Related papers: Numerical Models of Accretion Disks
In this paper I review and discuss the basic concepts of accretion disks, focused especially on the case of accretion disks around black holes. The well known alpha-model is revisited, showing the strengths and weaknesses of the model.…
For more than a decade, the so-called shearing box model has been used to study the fundamental local dynamics of accretion discs. This approach has proved to be very useful because it allows high resolution and long term studies to be…
With the fundamental stress mechanism of accretion disks identified--correlated MHD turbulence driven by the magneto-rotational instability--it has become possible to make numerical simulations of accretion disk dynamics based on…
Models of black hole accretion disks are reviewed, with an emphasis on the theory of hard X-ray production. The following models are considered: i) standard, ii) super-critical, iii) two-temperature, and iv) disk+corona. New developments…
This dissertation is written as an annotated collection of selected articles. The dissertation focuses on the modelling of accretion disks in X-ray binaries with a black hole or neutron star. The main objective is to use advanced numerical…
Numerical MHD codes have become extraordinarily powerful tools with which to study accretion turbulence. They have been used primarily to extract values for the classical $\alpha$ parameter, and to follow complex evolutionary development.…
The launching process of a magnetically driven outflow from an accretion disk is investigated in a local, shearing box model which allows a study of the feedback between accretion and angular momentum loss. The mass-flux instability found…
Accretion disks are observed in young stars, cataclysmic variables, binary X-ray sources et al. Accretion disk theory was first developed as a theory with the local heat balance, where the whole energy produced by a viscous heating was…
We present a scaling law that predicts the values of the stresses obtained in numerical simulations of saturated MRI-driven turbulence in non-stratified shearing boxes. It relates the turbulent stresses to the strength of the vertical…
I briefly review the theoretical models of radiatively efficient, geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk spectra that currently exist for AGN. I then discuss three recent observational developments that have real potential to…
Accretion physics studies the process of gravitational capture of ambient matter by massive stars. The background processes are very challenging to observe and measure due to the extreme conditions in these systems. Numerical simulations…
For the past twenty-five years, nearly all analyses of accretion disk dynamics have assumed that stress inside the disk is locally proportional to pressure (the "alpha-model") and that this stress goes to zero at the marginally stable…
A critical review is presented of the current status of our understanding of the the spectral output of thermally-radiating accretion disks around black holes, with special attention to those around supermassive black holes in active…
Models of X-ray production in black-hole sources are reviewed and compared with recent observations. Possible diagnostics of the hot-disk and disk-corona models are discussed in the light of spectral and temporal data. A new model of a…
In this chapter, I present a summary of observational tests of the basic picture of disk accretion. An emphasis is placed on tests relevant to black holes, but many of the fundamental results are drawn from studies of other classes of…
The problem of steady-state accretion to nonrotating black holes is examined. Advection is included and generalized formulas for the radiation pressure in both the optically thick and thin cases are used. Special attention is devoted to…
The classical alpha-disc model assumes that the turbulent stress scales linearly with -- and responds instantaneously to -- the pressure. It is likely, however, that the stress possesses a non-negligible relaxation time and will lag behind…
When the accretion rate is more than a small fraction of Eddington, the inner regions of accretion disks around black holes are expected to be radiation-dominated. However, in the alpha-model, these regions are also expected to be thermally…
We review numerical simulations of MHD turbulence. The last decade has witnessed fundamental advances both in the technical capabilities of direct numerical simulation, and in our understanding of key physical processes. Magnetic fields tap…
An accretion flow onto a supermassive black hole is the primary process powering quasars. However, a geometry of this flow is not well constrained. Both global MHD simulations and observations suggest that there are several emission…