Abstract
We show that accretion disks in several compact X-ray binaries with hydrogen-depleted donors are likely subject to a thermal ionization instability, unless they are strongly irradiated. These disks are particularly interesting in that their MHD-turbulent properties in the neutral phase may be quite different from those of standard, hydrogen-rich disks.
Highlights
The vast majority of accretion disks around compact objects in close binary star systems are composed of hydrogen–rich material, as a result of Roche-lobe mass-transfer or wind-capture from a non-degenerate companion star
In our study of the properties of supernova fallback disks, we showed that disks composed of pure C or O are subject to the thermal ionization instability
We argued that accretion disks of any metal content should be subject to this instability as well
Summary
The vast majority of accretion disks around compact objects in close binary star systems are composed of hydrogen–rich material, as a result of Roche-lobe mass-transfer or wind-capture from a non-degenerate companion star (see Lewin, van Paradijs & van den Heuvel 1995 and Warner 1995 for reviews). There is a well-established class of close binaries, the so-called AM CVn stars, in which the donor star is thought to be a helium white dwarf (e.g. Warner 1995). Helium disks in these systems are subject to the same thermal ionization instability as hydrogen-rich disks, as shown by Smak (1983) and subsequent workers (Cannizzo 1984; Tsugawa & Osaki 1997; El-Khoury & Wickramasinghe 2000). In this Letter, we extend our work on metal disks to derive more precise global stability criteria We apply these results to the candidate metal disks in compact binaries, in an attempt to characterize their stability properties
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