Related papers: On the physical nature of accretion disc viscosity
We consider observational and theoretical estimates of the accretion disc viscosity parameter $\alpha$. We find that in thin, fully-ionized discs, the best observational evidence suggests a typical range $\alpha \sim 0.1 - 0.4$, whereas the…
In this letter, we present numerical calculations made to investigate the possible resolution dependence of the Shakura & Sunyaev (1973) viscosity parameter alpha from local magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the magnetorotational…
In the standard thin disc formalism the dimensionless $\alpha$ parameter is usually assumed to be constant. However, there are good theoretical reasons for believing, as well as evidence from simulations, that $\alpha$ is dependent on…
The non-linear fluid dynamics of a warped accretion disc was investigated in an earlier paper by developing a theory of fully non-linear bending waves in a thin, viscous disc. That analysis is here extended to take proper account of thermal…
A first-order correction in the $\alpha$-viscosity parameter of Shakura and Sunyaev has been introduced in the standard inviscid and thin accretion disc. A linearised time-dependent perturbative study of the stationary solutions of this…
In this short paper we show that making turbulence two- rather than three-dimensional may increase effective turbulent viscosity by about 40%. Dimensionless hydrodynamical viscosity parameter up to \alpha\_{max} = 0.25 M_t^2 may be obtained…
The physical mechanisms driving angular momentum transport in accretion discs are still unknown. Although it is generally accepted that, in hot discs, the turbulence triggered by the magneto-rotational instability is at the origin of the…
Almost all hydrodynamic accretion disk models parametrize viscosity with the dimensionless parameter alpha. There is no detailed model for alpha, so it is usually taken to be a constant. However, global simulations of magnetohydrodynamic…
We estimate a value of the viscosity parameter in AGN accretion discs for the PG quasar sample. We assume that optical variability on time-scales of months to years is caused by local instabilities in the inner accretion disc. Comparing the…
The $\alpha$ turbulent viscosity formalism for accretion discs must be interpreted as a mean field theory. The extent to which the disc scale exceeds that of the turbulence determines the precision of the predicted luminosity $L_\nu$. The…
The source of viscosity in astrophysical accretion flows is still a hotly debated issue. We investigate the contribution of convective turbulence to the total viscosity in a self-consistent approach, where the strength of convection is…
The global development of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in an accretion disk is studied within a simplified disk model that omits vertical stratification. Starting with a weak vertical seed field, a saturated state is obtained after a few…
During the final growth phase of giant planets, accretion is thought to be controlled by a surrounding circumplanetary disk. Current astrophysical accretion disk models rely on hydromagnetic turbulence or gravitoturbulence as the source of…
We show that the standard model for geometrically thin accretion disks (alpha-disks) leads to inconsistencies if selfgravity plays a role. This problem arises from the parametrization of viscosity in terms of local sound velocity and…
We derive expressions for a ``hybrid'' viscosity arising from Coulomb collisions between ions in the presence of tangled magnetic fields. Such magnetic fields are expected to be embedded in accretion flows onto black holes and other compact…
Accretion discs are fundamental to many astrophysical systems, providing the conversion of gravitational potential energy into radiation that we can observe. In many systems there is evidence that discs are warped; from spatially-resolved…
Accretion disc theory was first developed as a theory with the local heat balance, where the whole energy produced by a viscous heating was emitted to the sides of the disc. One of the most important new invention of this theory was a…
A new theory of eccentric accretion discs is presented. Starting from the basic fluid-dynamical equations in three dimensions, I derive the fundamental set of one-dimensional equations that describe how the mass, angular momentum and…
We add the $\alpha-$ effect in the dynamo driven accretion disk model proposed by Tout & Pringle (1992), i.e., a dynamo model depends on the physical processes such as Parker instability, Balbus-Hawley instability, magnetic field…
The Shakura-Sunyaev $\alpha$-viscosity coefficient, defined as the ratio of total stress to total pressure, $\alpha= \mathbb{T}/p$, played an important role in the development of the accretion disc theory in the early 1970s. The origin of…