Shakura-Sunyaev Disk Research Articles

Unified description of accretion flows around black holes

We provide a unified description of thermal equilibria of black hole accretion disks, including the newly-discovered advection-dominated solutions. We classify the solutions on the basis of optical depth and importance of advection cooling. We demonstrate that only four physically distinct topological types of equilibria exist. Two of the types correspond to optically thin and optically thick equilibria, while the other two types are distinguished by whether advection is negligible or dominant. A stable Shakura-Sunyaev disk exists only for accretion rates $\dot M$ below a certain maximum. However, there is a critical viscosity parameter $\alpha_{\rm crit}$, which is a function of radius, such that for $\alpha>\alpha_{\rm crit}$ advection-dominated solutions exist for all $\dot M$. Even when $\alpha< \alpha_{\rm crit}$, the advection-dominated solutions are available for a wide range of $\dot M$ except for a gap around the Eddington rate. We therefore suggest that advection-dominated flows may be more common than standard thin disks in black hole systems. For certain ranges of radii and $\dot M$, no stable steady state solution is possible. In these cases, we suggest that limit cycle behavior may occur, leading to variability.

Simultaneous Implosive Accretion and Jet Formation in Quasars: Correlation of Optical Outbursts by VLBI Jets

A model and simulation code have been developed for time-dependent axisymmetric disk accretion onto a compact object including for the first time the influence of an ordered magnetic field and magnetically driven outflow of energy and angular momentum in (±z) directions (see also Lovelace et al., 1993). It was shown that the system behaviour crucially depends on the amplitude of the poloidal magnetic field fluctuation Bp, compared to the critical value Bcr ∼ (α2T1/2σ/R3/2)1/2, where T(r, t) is the temperature, σ(r, t) the surface density of the disk, R the radial distance, α the alpha coefficient of Shakura-Sunyaev disk model. If the fluctuation is small, Bp &lt; Bcr, then it diffuses outwards with decreasing the amplitude and eventually disappears. In the opposite case Bp &gt; Bcr, a soliton-like structure forms in the disk density, temperature, and magnetic field and propagates implosively inward. In this case the radial accretion speed u(r, t) is shown to be the sum of the usual viscous contribution and magneitic contribution ∼ R3/2B2p/σ. The essential part of angular momentum and energy is going to the jet from the region of fluctuation. Compression of matter in the propagating wave leads to enhancement of magnetic field and more effective angular momentum outflow. This leads in turn to accelerated accretion and subsequent enhancement of magnetic field. It gives the implosive nature of the process, which can be observed as: simultaneous burst in the radiation and outflow. The model is pertinent to the formation of discrete components observed in VLBI jets which appear to originate at times of optical outbursts at some quasars.

The observational appearance of protostellar accretion disks

The observational appearance of a protostellar accretion disk has been calculated analytically by assuming a thin, thermally emitting disk with an unspecified power-law temperature gradient. The disk is assumed to have both a maximum and a minimum radius. The analytical spectrum is compared with data from the Rho Oph dark cloud taken by Lada and Wilking (1984). Some of the spectra of sources in the Rho Oph cloud are shown to be consistent with the emission expected from a classic Shakura-Sunyaev (1973) disk when such a model is applied to the problem of protostellar formation. 25 references.