Related papers: Tilted accretion discs in cataclysmic variables: t…
We present results of global three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of accretion onto magnetized stars where both the magnetic and rotational axes of the star are tilted about the rotational axis of the disc. We…
Tidal dissipation due to convective turbulent viscosity shapes the evolution of a variety of astrophysical binaries. For example, this type of dissipation determines the rate of orbital circularization in a binary with a post-main sequence…
This thesis investigates phenomena occurring in black-hole accretion discs which are likely to induce high-frequency quasi-periodic variability. Two classes of pseudo-relativistic theoretical models are studied. The first is based on the…
Rapid, large amplitude variability at optical to X-ray wavelengths is now seen in an increasing number of Seyfert galaxies and luminous quasars. The variations imply a global change in accretion power, but are too rapid to be communicated…
We present results from a suite of three-dimensional global hydrodynamic simulations which show that spiral density waves propagating in circumstellar disks are unstable to the growth of a parametric instability that leads to break-down of…
The inner-most regions of circumbinary discs are unstable to a parametric instability whose non-linear evolution is hydrodynamical turbulence. This results in significant particle stirring, impacting on planetary growth processes such as…
Kerr black hole (BH) superradiance can form gravitational atoms and produce characteristic gravitational-wave signals, providing a probe of ultralight bosons and dark matter. In realistic systems, accretion-disk gravity can shift energy…
Recent results by Martin et al. (2014) showed in 3D SPH simulations that tilted discs in binary systems can be unstable to the development of global, damped Kozai-Lidov (KL) oscillations in which the discs exchange tilt for eccentricity. We…
We study the possible origin of hydrodynamic turbulence in cold accretion disks such as those in star-forming systems and quiescent cataclysmic variables. As these systems are expected to have neutral gas, the turbulent viscosity is likely…
In this article, we proceed to study convection as a possible factor of episodic accretion in protoplanetary disks. Within the model presented in Article~I, the accretion history is analyzed at different rates and areas of matter inflow…
We investigate observations of circumbinary disks (CBD), to find evidence for an equilibrium eccentricity predicted by current binary accretion theory. Although stellar binary demographics in the Milky Way show no evidence for a preferred…
The gravitational instabilities are important to the evolution of the disks and the planet formation in the disks. We calculate the evolution of the disks which form from the collapse of the molecular cloud cores. By changing the properties…
The early evolution of protostellar, star-forming discs, including their density structure, turbulence, magnetic dynamics, and accretion variability, remains poorly understood. We present high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations,…
In recent years, it has been demonstrated that massive stars see their infant circumstellar medium shaped into a large, irradiated, gravitationally unstable accretion disc during their early formation phase. Such discs constitute the gas…
We calculated the bolometric images of relativistic slim disks during radiation-pressure-driven thermal instability. When the mass-accretion rate exceeds the critical one, an inner region of the standard accretion disk bursts to change to a…
(Abriged) The existence of large-scale and long-lived 2D vortices in accretion discs has been debated for more than a decade. They appear spontaneously in several 2D disc simulations and they are known to accelerate planetesimal formation…
We study the orbital properties of stars in four (published) simulations of thick disks formed by: i) accretion from disrupted satellites, ii) heating of a pre-existing thin disk by a minor merger, iii) radial migration and iv) gas rich…
Disc spectra from highly luminous black hole binaries are observed to be rather simple, despite theoretical predictions to the contrary. We collate the disc-dominated spectra from multiple observations of 10 separate sources, and show that…
Eccentric disks arise in such astrophysical contexts as tidal disruption events, but it is unknown whether the magnetorotational instability (MRI), which powers accretion in circular disks, operates in eccentric disks as well. We examine…
Recent theories suggest planetesimal formation via streaming and/or gravitational instabilities may be triggered by localized enhancements in the dust-to-gas ratio, and one hypothesis is that sufficient enhancements may be produced in the…