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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Accretion disk modeling of AGN continuum using non-LTE stellar atmospheres

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) accretion disk spectra were calculated using non-LTE stellar atmosphere models for Kerr and Schwarzschild geometries. It is found that the Lyman limit absorption edge, probably the most conclusive observational evidence for the accretion disk, would be drastically distorted and displaced by the relativistic effects from the large gravitational field of the central black hole and strong Doppler motion of emitting material on the disk surface. These effects are especially pronounced in the Kerr geometry. The strength of the Lyman limit absorption is very sensitive to the surface gravity in the stellar atmosphere models used. For models at the same temperature but different surface gravities, the strength of the Lyman edge exhibits an almost exponential decrease as the surface gravity approach the Eddington limit, which should approximate the thin disk atmosphere. The relativistic effects as well as the vanishing of the Lyman edge at the Eddington gravity may be the reasons that not many Lyman edges in the rest frames of AGNs and quasars are found.

Sun, Wei-Hsin↗
NASA NTRS1999

Discovery of a Three-Layered Atmospheric Structure in Accretion Disks around Stellar-Mass Black Holes

We have carried out systematic modeling of the X-ray spectra of the Galactic superluminal jet sources GRS 1915+105 and GRO J1655-40, using our newly developed spectral fitting methods. Our results reveal, for the first time, a three-layered structure of the atmosphere in the inner region of the accretion disks. Above the conanonly known, cold and optically thick disk of a blackbody temperature 0.2-0.5 keV, there is a layer of warm gas with a temperature of 1.0-1.5 keV and an optical depth of around 10. Compton scattering of the underlying disk blackbody photons produces the soft X-ray component we comonly observe. Under certain conditions, there is also a much hotter, optically thin corona above the warm layer, characterized by a temperature of 100 keV or higher and an optical depth of unity or less. The corona produces the hard X-ray component typically seen in these sources. We emphasize that the existence of the warm layer seem to be independent of the presence of the hot corona and, therefore, it is not due to irradiation of the disk by hard X-rays from the corona. Our results suggest a striking structural similarity between the accretion disks and the solar atmosphere, which may provide a new stimulus to study the common underlying physical processes operating in these vastly different systems. We also report the first unambiguous detection of an emission line around 6.4 keV in GRO J1655-40, which may allow further constraining of the accretion disk structure. We acknowledge NASA GSFC and MFC for partial financial support. (copyright) 1999: American Astronomical Society. All rights reverved.

Zhang, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Does SV Centauri harbor an accretion disk?

Light synthesis simulation of SV Cen UBV photometry by Drechsel et al. (1982) exhibits appreciable residuals. These residuals, together with large Roche model overcontact but also large calculated intercomponent temperature difference, suggests that the light synthesis Roche model is inapplicable. The substantial rate of period change indicates rapid mass transfer in a pre-mass-reversal system. An accretion disk surrounding a nearly normal size secondary provides a possible explanation of the photometric residuals. Excess radiation longward of 200 nm, by comparison with a spectrum synthesis simulation, provides qualitative support for the model. This model is inconsistent with the Lubow-Shu criterion for accretion disk formation. The text provides a speculative scenario showing why an accretion disk may nonetheless form.

Linnell, Albert P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

1H 1752 + 081: An eclipsing cataclysmic variable with a small accretion disk

We announce the discovery of an eclipsing nova-like cataclysmic variable (CV) as the optical counterpart to the HEAO 1 X-ray source 1H1752 + 081. This CV has an orbital period of 1.882801 hr, a high equivalent width of H-beta, and an average m(sub v) of 16.4 out of the eclipse. A geometric model is constructed from observations of the eclipse ingress and egress in many optical bandpasses. The broad-band emission originates primarily in two regions; the disk/accretion stream 'hot spot' and a compact central component, which may be a spot on the white dwarf surface, the entire white dwarf surface or the boundary layer between the accretion disk and the white dwarf surface. Based on the durations and offsets of the two eclipses we determined the mass ratio q = 2.5 +/- 0.6 and the angle of inclination i = 77 deg +/- 2 deg. If the central component is the entire white dwarf surface the masses of the stars are M(sub 1) = 0.80 +/- 0.06 solar masses and M(sub 2) = 0.32 +/- 0.06 solar masses. The disk is faint and small (R(sub D) = 0.25 +/- 0.05 r(sub L1), where r(sub L1) is the distance from the primary to the L(sub 1) point), compared to other eclipsing CVs. The small disk may result from the removal of angular momentum from the accretion disk by the magnetic field of the white dwarf; this CV may be a DQ Her type with a slowly rotating white dwarf. The emission-line velocities do not show the 'Z-wave' expected from the eclipse of a Keplerian accretion disk, nor do they have the correct phasing to originate near the white dwarf. The most likely origin of the line emission is the hot spot. The secondary star is visible at wavelengths greater than or equal to 6000 A during eclipse. We estimate a spectral type approximately M6 which, together with the observed m(sub 1) = 16.94 during eclipse, results in a distance estimate of 150 +/- 27 pc.

Silber, Andrew D.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Formation of Magnetically Truncated Accretion Disks in 3D Radiation-transport Two-temperature GRMHD Simulations

Multiwavelength observations suggest that the accretion disk in the hard and intermediate states of X-ray binaries (XRBs) and active galactic nucleus transitions from a cold, thin disk at large distances into a hot, thick flow close to the black hole (BH). However, the formation, structure, and dynamics of such truncated disks are poorly constrained due to the complexity of the thermodynamic, magnetic, and radiative processes involved. We present the first radiation-transport two-temperature general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of truncated disks radiating at ~35% of the Eddington luminosity with and without large-scale poloidal magnetic flux. We demonstrate that when a geometrically thin accretion disk is threaded by large-scale net poloidal magnetic flux, it self-consistently transitions at small radii into a two-phase medium of cold gas clumps floating through a hot, magnetically dominated corona. This transition occurs at a well-defined truncation radius determined by the distance out to which the disk is saturated with magnetic flux. The average ion and electron temperatures in the semiopaque corona reach, respectively, $T_i$ ≳ 10 10 K and $T_e$ ≳ 5 × 10 8 K. The system produces radiation, powerful collimated jets, and broader winds at the total energy efficiency exceeding 90%, the highest ever energy extraction efficiency from a spinning BH by a radiatively efficient flow in a GRMHD simulation. This is consistent with jetted ejections observed during XRB outbursts. The two-phase medium may naturally lead to broadened iron line emission observed in the hard state.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1990

Structure and evolution of irradiated accretion disks. I - Static thermal equilibrium structure. II - Dynamical evolution of a thermally unstable torus

The thermal equilibrum structure and dynamical behavior of externally irradiated accretion disks are investigated. For radiative disks only the surface layer is heated, while for convective disks the heat penetrates deeply into the disk. For sufficiently strong radiation and given irradiation flux F(irr), the disk is completely stabilized against thermal instabilities of the sort invoked to explain dwarf novae. For moderately strong irradiation there is still an unstable branch in the thermal equilibrium curve. In typical soft X-ray transients, the disk is unstable against the dwarf-nova type instability. Fixed F(irr) on accretion disk annuli reduces the amplitude and the quiescent times and increases the outburst duration of the resultant light curves. Varying F(irr) in proportion to the mass accretion rate at the disks's inner edge results in light curves with a plateau in the decay from outbursts. In the case when irradiation is suddenly switched on, a temperature inversion results which leads to the formation of an accretion corona.

Tuchman, Y.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Binary Black Holes, Accretion Disks and Relativistic Jets: Photocenters of Nearby AGN and Quasars

One of the most challenging questions in astronomy today is to understand the origin, structure, and evolution of the central engines in the nuclei of quasars and active galaxies (AGNs). The favoured theory involves the activation of relativistic jets from the fueling of a supermassive black hole through an accretion disk. In some AGN an outer optically thick, dusty torus is seen orbiting the black hole system. This torus is probably related to an inner accretion disk - black hole system that forms the actual powerhouse of the AGN. In radio-loud AGN two oppositely-directed radio jets are ejected perpendicular to the torus/disk system. Although there is a wealth of observational data on AGN, some very basic questions have not been definitively answered. The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) will address the following three key questions about AGN. 1) Does the most compact optical emission from an AGN come from an accretion disk or from a relativistic jet? 2) Does the separation of the radio core and optical photocenter of the quasars used for the reference frame tie, change on the timescales of their photometric variability, or is the separation stable at the level of a few microarcseconds? 3) Do the cores of galaxies harbor binary supermassive black holes remaining from galaxy mergers? It is not known whether such mergers are common, and whether binaries would persist for a significant time.

Wehrle, Ann E.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Axisymmetric Two-Dimensional Computation of Magnetic Field Dragging in Accretion Disks

In this paper we model a geometrically thin accretion disk interacting with an externally imposed, uniform, vertical magnetic field. The accretion flow in the disk drags and distorts field lines, amplifying the magnetic field in the process. Inside the disk the radial component of the field is sheared into a toroidal component. The aim of this work is to establish the character of the resultant magnetic field and its dependence on the disk's parameters. We concentrate on alpha-disks driven by turbulent viscosity. Axisymmetric, two-dimensional solutions are obtained without taking into account the back-reaction of the magnetic field on the structure of the disk. The character of the magnetic field depends strongly on the magnitude of the magnetic Prandtl number, P . We present two illustrative examples of viscous disks: a so-called 'standard' steady state model of a disk around a compact star (e.g., cataclysmic variable), and a steady state model of a proto-planetary disk. In both cases, P = 1, P = 10(sup -1), and P = 10(sup -2) scenarios are calculated. Significant bending and magnification of the magnetic field is possible only for disks characterized by P of the order of 10(sup -2). In such a case, the field lines are bent sufficiently to allow the development of a centrifugally driven wind. Inside the disk the field is dominated by its toroidal component. We also investigate the dragging of the magnetic field by a nonviscous protoplanetary disk described by a phenomenological model. This scenario leads to large distortion and magnification of the magnetic field.

Reyes-Ruiz, Mauricio↗
NASA NTRS1992

Accretion disks in active galactic nuclei - Vertically explicit models

A region of the parameter space accessible to accretion disks in AGN is explored using vertically integrated models to describe the thin-disk structure. Particular attention is paid to the role of convection. From a comparison of strongly convective solutions with varying mixing lengths to solutions obtained using a recent theory of convection developed for accretion disks, it is argued that it may be appropriate to take the mixing length to be roughly one-third of a pressure scale height when applying standard mixing-length theory to disks. Scalings are presented for various critical points in the locus of steady-state solutions, and rough estimates of time scales for behavior associated with disk instability are provided.

Cannizzo, John K.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Disk accretion by magnetic neutron stars

A model for disk accretion by a rotating magnetic neutron star is proposed which includes a detailed description of matter flow in the transition region between the disk and the magnetosphere. It is shown that the disk plasma cannot be completely screened from the stellar magnetic field and that the resulting magnetic coupling between the star and the disk exerts a significant torque on the star. On the assumption that the distortion of the residual stellar field lines threading the disk is limited by reconnection, the total accretion torque on the star is calculated. The calculated torque gives period changes in agreement with those observed in the pulsating X-ray sources and provides a natural explanation of why a fast rotator like Her X-1 has a spin-up rate much below the conventional estimate for slow rotators. It is shown that for such fast rotators, fluctuations in the mass-accretion rate can produce fluctuations in the accretion torque about 100 times larger. For sufficiently fast rotators or, equivalently, for sufficiently low accretion rates, the star experiences a braking torque even while accretion continues and without any mass ejection from its vicinity.

Ghosh, P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The spectra of relativistic accretion disks - Application to A0620-00

The X-ray flux emitted from a geometrically thin, relativistic accretion disk in the steady state approximation is investigated in order to place limits on the quiescent state mass flow rate in the soft X-ray transient black hole candidate source A0620-00. Specific attention is focused on the effects associated with gravitational redshifts, Doppler shifts, and on the enhancement of the apparent accretion disk area due to gravitational light bending on the continuum spectrum. It is found that the upper limit to the mass flow rate within the inner regions of the disk, constrained by the lack of soft X-rays in the quiescent state, is about 2.8 x 10 to the -11th solar mass/yr for black hole masses greater than about 5.4 solar mass. The optical data are consistent with these upper limits provided that the inclination angle of the binary system is less than about 65 deg. The upper limits and the lack of a hard X-ray flux, together, suggest that the soft X-ray transient model based upon a mass transfer instability situated in the stellar envelope of the companion is inapplicable to A0620-00.

Fu, Albert↗
NASA NTRS1987

Multipeaked X-ray bursts from 4U/MXB 1636-53 - Evidence against burst-induced accretion disk coronae

The burst-induced accretion-disk corona (BIADC) model proposed by Melia (1987) to explain the multiple-peak burst profiles of 4U/MXB 1636-53 in terms of direct and scattered components is examined critically. Published observational data (Sztajno et al., 1986, and Lewin et al., 1987) are presented in tables and graphs and analyzed. A number of possible BIADC scenarios are discussed, and it is argued that the observed characteristics of the 1636-53 bursts are not well accounted for by the BIADC model.

Penninx, W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Observational constraints on black hole accretion disks

We review the empirical constraints on accretion disk models of stellar-mass black holes based on recent multiwavelength observational results. In addition to time-averaged emission spectra, the time evolutions of the intensity and spectrum provide critical information about the structure, stability, and dynamics of the disk. Using the basic thermal Keplerian disk paradigm, we consider in particular generalizations of the standard optically thin disk models needed to accommodate the extremely rich variety of dynamical phenomena exhibited by black hole candidates ranging from flares of electron-positron annihilations and quasiperiodic oscillations in the X-ray intensity to X-ray novae activity. These in turn provide probes of the disk structure and global geometry. The goal is to construct a single unified framework to interpret a large variety of black hole phenomena. This paper will concentrate on the interface between basic theory and observational data modeling.

Liang, Edison P.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Self-Consistent Models of Accretion Disks

The investigations of advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs), with emphasis on applications to X-ray binaries containing black holes and neutron stars is presented. This work is now being recognized as the standard paradigm for understanding the various spectral states of black hole X-ray Binaries (BHXBs). Topics discussed include: (1) Problem in BHXBS, namely that several of these binaries have unusually large concentrations of lithium in their companion stars; (2) A novel test to show that black holes have event horizons; (3) Application of the ADAF model to the puzzling X-ray delay in the recent outburst of the BHXB, GRO J1655-40; (4) Description of the various spectral states in BHXBS; (5) Application of the ADAF model to the famous supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, Sgr A(*); (6) Writing down and solving equations describing steady-state, optically thin, advection-dominated accretion onto a Kerr black hole; (7) The effect of "photon bubble" instability on radiation dominated accretion disks; and (8) Dwarf nova disks in quiescence that have rather low magnetic Reynolds number, of order 10(exp 3).

Narayan, Ramesh↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Evolution of the Accretion Disk Around 4U 1820-30 During a Superburst

Accretion from a disk onto a collapsed, relativistic star - a neutron star or black hole - is the mechanism widely believed to be responsible for the emission from compact X-ray binaries. Because of the extreme spatial resolution required, it is not yet possible to directly observe the evolution or dynamics of the inner parts of the accretion disk where general relativistic effects are dominant. Here, we use the bright X-ray emission from a superburst on the surface of the neutron star 4U 1820-30 as a spotlight to illuminate the disk surface. The X-rays cause iron atoms in the disk t o fluoresce, allowing a determination of the ionization state, covering factor and inner radius of the disk over the course of the burst. The time-resolved spectral fitting shows that the inner region of the disk is disrupted by the burst, possibly being heated into a thicker, more tenuous flow, before recovering its previous form in approximately 1000 s. This marks the first instance that the evolution of the inner regions of an accretion disk has been observed in real-time.

Ballantyne, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Emission line signatures of anisotropic turbulence in accretion disks

We investigate observable effects of anisotropic turbulence on the velocity profiles and eclipse behavior of emission lines from accretion disks. Turbulence expands the local line broadening profile, enhancing the surface brightness of saturated emission lines. Anisotropic turbulence produces anisotropic emission in such lines. The effects become observable when the turbulence exceeds the thermal velocity. Each term in the velocity-velocity correlation matrix produces a distinctive azimuthal pattern of enhanced emission-line surface brightness on the face of the accretion disk. These patterns express themselves as changes in the observable shapes of the disk's emission lines. The best place to look for turbulence effects is in saturated emission lines of heavy elements such as Ca, Mg, and Fe, which have a smaller thermal velocity at a given sound speed and at moderate inclination (60-70 degrees), since the Keplerian shear broadening dominates at higher inclinations.

Horne, Keith↗
NASA NTRS1993

Accretion disks in low-mass X-ray binaries

In this paper we review recent developments in our knowledge of accretion disks in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We discuss some common behavior between the disks in cataclysmic variables and LMXBs, especially among those systems with high mass ratios. We consider ellipsoidal variability of soft X-ray transients (SXTs: transient LMXBs) in quiescence, and discuss the evidence for transient disk contamination of the light curves of these objects. We then show how optical photometry of SXTs in both outburst and quiescence can place useful constraints on the mass of the compact object in these binaries. Finally we present new results on the accretion disk structures of AC 211 in M15 and X 1916-05. We show that considerable evidence now exists for sizable disk structure displaced about 180 deg from the secondary: the origin of this structure is as yet unknown.

Callanan, Paul J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The Production of Jets From Magnetic Accretion Disks: Simulation of the Blandford-Payne Mechanism

We have performed magnetohydrodynamic (MRD) simulations of the production of jets from magnetized accretion disks with a factor of 5 greater extent in space and time, and with more models, than any study published so far. We find that jets are produced by such disks in a broad range of parameter space, and by at least two different mechanisms. We also are able to follow the propagation of the jet well beyond the accretion disk into the region of hydrodynamic collimation. The code used is our MHD simulation code FLOW (K. Lind, D. Payne, D. Meier, and R. Blandford, 1989), converted to run on Caltech's massively parallel Intel Touchstone Delta supercomputer. Some of these models may be directly applicable to observed radio sources.

Blandford-Payne↗