Related papers: X-ray Fluctuations from the Slim Disk
We review our current knowledge of thermal and viscous instabilities in accretion discs around compact objects. We begin with classical disc models based on analytic viscosity prescriptions, discussing physical uncertainties and exploring…
We discuss the expected X-ray spectral and variability properties of black hole accretion discs at high luminosity, under the hypothesis that radiation pressure dominated discs are subject to violent clumping instabilities and, as a result,…
Ultra-luminous Compact X-ray Sources (ULXs) in nearby spiral galaxies and Galactic superluminal jet sources share the common spectral characteristic that they have unusually high disk temperatures which cannot be explained in the framework…
We present the results of a long-term observation campaign of the extragalactic wind-accreting black-hole X-ray binary LMC X-1, using the Proportional Counter Array on the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The observations show that LMC…
Black holes (BHs) surrounded by accretion disks are present in the Universe at different scales of masses, from microquasars up to the active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The current picture remains ad hoc due to the complexity of the magnetic…
The non-axisymmetric structure of accretion disks around the neutron star in Be/X-ray binaries is studied by analyzing the results from three dimensional (3D) Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. It is found that ram pressure…
Layered accretion is one of the inevitable ingredients in protoplanetary disks when disk turbulence is excited by magnetorotational instabilities (MRIs). In the accretion, disk surfaces where MRIs fully operate have a high value of disk…
Recent simulations on super-Eddington accretion flows have shown that, apart from the diffusion process, the vertical advection based on magnetic buoyancy can be a more efficient process to release the trapped photons in the optically thick…
The model of a geometrically thin gaseous disk in the external gravitational potential is considered. The dinamics of small nonaxisymmetric perturbations in the plane of the accretion disk with dissipative effects is investigated. It is…
Irradiation of the accretion disc causes reflection signatures in the observed X-ray spectrum, encoding important information about the disc structure and density. A Type I X-ray burst will strongly irradiate the accretion disc and alter…
It is now widely accepted that most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are binary systems whose large (above $10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$) apparent luminosities are explained by super-Eddington accretion onto a stellar-mass compact object. Many…
We present three dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) calculations of warped accretion discs in X-ray binary systems. Geometrically thin, optically thick accretion discs are illuminated by a central radiation source. This…
As a class, LINERs and Low-Luminosity AGN tend to show little or no significant short-term variability (i.e., with time-scales less than a day). This is a marked break for the trend of increased variability in Seyfert 1 galaxies with…
When the accretion disc around a weakly magnetised neutron star (NS) meets the stellar surface, it should brake down to match the rotation of the NS, forming a boundary layer. As the mechanisms potentially responsible for this braking are…
Spiral perturbations in a gravitationally unstable accretion disk regulate disk evolution through angular-momentum transport and heating and provide an observational signature of gravitational instability (GI). We use global 3D simulations…
The physical origin of the recently identified slow-moving temperature fluctuations in accretion disks around super-massive black holes (SMBHs) cannot be accounted for by reverberation models. In this work, we propose that large-scale…
We argue that the X-ray and UV flux illuminating the parsec-scale accretion disk around luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) is super-Eddington with respect to the local far-infrared dust opacity. The far infrared opacity may be larger…
The probability density function of accretion disc luminosity fluctuations at high observed energies (i.e., energies larger than the peak temperature scale of the disc) is derived, under the assumption that the temperature fluctuations are…
The standard equilibrium for radiation-dominated accretion disks has long been known to be viscously, thermally, and convectively unstable, but the nonlinear development of these instabilities---hence the actual state of such disks---has…
Photon trapping and outflow are two key physics associated with the supercritical accretion flow. We investigate the conflict between these two processes based on two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic (RHD) simulation data and construct a…