36 research outputs found
Accretion, Outflows, and Winds of Magnetized Stars
Many types of stars have strong magnetic fields that can dynamically
influence the flow of circumstellar matter. In stars with accretion disks, the
stellar magnetic field can truncate the inner disk and determine the paths that
matter can take to flow onto the star. These paths are different in stars with
different magnetospheres and periods of rotation. External field lines of the
magnetosphere may inflate and produce favorable conditions for outflows from
the disk-magnetosphere boundary. Outflows can be particularly strong in the
propeller regime, wherein a star rotates more rapidly than the inner disk.
Outflows may also form at the disk-magnetosphere boundary of slowly rotating
stars, if the magnetosphere is compressed by the accreting matter. In isolated,
strongly magnetized stars, the magnetic field can influence formation and/or
propagation of stellar wind outflows. Winds from low-mass, solar-type stars may
be either thermally or magnetically driven, while winds from massive, luminous
O and B type stars are radiatively driven. In all of these cases, the magnetic
field influences matter flow from the stars and determines many observational
properties. In this chapter we review recent studies of accretion, outflows,
and winds of magnetized stars with a focus on three main topics: (1) accretion
onto magnetized stars; (2) outflows from the disk-magnetosphere boundary; and
(3) winds from isolated massive magnetized stars. We show results obtained from
global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and, in a number of cases compare global
simulations with observations.Comment: 60 pages, 44 figure
Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: The Search Continues
Gravitationally bound supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) are thought to
be a natural product of galactic mergers and growth of the large scale
structure in the universe. They however remain observationally elusive, thus
raising a question about characteristic observational signatures associated
with these systems. In this conference proceeding I discuss current theoretical
understanding and latest advances and prospects in observational searches for
SBHBs.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of 2014 Sant Cugat
Forum on Astrophysics. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, ed.
C.Sopuerta (Berlin: Springer-Verlag