16 research outputs found
Strong-field general relativity and quasi-periodic oscillations in x-ray binaries
Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) at frequencies near 1000 Hz were recently
discovered in several x-ray binaries containing neutron stars. Two sources show
no correlation between QPO frequency and source count rate (Berger et al. 1996,
Zhang et al. 1996). We suggest that the QPO frequency is determined by the
Keplerian orbital frequency near the marginally stable orbit predicted by
general relativity in strong gravitational fields (Muchotrzeb-Czerny 1986,
Paczynski 1987, Kluzniak et al. 1990). The QPO frequencies observed from 4U
1636-536 imply that the mass of the neutron star is 2.02 +/- 0.12 solar masses.
Interpretation of the 4.1 keV absorption line observed from 4U 1636-536 (Waki
et al. 1984) as due to Fe XXV ions then implies a neutron star radius of 9.6
+/-0.6 km.Comment: 4 pages, uses aas2pp4.sty, submitted to ApJ
Time variability of accretion flows: effects of the adiabatic index and gas temperature
We report on next phase of our study of rotating accretion flows onto black
holes. We consider hydrodynamical (HD) accretion flows with a spherically
symmetric density distribution at the outer boundary but with spherical
symmetry broken by the introduction of a small, latitude-dependent angular
momentum. We study accretion flows by means of numerical two-dimensional,
axisymmetric, HD simulations for variety of the adiabatic index, and
the gas temperature at infinity, . Our work is an extension of work
done by Proga & Begelman who consider models for only . Our main
result is that the flow properties such as the topology of the sonic surface
and time behavior strongly depend on but little on . In
particular, for , the mass accretion rate shows large
amplitude, slow time-variability which is a result of mixing between slow and
fast rotating gas. This temporal behavior differs significantly from that in
models with \gamma\simless 5/3 where the accretion rate is relatively
constant and from that in models with \gamma\simgreat 1 where the accretion
exhibits small amplitude quasi-periodic oscillations. The key parameter
responsible for the differences is the sound speed of the accretion flow which
in turn determines whether the flow is dominated by gas pressure, radiation
pressure or rotation. Despite these differences the time-averaged mass
accretion rate in units of the corresponding Bondi rate is a weak function of
and .Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, for full
resolution version goto http://users.camk.edu.pl/mmosc/ms.pd
On the Structure of Advective Accretion Disks At High Luminosity
Global solutions of optically thick advective accretion disks around black
holes are constructed. The solutions are obtained by solving numerically a set
of ordinary differential equations corresponding to a steady axisymmetric
geometrically thin disk. We pay special attention to consistently satisfy the
regularity conditions at singular points of the equations. For this reason we
analytically expand a solution at the singular point, and use coefficients of
the expansion in our iterative numerical procedure. We obtain consistent
transonic solutions in a wide range of values of the viscosity parameter alpha
and mass acretion rate. We compare two different form of viscosity: one takes
the shear stress to be proportional to the pressure, while the other uses the
angular velocity gradient-dependent stress.
We find that there are two singular points in solutions corresponding to the
pressure-proportional shear stress. The inner singular point locates close to
the last stable orbit around black hole. This point changes its type from a
saddle to node depending on values of alpha and accretion rate. The outer
singular point locates at larger radius and is always of a saddle-type. We
argue that, contrary to the previous investigations, a nodal-type inner
singular point does not introduce multiple solutions. Only one integral curve,
which corresponds to the unique global solution, passes simultaneously the
inner and outer singular points independently of the type of inner singular
point. Solutions with the angular velocity gradient-dependent shear stress have
one singular point which is always of a saddle-type and corresponds to the
unique global solution. The structure of accretion disks corresponding to both
viscosities are similar.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap
Accretion disks around Black Holes with Advection and Optical Depth Transition
We consider the effects of advection and radial gradients of pressure and
radial drift velocity on the structure of accretion disks around black holes
with proper description of optically thick/thin transitions. We concentrated
our efforts on the models with large accretion rate. Contrary to disk models
neglecting advection, we find that continuous solutions extending from the
outer disk regions to the inner edge exist for all accretion rates we have
considered. We show that the sonic point moves outward with increasing
accretion rate, and that in the innermost disk region advection acts as a
heating process that may even dominate over dissipative heating. Despite the
importance of advection on it's structure, the disk remains geometrically thin.
Global solutions of advective accretion disks, which describe continuously the
transition between optically thick outer region and optically thin inner region
are constructed and analyzed.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Proceedings of the Gamov
Memorial International Conference, Odessa, Ukraine, August 8-14, 2004,
Cambridge Scientific Publication
Strong Field Gravity and X-Ray Observations of 4U1820-30
The behavior of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) at frequencies near 1 kHz
in the x-ray emission from the neutron star x-ray binary 4U1820-30 has been
interpreted as evidence for the existence of the marginally stable orbit, a key
prediction of strong-field general relativity. The signature of the marginally
stable orbit is a saturation in QPO frequency, assumed to track inner disk
radius, versus mass accretion rate. Previous studies of 4U1820-30 have used
x-ray count rate as an indicator of mass accretion rate. However, x-ray count
rate is known to not correlate robustly with mass accretion rate or QPO
frequency in other sources. Here, we examine the QPO frequency dependence on
two other indicators of mass accretion rate: energy flux and x-ray spectral
shape. Using either of these indicators, we find that the QPO frequency
saturates at high mass accretion rates. We interpret this as strong evidence
for the existence of the marginally stable orbit.Comment: accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 7 page
Sonic-Point Model of Kilohertz Quasi-Periodic Brightness Oscillations in Low-Mass X-ray Binaries
Strong, coherent, quasi-periodic brightness oscillations (QPOs) with
frequencies ranging from about 300 Hz to 1200 Hz have been discovered with the
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer in the X-ray emission from some fifteen neutron
stars in low-mass binary systems. Two simultaneous kilohertz QPOs differing in
frequency by 250 to 350 Hertz have been detected in twelve of the fifteen
sources. Here we propose a model for these QPOs. In this model the X-ray source
is a neutron star with a surface magnetic field of 10^7 to 10^10 G and a spin
frequency of a few hundred Hertz, accreting gas via a Keplerian disk. The
frequency of the higher-frequency QPO in a kilohertz QPO pair is the Keplerian
frequency at a radius near the sonic point at the inner edge of the Keplerian
flow whereas the frequency of the lower-frequency QPO is approximately the
difference between the Keplerian frequency at a radius near the sonic point and
the stellar spin frequency. This model explains naturally many properties of
the kilohertz QPOs, including their frequencies, amplitudes, and coherence. We
show that if the frequency of the higher-frequency QPO in a pair is an orbital
frequency, as in the sonic-point model, the frequencies of these QPOs place
interesting upper bounds on the masses and radii of the neutron stars in the
kilohertz QPO sources and provide new constraints on the equation of state of
matter at high densities. Further observations of these QPOs may provide
compelling evidence for the existence of a marginally stable orbit, confirming
a key prediction of general relativity in the strong-field regime.Comment: 67 pages, including 15 figures and 5 tables; uses aas2pp4; final
version to appear in the Astrophysical Journal on 1 December 199
Hysteresis effects and diagnostics of the shock formation in low angular momentum axisymmetric accretion in the Kerr metric
The secular evolution of the purely general relativistic low angular momentum
accretion flow around a spinning black hole is shown to exhibit hysteresis
effects. This confirms that a stationary shock is an integral part of such an
accretion disc in the Kerr metric. The equations describing the space gradient
of the dynamical flow velocity of the accreting matter have been shown to be
equivalent to a first order autonomous dynamical systems. Fixed point analysis
ensures that such flow must be multi-transonic for certain astrophysically
relevant initial boundary conditions. Contrary to the existing consensus in the
literature, the critical points and the sonic points are proved not to be
isomorphic in general. Homoclinic orbits for the flow flow possessing multiple
critical points select the critical point with the higher entropy accretion
rate, confirming that the entropy accretion rate is the degeneracy removing
agent in the system. However, heteroclinic orbits are also observed for some
special situation, where both the saddle type critical points of the flow
configuration possesses identical entropy accretion rate. Topologies with
heteroclinic orbits are thus the only allowed non removable degenerate
solutions for accretion flow with multiple critical points, and are shown to be
structurally unstable. Depending on suitable initial boundary conditions, a
homoclinic trajectory can be combined with a standard non homoclinic orbit
through an energy preserving Rankine-Hugoniot type of stationary shock. An
effective Lyapunov index has been proposed to analytically confirm why certain
class of transonic flow can not accommodate shock solutions even if it produces
multiple critical points. (Abridged)Comment: mn2e.cls format. 24 pages. 4 figure
Novel Cauchy-horizon instability
The evolution of weak discontinuity is investigated on horizons in the
-dimensional static solutions in the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar-
system, including the Reissner-Nordstr\"om-(anti) de Sitter black hole. The
analysis is essentially local and nonlinear. We find that the Cauchy horizon is
unstable, whereas both the black-hole event horizon and the cosmological event
horizon are stable. This new instability, the so-called kink instability, of
the Cauchy horizon is completely different from the well-known
``infinite-blueshift'' instability. The kink instability makes the analytic
continuation beyond the Cauchy horizon unstable.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, final version to appear in Physical Review
Radiation pressure instability as a variability mechanism in the microquasar GRS 1915+105
Physical mechanism responsible for high viscosity in accretion disks is still
under debate. Parameterization of the viscous stress as proved to be
a successful representation of this mechanism in the outer parts of the disk,
explaining the dwarf novae and X-ray novae outbursts as due to ionization
instability. We show that this parameterization can be also adopted in the
innermost part of the disk where the adoption of the -viscosity law
implies the presence of the instability in the radiation pressure dominated
region. We study the time evolution of such disks. We show that the
time-dependent behavior of GRS 1915+105 can be well reproduced if
-viscosity disk model is calculated accurately (with proper numerical
coefficients in vertically averaged equations and with advection included), and
if the model is supplemented with (i) moderate corona dissipating 50% of energy
(ii) jet carrying luminosity-dependent fraction of energy. These necessary
modifications in the form of the presence of a corona and a jet are well
justified observationally. The model predicts outbursts at luminosity larger
than 0.16, as required, correct outburst timescales and
amplitudes, including the effect of increasing outburst timescale with mean
luminosity. This result strongly suggests that the -viscosity law is a
good description of the actual mechanism responsible for angular momentum
transfer also in the innermost, radiation pressure dominated part of the disk
around a black hole.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
An Analytical Study on the Multi-critical Behaviour and Related Bifurcation Phenomena for Relativistic Black Hole Accretion
We apply the theory of algebraic polynomials to analytically study the
transonic properties of general relativistic hydrodynamic axisymmetric
accretion onto non-rotating astrophysical black holes. For such accretion
phenomena, the conserved specific energy of the flow, which turns out to be one
of the two first integrals of motion in the system studied, can be expressed as
a 8 degree polynomial of the critical point of the flow configuration.
We then construct the corresponding Sturm's chain algorithm to calculate the
number of real roots lying within the astrophysically relevant domain of
. This allows, for the first time in literature, to {\it
analytically} find out the maximum number of physically acceptable solution an
accretion flow with certain geometric configuration, space-time metric, and
equation of state can have, and thus to investigate its multi-critical
properties {\it completely analytically}, for accretion flow in which the
location of the critical points can not be computed without taking recourse to
the numerical scheme. This work can further be generalized to analytically
calculate the maximal number of equilibrium points certain autonomous dynamical
system can have in general. We also demonstrate how the transition from a
mono-critical to multi-critical (or vice versa) flow configuration can be
realized through the saddle-centre bifurcation phenomena using certain
techniques of the catastrophe theory.Comment: 19 pages, 2 eps figures, to appear in "General Relativity and
Gravitation