8} M{sub ⊙}, estimated from the luminosity of the dense gas tracer, the HCN(1–0) emission line. Because dense molecular gas is the site of star formation, this correlation is virtually equivalent to the one between the nuclear star-formation rate and M-dot {sub BH} revealed previously. Moreover, the M{sub dense}-- M-dot {sub BH} correlation was tighter for CND-scale gas than for the gas on kiloparsec or larger scales. This indicates that CNDs likely play an important role in fueling black holes, whereas greater than kiloparesec scale gas does not. To demonstrate a possible approach for studying the CND-scale accretion process with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, we used a mass accretion model where angular momentum loss due to supernova explosions is vital. Based on the model prediction, we suggest that only the partial fraction of the mass accreted from the CND ( M-dot {sub acc}) is consumed as M-dot {sub BH}. However, M-dot {sub acc} agrees well with the total nuclear mass flow rate (i.e., M-dot {sub BH} + outflow rate). Although these results are still tentative with large uncertainties, they support the view that star formation in CNDs can drive mass accretion onto supermassive black holes in Seyfert galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Bremsstrahlung in GRMHD Models of Accreting Black Holes

Here, the role of bremsstrahlung in the emission from hot accretion flows around slowly accreting supermassive black holes is not thoroughly understood. In order to appraise the importance of bremsstrahlung relative to other radiative processes, we compute spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of accretion disks around slowly accreting supermassive black holes including synchrotron radiation, inverse Compton scattering, and bremsstrahlung. We compute SEDs for (i) four axisymmetric radiative general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (RadGRMHD) simulations of 10 8 M ⊙ black holes with accretion rates between 10 -8 $\dot{M}$ Edd and 10 -5 $\dot{M}$ Edd , (ii) four axisymmetric RadGRMHD simulations of M87* with varying dimensionless spin a$_*$ and black hole mass, and (iii) a 3D GRMHD simulation scaled for Sgr A*. At 10 -8 $\dot{M}$ Edd , most of the luminosity is synchrotron radiation, while at 10 -5 $\dot{M}$ Edd the three radiative processes have similar luminosities. In most models, bremsstrahlung dominates the SED near 512 keV. In the M87* models, bremsstrahlung dominates this part of the SED if a$_*$ = 0.5, but inverse Compton scattering dominates if a$_*$ = 0.9375. Since scattering is more variable than bremsstrahlung, this result suggests that 512 keV variability could be a diagnostic of black hole spin. In the appendix, we compare some bremsstrahlung formulæ found in the literature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Multizone Modeling of Black Hole Accretion and Feedback in 3D GRMHD: Bridging Vast Spatial and Temporal Scales

Simulating accretion and feedback from the horizon scale of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) out to galactic scales is challenging because of the vast range of scales involved. Elaborating on H. Cho et al., we describe and test a "multizone" technique, which is designed to tackle this difficult problem in three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations. While short-timescale variability should be interpreted with caution, the method is demonstrated to be well-suited for finding dynamical steady states over a wide dynamic range. We simulate accretion on a nonspinning SMBH ($a\ast$ = 0) using initial conditions and the external galactic potential from a large-scale galaxy simulation and achieve a steady state over eight decades in radius. As found in H. Cho et al., the density scales with radius as ρ ∝ r –1 inside the Bondi radius R B , which is located at R B = 2 × 10 5 r g (≈60 pc for M87), where r g is the gravitational radius of the SMBH; the plasma-β is ~ unity, indicating an extended magnetically arrested state; the mass accretion rate $\dot{M}$ is ≈1% of the analytical Bondi accretion rate ${\dot{M}}_{{\rm{B}}};$ and there is continuous energy feedback out to ≈100R B (or beyond > kpc) at a rate $\approx 0.02\dot{M}{c}^{2}$. Surprisingly, no ordered rotation in the external medium survives as the magnetized gas flows to smaller radii, and the final steady solution is very similar to when the exterior has no rotation. Using the multizone method, we simulate GRMHD accretion over a wide range of Bondi radii, R B ~ 10 2 –10 7 r g , and find that $\dot{M}/{\dot{M}}_{{B}}\approx {({R}_{{B}}/6\,{r}_{g})}^{-0.5}$.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

CSI 2264: characterizing accretion-burst dominated light curves for young stars in NGC 2264

Based on more than four weeks of continuous high-cadence photometric monitoring of several hundred members of the young cluster NGC 2264 with two space telescopes, NASA's Spitzer and the CNES CoRoT (Convection, Rotation, and planetary Transits), we provide high-quality, multi-wavelength light curves for young stellar objects whose optical variability is dominated by short-duration flux bursts, which we infer are due to enhanced mass accretion rates. These light curves show many brief—several hours to one day—brightenings at optical and near-infrared wavelengths with amplitudes generally in the range of 5%-50% of the quiescent value. Typically, a dozen or more of these bursts occur in a 30 day period. We demonstrate that stars exhibiting this type of variability have large ultraviolet (UV) excesses and dominate the portion of the u – g versus g – r color-color diagram with the largest UV excesses. These stars also have large Hα equivalent widths, and either centrally peaked, lumpy Hα emission profiles or profiles with blueshifted absorption dips associated with disk or stellar winds. Light curves of this type have been predicted for stars whose accretion is dominated by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities at the boundary between their magnetosphere and inner circumstellar disk, or where magneto-rotational instabilities modulate the accretion rate from the inner disk. Among the stars with the largest UV excesses or largest Hα equivalent widths, light curves with this type of variability greatly outnumber light curves with relatively smooth sinusoidal variations associated with long-lived hot spots. We provide quantitative statistics for the average duration and strength of the accretion bursts and for the fraction of the accretion luminosity associated with these bursts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

FILAMENTARY ACCRETION FLOWS IN THE EMBEDDED SERPENS SOUTH PROTOCLUSTER

One puzzle in understanding how stars form in clusters is the source of mass-is all of the mass in place before the first stars are born, or is there an extended period when the cluster accretes material which can continuously fuel the star formation process? We use a multi-line spectral survey of the southern filament associated with the Serpens South embedded cluster-forming region in order to determine if mass is accreting from the filament onto the cluster, and whether the accretion rate is significant. Our analysis suggests that material is flowing along the filament's long axis at a rate of {approx}30 M{sub Sun} Myr{sup -1} (inferred from the N{sub 2}H{sup +} velocity gradient along the filament), and radially contracting onto the filament at {approx}130 M{sub Sun} Myr{sup -1} (inferred from HNC self-absorption). These accretion rates are sufficient to supply mass to the central cluster at a similar rate to the current star formation rate in the cluster. Filamentary accretion flows may therefore be very important in the ongoing evolution of this cluster.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

ROTATING ACCRETION FLOWS: FROM INFINITY TO THE BLACK HOLE

Accretion onto a supermassive black hole of a rotating inflow is a particularly difficult problem to study because of the wide range of length scales involved. There have been broadly utilized analytic and numerical treatments of the global properties of accretion flows, but detailed numerical simulations are required to address certain critical aspects. We use the ZEUS code to run hydrodynamical simulations of rotating, axisymmetric accretion flows with Bremsstrahlung cooling, considering solutions for which the centrifugal balance radius significantly exceeds the Schwarzschild radius, with and without viscous angular momentum transport. Infalling gas is followed from well beyond the Bondi radius down to the vicinity of the black hole. We produce a continuum of solutions with respect to the single parameter M-dot{sub B}/ M-dot{sub Edd}, and there is a sharp transition between two general classes of solutions at an Eddington ratio of M-dot{sub B}/M-dot{sub Edd}{approx}few Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -2}. Our high inflow solutions are very similar to the standard Shakura and Sunyaev results. But our low inflow results are to zeroth order the stationary Papaloizou and Pringle solution, which has no accretion. To next order in the small, assumed viscosity they show circulation, with disk and conical wind outflows almost balancing inflow. These solutions are characterized by hot, vertically extended disks, and net accretion proceeds at an extremely low rate, only of order {alpha} times the inflow rate. Our simulations have converged with respect to spatial resolution and temporal duration, and they do not depend strongly on our choice of boundary conditions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

ACCRETION OF GAS ONTO GAP-OPENING PLANETS AND CIRCUMPLANETARY FLOW STRUCTURE IN MAGNETIZED TURBULENT DISKS

We have performed three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of stellar accretion disks, using the PLUTO code, and studied the accretion of gas onto a Jupiter-mass planet and the structure of the circumplanetary gas flow after opening a gap in the disk. We compare our results with simulations of laminar, yet viscous disks with different levels of an {alpha}-type viscosity. In all cases, we find that the accretion flow across the surface of the Hill sphere of the planet is not spherically or azimuthally symmetric, and is predominantly restricted to the mid-plane region of the disk. Even in the turbulent case, we find no significant vertical flow of mass into the Hill sphere. The outer parts of the circumplanetary disk are shown to rotate significantly below Keplerian speed, independent of viscosity, while the circumplanetary disk density (therefore the angular momentum) increases with viscosity. For a simulation of a magnetized turbulent disk, where the global averaged alpha stress is {alpha}{sub MHD} = 10{sup -3}, we find the accretion rate onto the planet to be M-dot {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6}M{sub J} yr{sup -1} for a gap surface density of 12 g cm{sup -2}. This is about a third of the accretion rate obtained in a laminar viscous simulation with equivalent {alpha} parameter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

THE CASE FOR STANDARD IRRADIATED ACCRETION DISKS IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

We analyze the broadband photometric light curves of Seyfert 1 galaxies from the Sergeev et al. sample and find that (1) perturbations propagating across the continuum emitting region are a general phenomenon securely detected in most cases, (2) it is possible to obtain reliable time delays between continuum emission in different wavebands, which are not biased by the contribution of broad emission lines to the signal, and (3) such lags are consistent with the predictions of standard irradiated accretion disk models, given the optical luminosity of the sources. These findings provide new and independent support for standard accretion disks being responsible for the bulk of the (rest) optical emission in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We interpret our lag measurements in individual objects within the framework of this model and estimate the typical mass accretion rate to be {approx}< 0.1 M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}, with little dependence on the black hole mass. Assuming bolometric corrections typical of type I sources, we find tentative evidence for the radiative efficiency of accretion flows being a rising function of the black hole mass. With upcoming surveys that will regularly monitor the sky, we may be able to better quantify possible departures from standard self-similar models, and identify other modes of accretion in AGNs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗