Related papers: Theory of Turbulent Accretion Disks
Understanding the mechanism that drives accretion has been the primary challenge in accretion disk theory. Turbulence provides a natural means of dissipation and the removal of angular momentum, but firmly establishing its presence in disks…
We review mechanisms for the transport of angular momentum in accretion disks that are low mass, in the sense that the gravitational forces produced by the material in these disks has a negligible effect on disk dynamics. There is no…
The conventional accretion disk lore is that magnetized turbulence is the principal angular momentum transport process that drives accretion. However, when dynamically important large-scale magnetic fields thread an accretion disk, they can…
Turbulent viscosity is frequently used in accretion disk theory to replace the microphysical viscosity in order to accomodate the observational need for in- stabilities in disks that lead to enhanced transport. However, simply replacing the…
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…
These notes introduce and review some of the physical principles underlying the theory of astrophysical accretion, emphasizing the central roles of angular momentum transport, angular momentum loss, and radiative cooling in determining the…
The mechanism of angular momentum transport in accretion discs has long been debated. Although the magnetorotational instability appears to be a promising process, poorly ionized regions of accretion discs may not undergo this instability.…
The mechanism of turbulent viscosity is the central question in investigations of turbulence. This is also the case in the accretion disk theory, where turbulence is considered to be responsible for the outward transport of angular momentum…
We present a model for the transport of anisotropic turbulence in an accretion disc. The model uses the Reynolds stress tensor approach in the mean field approximation. To study the role of convection in a protoplanetary disc, we combine…
In young circumstellar disks, accretion--the inspiral of disk material onto the central star--is important for both the buildup of stellar masses and the outcome of planet formation. Although the existence of accretion is well documented,…
We present a linear analysis of the stability of accretion disks in which angular momentum is removed by the magnetic torque exerted by a centrifugally driven wind. The effects of the dependence of the wind torque on field strength and…
I review recent work on the radial transport of angular momentum in ionized, Keplerian accretion disks. Proposed mechanisms include hydrodynamic and MHD local instabilities and long range effects mediated by wave transport. The most…
(abriged) MRI turbulence is a leading mechanism for the generation of an efficient turbulent transport of angular momentum in an accretion disk through a turbulent viscosity effect. It is believed that the same process could also transport…
Accretion disk 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 disk. One of the most important new invention of this theory was the…
The origin of hydrodynamic turbulence in rotating shear flow is a long standing puzzle. Resolving it is especially important in astrophysics when the flow angular momentum profile is Keplerian which forms an accretion disk having negligible…
The status of our current understanding of angular momentum transport in accretion disks is reviewed. The last decade has seen a dramatic increase both in the recognition of key physical processes and in our ability to carry through direct…
In this paper we present the global baroclinic instability as a source for vigorous turbulence leading to angular momentum transport in Keplerian accretion disks. We show by analytical considerations and three-dimensional radiation hydro…
Accretion disc turbulence is investigated in the framework of the shearing box approximation. The turbulence is either driven by the magneto-rotational instability or, in the non-magnetic case, by an explicit and artificial forcing term in…
[Abridged] The turbulent stresses that lead to angular momentum transport in accretion discs have often been treated as resulting from an isotropic effective viscosity, related to the pressure through the alpha parametrization of Shakura &…
We report a laboratory study of the transport of angular momentum by a turbulent flow of an electrically conducting fluid confined in a thin disk. When the electromagnetic force applied to the liquid metal is large enough, the corresponding…