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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 451 records · Page 25
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DOE OSTI2014

A NEW ACCRETION DISK AROUND THE MISSING LINK BINARY SYSTEM PSR J1023+0038

PSR J1023+0038 is an exceptional system for understanding how slowly rotating neutron stars are spun up to millisecond rotational periods through accretion from a companion star. Observed as a radio pulsar from 2007-2013, optical data showed that the system had an accretion disk in 2000/2001. Starting at the end of 2013 June, the radio pulsar has become undetectable, suggesting a return to the previous accretion-disk state, where the system more closely resembles an X-ray binary. In this Letter we report the first targeted X-ray observations ever performed of the active phase and complement them with UV/optical and radio observations collected in 2013 October. We find strong evidence that indeed an accretion disk has recently formed in the system and we report the detection of fast X-ray changes spanning about two orders of magnitude in luminosity. No radio pulsations are seen during low flux states in the X-ray light curve or at any other times.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

BRIGHT HOT IMPACTS BY ERUPTED FRAGMENTS FALLING BACK ON THE SUN: UV REDSHIFTS IN STELLAR ACCRETION

A solar eruption after a flare on 2011 June 7 produced EUV-bright impacts of fallbacks far from the eruption site, observed with the Solar Dynamics Observatory. These impacts can be taken as a template for the impact of stellar accretion flows. Broad redshifted UV lines have been commonly observed in young accreting stars. Here we study the emission from the impacts in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly's UV channels and compare the inferred velocity distribution to stellar observations. We model the impacts with two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the localized UV 1600 Å emission and its timing with respect to the EUV emission can be explained by the impact of a cloud of fragments. The first impacts produce strong initial upflows. The following fragments are hit and shocked by these upflows. The UV emission comes mostly from the shocked front shell of the fragments while they are still falling, and is therefore redshifted when observed from above. The EUV emission instead continues from the hot surface layer that is fed by the impacts. Fragmented accretion can therefore explain broad redshifted UV lines (e.g., C IV 1550 Å) to speeds around 400 km s{sup –1} observed in accreting young stellar objects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Accretion of radiation and rotating primordial black holes

We consider rotating primordial black holes (PBHs) and study the effect of accretion of radiation in the radiation-dominated era. The central part of our analysis deals with the role of the angular momentum parameter on the evolution of PBHs. We find that both the accretion and evaporation rates decrease with an increase in the angular momentum parameter, but the rate of evaporation decreases more rapidly than the rate of accretion. This shows that the evaporation time of PBHs is prolonged with an increase in the angular momentum parameter. We also note that the lifetime of rotating PBHs increases with an increase in the accretion efficiency of radiation as in the case of nonrotating PBHs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

SPREADING LAYERS IN ACCRETING OBJECTS: ROLE OF ACOUSTIC WAVES FOR ANGULAR MOMENTUM TRANSPORT, MIXING, AND THERMODYNAMICS

Disk accretion at a high rate onto a white dwarf (WD) or a neutron star has been suggested to result in the formation of a spreading layer (SL)—a belt-like structure on the object's surface, in which the accreted matter steadily spreads in the poleward (meridional) direction while spinning down. To assess its basic characteristics, we perform two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of supersonic SLs in the relevant morphology with a simple prescription for cooling. We demonstrate that supersonic shear naturally present at the base of the SL inevitably drives sonic instability that gives rise to large-scale acoustic modes governing the evolution of the SL. These modes dominate the transport of momentum and energy, which is intrinsically global and cannot be characterized via some form of local effective viscosity (e.g., α-viscosity). The global nature of the wave-driven transport should have important implications for triggering Type I X-ray bursts in low-mass X-ray binaries. The nonlinear evolution of waves into a system of shocks drives effective rearrangement (sensitively depending on thermodynamical properties of the flow) and deceleration of the SL, which ultimately becomes transonic and susceptible to regular Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. We interpret this evolution in terms of the global structure of the SL and suggest that mixing of the SL material with the underlying stellar fluid should become effective only at intermediate latitudes on the accreting object's surface, where the flow has decelerated appreciably. In the near-equatorial regions the transport is dominated by acoustic waves and mixing is less efficient. We speculate that this latitudinal nonuniformity of mixing in accreting WDs may be linked to the observed bipolar morphology of classical nova ejecta.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hydrodynamical numerical simulation of wind production from black hole hot accretion flows at very large radii

Previous works show that strong winds exist in hot accretion flows around black holes. Those works focus only on the region close to the black hole, so it is unknown whether or where the wind production stops at large radii. In this paper, we investigate this problem with hydrodynamical simulations. We take into account the gravities of both the black hole and the nuclear star clusters. For the latter, we assume that the velocity dispersion of stars is a constant and its gravitational potential ∝σ{sup 2}ln(r), where σ is the velocity dispersion of stars, and r is the distance from the center of the galaxy. We focus on the region where the gravitational potential is dominated by the star cluster. We find that, just as for the accretion flow at small radii, the mass inflow rate decreases inward, and the flow is convectively unstable. However, a trajectory analysis shows that there is very little wind launched from the flow. Our result, combined with the results of Yuan et al.’s study from 2015, indicates that the mass flux of wind launched from hot accretion flow M-dot {sub wind}= M-dot {sub BH}(r/20r{sub s}), with r≲R{sub A}≡GM{sub BH}/σ{sup 2}. Here, M-dot {sub BH} is the accretion rate at the black hole horizon, and R{sub A} is similar to the Bondi radius. We argue that the inward decrease of inflow rate is not due to mass loss via wind, but to convective motion. The disappearance of wind outside R{sub A} must be due to the change of the gravitational potential, but the exact reason remains to be probed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The influence of accretion rate and metallicity on thermonuclear bursts: Predictions from KEPLER models

Using the KEPLER hydrodynamics code, 464 models of thermonuclear X-ray bursters were performed across a range of accretion rates and compositions. We present the library of simulated burst profiles from this sample, and examine variations in the simulated light curve for different model conditions. We find that the recurrence time varies as a power law against accretion rate, and measure its slope while mixed H/He burning is occurring for a range of metallicities, finding the power law gradient to vary from η=1.1 to 1.24. We identify the accretion rates at which mixed H/He burning stops and a transition occurs to different burning regimes. We explore how varying the accretion rate and metallicity affects burst morphology in both the rise and tail.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

SIMULATING THE FORMATION OF MASSIVE PROTOSTARS. I. RADIATIVE FEEDBACK AND ACCRETION DISKS

We present radiation hydrodynamic simulations of collapsing protostellar cores with initial masses of 30, 100, and 200 M {sub ⊙}. We follow their gravitational collapse and the formation of a massive protostar and protostellar accretion disk. We employ a new hybrid radiative feedback method blending raytracing techniques with flux-limited diffusion for a more accurate treatment of the temperature and radiative force. In each case, the disk that forms becomes Toomre-unstable and develops spiral arms. This occurs between 0.35 and 0.55 freefall times and is accompanied by an increase in the accretion rate by a factor of 2–10. Although the disk becomes unstable, no other stars are formed. In the case of our 100 and 200 M {sub ⊙} simulations, the star becomes highly super-Eddington and begins to drive bipolar outflow cavities that expand outwards. These radiatively driven bubbles appear stable, and appear to be channeling gas back onto the protostellar accretion disk. Accretion proceeds strongly through the disk. After 81.4 kyr of evolution, our 30 M {sub ⊙} simulation shows a star with a mass of 5.48 M {sub ⊙} and a disk of mass 3.3 M {sub ⊙}, while our 100 M {sub ⊙} simulation forms a 28.8 M {sub ⊙} mass star with a 15.8 M {sub ⊙} disk over the course of 41.6 kyr, and our 200 M {sub ⊙} simulation forms a 43.7 M {sub ⊙} star with an 18 M {sub ⊙} disk in 21.9 kyr. In the absence of magnetic fields or other forms of feedback, the masses of the stars in our simulation do not appear to be limited by their own luminosities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

An extensive numerical survey of the correlation between outflow dynamics and accretion disk magnetization

We investigate the accretion–ejection process of jets from magnetized accretion disks. We apply a novel approach to the jet-launching problem in order to obtain correlations between the physical properties of the jet and the underlying disk. We extend and confirm the previous works of Tzeferacos et al. and Murphy et al. by scanning a large parameter range for the disk magnetization, μ{sub D}=10{sup −3.5}...10{sup −0.7}. We disentangle the disk magnetization at the foot point of the outflow as the main parameter that governs the properties of the outflow. We show how the four jet integrals known from steady-state MHD are correlated to the disk magnetization at the jet foot point. This agrees with the usual findings of the steady-state theory, however, here we obtain these correlations from time-dependent simulations that include the dynamical evolution of the disk in the treatment. In particular, we obtain robust correlations between the local disk magnetization and (i) the outflow velocity, (ii) the jet mass loading, (iii) the jet angular momentum, and (iv) the local mass accretion rate. Essentially, we find that strongly magnetized disks launch more energetic and faster jets and, due to a larger Alfvén lever arm, these jets extract more angular momentum from the underlying disk. These kinds of disk–jet systems have, however, a smaller mass loading parameter and a lower mass ejection–accretion ratio. The jets are launched at the disk surface where the magnetization is μ(r,z)≃0.1. The magnetization rapidly increases vertically providing the energy reservoir for subsequent jet acceleration. We find indications of a critical disk magnetization μ{sub D}≃0.01 that separates the regimes of magneto-centrifugally driven and magnetic pressure-driven jets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Supermassive black holes with high accretion rates in active galactic nuclei. V. A new size-luminosity scaling relation for the broad-line region

This paper reports results of the third-year campaign of monitoring super-Eddington accreting massive black holes (SEAMBHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) between 2014 and 2015. Ten new targets were selected from the quasar sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), which have generally been more luminous than the SEAMBH candidates in the last two years. Hβ lags (τ{sub Hβ}) in five of the 10 quasars have been successfully measured in this monitoring season. We find that the lags are generally shorter, by large factors, than those of objects with same optical luminosity, in light of the well-known R {sub H} {sub β}–L {sub 5100} relation. The five quasars have dimensionless accretion rates of (M )-dot =10–10{sup 3}. Combining these with measurements of the previous SEAMBHs, we find that the reduction of Hβ lags depends tightly on accretion rates, τ{sub Hβ}/τ{sub R−L}∝ M-dot {sup −0.42}, where τ{sub R−L} is the Hβ lag from the normal R {sub H} {sub β}–L {sub 5100} relation. Fitting 63 mapped AGNs, we present a new scaling relation for the broad-line region: R{sub Hβ}=α{sub 1}ℓ{sub 44}{sup β{sub 1}} min [1,( M-dot / M-dot {sub c}){sup −γ{sub 1}}], where ℓ{sub 44}=L{sub 5100}/10{sup 44} erg s{sup −1} is the 5100 Å continuum luminosity, and the coefficients are α{sub 1}=29.6{sub −2.8}{sup +2.7} lt-day, β{sub 1}=0.56{sub −0.03}{sup +0.03}, γ{sub 1}=0.52{sub −0.16}{sup +0.33}, and M-dot {sub c}=11.19{sub −6.22}{sup +2.29}. This relation is applicable to AGNs over a wide range of accretion rates, from 10{sup −3} to 10{sup 3}. Implications of this new relation are briefly discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

IMPETUS: New cloudy’s radiative tables for accretion onto a galaxy black hole

We present digital tables for the radiative terms that appear in the energy and momentum equations used to simulate the accretion onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the centers of galaxies. Cooling and heating rates and radiative accelerations are calculated with two different Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs). One SED is composed of an accretion disk + [X-ray]-power law, while the other is made of an accretion disk + [Corona]-bremsstrahlung with T{sub X}=1.16×10{sup 8} K, where pre-computed conditions of adiabatic expansion are included. Quantifications of different physical mechanisms at operation are presented, showing discrepancies and similarities between both SEDs in different ranges of fundamental physical parameters (i.e., ionization parameter, density, and temperature). With the recent discovery of outflows originating at sub-parsec scales, these tables may provide a useful tool for modeling gas accretion processes onto an SMBH.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

On the Mass Accretion Rate and Infrared Excess in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

The present study makes use of the unprecedented capability of the Gaia mission to obtain the stellar parameters such as distance, age, and mass of HAeBe stars. The accuracy of Gaia DR2 astrometry is demonstrated from the comparison of the Gaia DR2 distances of 131 HAeBe stars with the previously estimated values from the literature. This is one of the initial studies to estimate the age and mass of a confirmed sample of HAeBe stars using both the photometry and distance from the Gaia mission. Mass accretion rates are calculated from Hα line flux measurements of 106 HAeBe stars. Since we used distances and the stellar masses derived from the Gaia DR2 data in the calculation of the mass accretion rate, our estimates are more accurate than previous studies. The mass accretion rate is found to decay exponentially with age, from which we estimated a disk dissipation timescale of 1.9 ± 0.1 Myr. The mass accretion rate and stellar mass exhibit a power-law relation of the form M-dot {sub acc}∝M{sub ∗}{sup 2.8±0.2}. From the distinct distribution in the values of the infrared spectral index, n{sub 2--4.6}, we suggest the possibility of difference in the disk structure between Herbig Be and Herbig Ae stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

WIND-DRIVEN ACCRETION IN TRANSITIONAL PROTOSTELLAR DISKS

Transitional protostellar disks have inner cavities that are heavily depleted in dust and gas, yet most of them show signs of ongoing accretion, often at rates comparable to full disks. We show that recent constraints on the gas surface density in a few well-studied disk cavities suggest that the accretion speed is at least transsonic. We propose that this is the natural result of accretion driven by magnetized winds. Typical physical conditions of the gas inside these cavities are estimated for plausible X-ray and FUV radiation fields. The gas near the midplane is molecular and predominantly neutral, with a dimensionless ambipolar parameter in the right general range for wind solutions of the type developed by Königl, Wardle, and others. That is to say, the density of ions and electrons is sufficient for moderately good coupling to the magnetic field, but it is not so good that the magnetic flux needs to be dragged inward by the accreting neutrals.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Crossing the Eddington Limit: Examining Disk Spectra at High Accretion Rates

The faintest ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), those with 0.3–10 keV luminosities 1<L{sub X}/10{sup 39}<3 erg s{sup −1}, tend to have X-ray spectra that are disk-like but broader than expected for thin accretion disks. These “broadened disk (BD)” spectra are thought to indicate near- or mildly super-Eddington accretion onto stellar remnant black holes. Here we report that a sample of bright thermal-dominant black hole binaries, which have Eddington ratios constrained to moderate values, also show BD spectra in the 0.3–10 keV band at an order of magnitude lower luminosities. This broadening would be missed in studies that only look above ∼2 keV. While this may suggest that BD ULXs could be powered by accretion onto massive stellar remnant black holes with close to maximal spin, we argue in favor of a scenario where they are at close to the Eddington luminosity, such that radiation pressure would be expected to result in geometrically slim, advective accretion disks. However, this implies that an additional physical mechanism is required to produce the observed broad spectra at low Eddington ratios.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Accretion Disk Assembly During Common Envelope Evolution: Implications for Feedback and LIGO Binary Black Hole Formation

During a common envelope (CE) episode in a binary system, the engulfed companion spirals to tighter orbital separations under the influence of drag from the surrounding envelope material. As this object sweeps through material with a steep radial gradient of density, net angular momentum is introduced into the flow, potentially leading to the formation of an accretion disk. The presence of a disk would have dramatic consequences for the outcome of the interaction because accretion might be accompanied by strong, polar outflows with enough energy to unbind the entire envelope. Without a detailed understanding of the necessary conditions for disk formation during CE, therefore, it is difficult to accurately predict the population of merging compact binaries. This paper examines the conditions for disk formation around objects embedded within CEs using the “wind tunnel” formalism developed by MacLeod et al. We find that the formation of disks is highly dependent on the compressibility of the envelope material. Disks form only in the most compressible of stellar envelope gas, found in envelopes’ outer layers in zones of partial ionization. These zones are largest in low-mass stellar envelopes, but comprise small portions of the envelope mass and radius in all cases. We conclude that disk formation and associated accretion feedback in CE is rare, and if it occurs, transitory. The implication for LIGO black hole binary assembly is that by avoiding strong accretion feedback, CE interactions should still result in the substantial orbital tightening needed to produce merging binaries.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Face-on Accretion System in High-mass Star Formation: Possible Dusty Infall Streams within 100 AU

We report on interferometric observations of a face-on accretion system around the high-mass young stellar object, G353.273+0.641. The innermost accretion system of 100 au radius was resolved in a 45 GHz continuum image taken with the Jansky-Very Large Array. Our spectral energy distribution analysis indicated that the continuum could be explained by optically thick dust emission. The total mass of the dusty system is ∼0.2 M {sub ☉} at minimum and up to a few M {sub ☉} depending on the dust parameters. 6.7 GHz CH{sub 3}OH masers associated with the same system were also observed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The masers showed a spiral-like, non-axisymmetric distribution with a systematic velocity gradient. The line-of-sight velocity field is explained by an infall motion along a parabolic streamline that falls onto the equatorial plane of the face-on system. The streamline is quasi-radial and reaches the equatorial plane at a radius of 16 au. This is clearly smaller than that of typical accretion disks in high-mass star formation, indicating that the initial angular momentum was very small, or the CH{sub 3}OH masers selectively trace accreting material that has small angular momentum. In the former case, the initial specific angular momentum is estimated to be 8 × 10{sup 20} (M{sub ∗}/10 M {sub ☉}){sup 0.5} cm{sup 2} s{sup −1}, or a significant fraction of the initial angular momentum was removed outside of 100 au. The physical origin of such a streamline is still an open question and will be constrained by the higher-resolution (∼10 mas) thermal continuum and line observations with ALMA long baselines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A new gravitational-wave signature from standing accretion shock instability in supernovae

We present results from fully relativistic three-dimensional core-collapse supernova simulations of a non-rotating 15M{sub ⊙} star using three different nuclear equations of state (EoSs). From our simulations covering up to ∼350 ms after bounce, we show that the development of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI) differs significantly depending on the stiffness of nuclear EoS. Generally, the SASI activity occurs more vigorously in models with softer EoS. By evaluating the gravitational-wave (GW) emission, we find a new GW signature on top of the previously identified one, in which the typical GW frequency increases with time due to an accumulating accretion to the proto-neutron star (PNS). The newly observed quasi-periodic signal appears in the frequency range from ∼100 to 200 Hz and persists for ∼150 ms before neutrino-driven convection dominates over the SASI. By analyzing the cycle frequency of the SASI sloshing and spiral modes as well as the mass accretion rate to the emission region, we show that the SASI frequency is correlated with the GW frequency. This is because the SASI-induced temporary perturbed mass accretion strikes the PNS surface, leading to the quasi-periodic GW emission. Our results show that the GW signal, which could be a smoking-gun signature of the SASI, is within the detection limits of LIGO, advanced Virgo, and KAGRA for Galactic events.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

On the stability of cubic galileon accretion

We examine the linear stability of the nongravitating steady-state galileon accretion for the case of a Schwarzcshild black hole. Considering the galileon action up to the cubic term in a static and spherically symmetric background we obtain the general solution for the equation of motion which is divided into two branches. By perturbing this solution we define an effective metric which determines the propagation of fluctuations. In this general picture we establish the position of the sonic horizon together with the matching condition of the two branches on it. Restricting to the case of a Schwarzschild background, we show, via the analysis of the energy of the perturbations and its time derivative, that the accreting field is linearly stable. - Highlights: • The linear stability of the nongravitating galileon accretion for the Schwarzschild BH is examined. • The galileon action up to the cubic term in a static and spherically symmetric background is considered. • It is shown that the accreting field is linearly stable.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

X-ray emission from a rapidly accreting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy at z = 6.56

The space density of X-ray-luminous, blindly selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) traces the population of rapidly accreting super-massive black holes through cosmic time. It is encoded in the X-ray luminosity function, whose bright end remains poorly constrained in the first billion years after the Big Bang as X-ray surveys have thus far lacked the required cosmological volume. With the eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS), the largest contiguous and homogeneous X-ray survey to date, X-ray AGN population studies can now be extended to new regions of the luminosity–redshift space (L 2 - 10 keV > 10 45 erg s -1 and z > 6). The current study aims at identifying luminous quasars at z > 5.7 among X-ray-selected sources in the eFEDS field in order to place a lower limit on black hole accretion well into the epoch of re-ionisation. A secondary goal is the characterisation of the physical properties of these extreme coronal emitters at high redshifts. Cross-matching eFEDS catalogue sources to optical counterparts from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, we confirm the low significance detection with eROSITA of a previously known, optically faint z = 6.56 quasar from the Subaru High-z Exploration of Low-luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs) survey. We obtained a pointed follow-up observation of the source with the Chandra X-ray telescope in order to confirm the low-significance eROSITA detection. Using new near-infrared spectroscopy, we derived the physical properties of the super-massive black hole. Finally, we used this detection to infer a lower limit on the black hole accretion density rate at z > 6. The Chandra observation confirms the eFEDS source as the most distant blind X-ray detection to date. The derived X-ray luminosity is high with respect to the rest-frame optical emission of the quasar. With a narrow MgII line, low derived black hole mass, and high Eddington ratio, as well as its steep photon index, the source shows properties that are similar to local narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, which are thought to be powered by young super-massive black holes. In combination with a previous high-redshift quasar detection in the field, we show that quasars with L 2 - 10 keV > 10 45 erg s -1 dominate accretion onto super-massive black holes at z ~ 6.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗