Relativistic Jet Ejections from Slim Disks

Abstract

A mechanism for the ejection of relativistic jets from slim disks is studied. Since radiation pressure is dominant in the slim disk, radiative energy flows along the pressure gradient in the vertical direction. The divergence of the radiative flux tells us that the flow of radiative energy from a bottom layer near the equatorial plane is absorbed by another layer above the boundary surface. The absorbed energy accumulates in the upper layer as the matter advances inward, and calculations show that the specific energy of the flow in the upper layer can be as large as ∼c 2 near the black hole when the accretion rate through the upper layer is relatively low. Since the specific energy ∼c 2 is much larger than the gravitational energy, the height of the upper layer could significantly increase then. Hence, the innermost part of the upper layer after almost all the angular momentum has been removed could have a much greater height than the size of the black hole, and the flow could collide with itself around the central axis of the disk, bouncing back from the axis while simultaneously expanding along it. The flow is expected to go outward along the central axis and to become supersonic due to the change in its cross section, finally producing relativistic jets.