Related papers: Hydrogen-Poor Disks in Compact X-Ray Binaries
Cold optically thick accretion disks with hot coronae and radial advection have been investigated. Within the framework of $\alpha$-viscosity models, we assume that all the mass accretion and angular momentum transport take place in the…
In this lecture the basic theory of accretion disks is reviewed, with emphasis on aspects relevant for X-ray binaries and Cataclysmic Variables. The text gives a general introduction as well as a selective discussion of a number of more…
We discuss basic features of steady accretion disk morphology around magnetized compact astrophysical objects. A comparison between the standard model of accretion based on visco-resistive MHD and the plasma instabilities, like ballooning…
The UV-X continuum, the X-ray spectral features, and the variability in these bands provide powerful tools for studying the innermost regions of AGNs from which we gain an insight into the accretion process. In this chapter the discussion…
The determination of fundamental parameters in X-ray luminous (persistent) X-ray binaries has been classically hampered by the large optical luminosity of the accretion disc. New methods, based on irradiation of the donor star and burst…
We have investigated the phenomenon of explosive chromospheric evaporation from an accretion disk as a mechanism for fast variability in accreting sources such as low mass X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. This has been done in the…
X-ray luminosities of accreting T Tauri stars are observed to be systematically lower than those of non-accretors. There is as yet no widely accepted physical explanation for this effect, though it has been suggested that accretion somehow…
We present results of a set of three-dimensional, general relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of thin accretion discs around a non-rotating black hole to test their thermal stability. We consider two cases, one that is…
We investigate the impact between the gas stream from the inner Lagrangian point and the accretion disk in interacting binaries, using three dimensional Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics simulations. We find that a significant fraction of the…
The physical modeling of the accretion disk boundary layer, the region where the disk meets the surface of the accreting star, usually relies on the assumption that angular momentum transport is opposite to the radial angular frequency…
An instability can potentially operate in highly irradiated disks where the disk sharply transitions from being radially transparent to opaque (the 'transition region'). Such conditions may exist at the inner edges of transitional disks…
The observations and theory of the exciting new class of galactic black hole X-ray transients is reviewed. Seven of these systems have measured mass functions or mass estimates in excess of stable neutron stars, making them excellent black…
The Stefan-Boltzmann law yields a fundamental constraint on the geometry of inner accretion disks in black-hole X-ray binaries. It follows from considering the irradiating flux and the effective temperature of the inner parts of the disk,…
High resolution X-ray spectra of black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs) show blueshifted absorption lines from disk winds which seem to be equatorial. Winds occur in the Softer (disk-dominated) states of the outburst and are less prominent or…
The high state of black hole candidates is characterized by a quasi- thermal emission component at $kT \sim 1$ keV. In addition, this state tends to have very low variability which indicates that it is relatively stable, at least on {\it…
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) turbulence can drive significant temperature fluctuations in the accretion disk of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). As a result, the disk can be highly inhomogeneous and has a half-light radius larger than the…
It is argued that irradiation in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) caused by accretion-generated X-rays can not only change the optical appearance of LMXBs but also their outburst properties and possibly also their long-term evolution.…
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) light curves observed with different wavebands show that the variability in longer wavelength bands lags the variability in shorter wavelength bands. Measuring these lags, or reverberation mapping, is used to…
Accretion discs are composed of ionized gas in motion around a central object. Sometimes, the disc is the source of powerful bipolar jets along its rotation axis. Theoretical models invoke the existence of a bipolar magnetic field crossing…
We describe some recent nonlinear three dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of accretion discs in binary systems where the orbit is circular and not necessarily coplanar with the disc midplane. The calculations are relevant to a number of…