244 research outputs found
Current Status of Simulations
As the title suggests, the purpose of this chapter is to review the current
status of numerical simulations of black hole accretion disks. This chapter
focuses exclusively on global simulations of the accretion process within a few
tens of gravitational radii of the black hole. Most of the simulations
discussed are performed using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)
schemes, although some mention is made of Newtonian radiation MHD simulations
and smoothed particle hydrodynamics. The goal is to convey some of the exciting
work that has been going on in the past few years and provide some speculation
on future directions.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the ISSI-Bern
workshop on "The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes" (8-12 October 2012
Recommended from our members
Simulations and Analytic Models of Relativistic Magnetized Jets
Astronom
Force-free magnetosphere of an aligned rotator with differential rotation of open magnetic field lines
Here we briefly report on results of self-consistent numerical modeling of a
differentially rotating force-free magnetosphere of an aligned rotator. We show
that differential rotation of the open field line zone is significant for
adjusting of the global structure of the magnetosphere to the current density
flowing through the polar cap cascades. We argue that for most pulsars
stationary cascades in the polar cap can not support stationary force-free
configurations of the magnetosphere.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Presented at the conference "Isolated Neutron
Stars: from the Interior to the Surface", London, April 24-28, 2006; to
appear in Astrophysics and Space Science. Significantly revised version, a
mistake found by ourselfs in the numerical code was corrected, all presented
results are obtained with the correct version of the cod
Resistive and magnetized accretion flows with convection
We considered the effects of convection on the radiatively inefficient
accretion flows (RIAF) in the presence of resistivity and toroidal magnetic
field. We discussed the effects of convection on transports of angular momentum
and energy. We established two cases for the resistive and magnetized RIAFs
with convection: assuming the convection parameter as a free parameter and
using mixing-length theory to calculate convection parameter. A self-similar
method was used to solve the integrated equations that govern the behavior of
the presented model. The solutions showed that the accretion and rotational
velocities decrease by adding the convection parameter, while the sound speed
increases. Moreover, by using mixing-length theory to calculate convection
parameter, we found that the convection can be important in RIAFs with magnetic
field and resistivity.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Ap&S
Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets
The spins of ten stellar black holes have been measured using the
continuum-fitting method. These black holes are located in two distinct classes
of X-ray binary systems, one that is persistently X-ray bright and another that
is transient. Both the persistent and transient black holes remain for long
periods in a state where their spectra are dominated by a thermal accretion
disk component. The spin of a black hole of known mass and distance can be
measured by fitting this thermal continuum spectrum to the thin-disk model of
Novikov and Thorne; the key fit parameter is the radius of the inner edge of
the black hole's accretion disk. Strong observational and theoretical evidence
links the inner-disk radius to the radius of the innermost stable circular
orbit, which is trivially related to the dimensionless spin parameter a_* of
the black hole (|a_*| < 1). The ten spins that have so far been measured by
this continuum-fitting method range widely from a_* \approx 0 to a_* > 0.95.
The robustness of the method is demonstrated by the dozens or hundreds of
independent and consistent measurements of spin that have been obtained for
several black holes, and through careful consideration of many sources of
systematic error. Among the results discussed is a dichotomy between the
transient and persistent black holes; the latter have higher spins and larger
masses. Also discussed is recently discovered evidence in the transient sources
for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spin.Comment: 30 pages. Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to
appear in hard cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of
Accretion onto Black Holes" (Springer Publisher). Changes to Sections 5.2,
6.1 and 7.4. Section 7.4 responds to Russell et al. 2013 (MNRAS, 431, 405)
who find no evidence for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets
and black hole spi
Radio emission and jets from microquasars
To some extent, all Galactic binary systems hosting a compact object are
potential `microquasars', so much as all galactic nuclei may have been quasars,
once upon a time. The necessary ingredients for a compact object of stellar
mass to qualify as a microquasar seem to be: accretion, rotation and magnetic
field. The presence of a black hole may help, but is not strictly required,
since neutron star X-ray binaries and dwarf novae can be powerful jet sources
as well. The above issues are broadly discussed throughout this Chapter, with a
a rather trivial question in mind: why do we care? In other words: are jets a
negligible phenomenon in terms of accretion power, or do they contribute
significantly to dissipating gravitational potential energy? How do they
influence their surroundings? The latter point is especially relevant in a
broader context, as there is mounting evidence that outflows powered by
super-massive black holes in external galaxies may play a crucial role in
regulating the evolution of cosmic structures. Microquasars can also be thought
of as a form of quasars for the impatient: what makes them appealing, despite
their low number statistics with respect to quasars, are the fast variability
time-scales. In the first approximation, the physics of the jet-accretion
coupling in the innermost regions should be set by the mass/size of the
accretor: stellar mass objects vary on 10^5-10^8 times shorter time-scales,
making it possible to study variable accretion modes and related ejection
phenomena over average Ph.D. time-scales. [Abridged]Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, To appear in Belloni, T. (ed.): The Jet
Paradigm - From Microquasars to Quasars, Lect. Notes Phys. 794 (2009
General Relativistic MHD Jets
Magnetic fields connecting the immediate environs of rotating black holes to
large distances appear to be the most promising mechanism for launching
relativistic jets, an idea first developed by Blandford and Znajek in the
mid-1970s. To enable an understanding of this process, we provide a brief
introduction to dynamics and electromagnetism in the spacetime near black
holes. We then present a brief summary of the classical Blandford-Znajek
mechanism and its conceptual foundations. Recently, it has become possible to
study these effects in much greater detail using numerical simulation. After
discussing which aspects of the problem can be handled well by numerical means
and which aspects remain beyond the grasp of such methods, we summarize their
results so far. Simulations have confirmed that processes akin to the classical
Blandford-Znajek mechanism can launch powerful electromagnetically-dominated
jets, and have shown how the jet luminosity can be related to black hole spin
and concurrent accretion rate. However, they have also shown that the
luminosity and variability of jets can depend strongly on magnetic field
geometry. We close with a discussion of several important open questions.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, To appear in Belloni, T. (ed.): The Jet Paradigm
- From Microquasars to Quasars, Lect. Notes Phys. 794 (2009
Theory of magnetically powered jets
The magnetic theory for the production of jets by accreting objects is
reviewed with emphasis on outstanding problem areas. An effort is made to show
the connections behind the occasionally diverging nomenclature in the
literature, to contrast the different points of view about basic mechanisms,
and to highlight concepts for interpreting the results of numerical
simulations. The role of dissipation of magnetic energy in accelerating the
flow is discussed, and its importance for explaining high Lorentz factors. The
collimation of jets to the observed narrow angles is discussed, including a
critical discussion of the role of `hoop stress'. The transition between disk
and outflow is one of the least understood parts of the magnetic theory; its
role in setting the mass flux in the wind, in possible modulations of the mass
flux, and the uncertainties in treating it realistically are discussed. Current
views on most of these problems are still strongly influenced by the
restriction to 2 dimensions (axisymmetry) in previous analytical and numerical
work; 3-D effects likely to be important are suggested. An interesting problem
area is the nature and origin of the strong, preferably highly ordered magnetic
fields known to work best for jet production. The observational evidence for
such fields and their behavior in numerical simulations is discussed. I argue
that the presence or absence of such fields may well be the `second parameter'
governing not only the presence of jets but also the X-ray spectra and timing
behavior of X-ray binaries.Comment: 29 pages. Publication delays offered the opportunity for further
corrections, an expansion of sect 4.2, and one more Fig. To appear in
Belloni, T. (ed.): The Jet Paradigm - From Microquasars to Quasars, Lect.
Notes Phys. 794 (2009
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
Theory and Applications of Non-Relativistic and Relativistic Turbulent Reconnection
Realistic astrophysical environments are turbulent due to the extremely high
Reynolds numbers. Therefore, the theories of reconnection intended for
describing astrophysical reconnection should not ignore the effects of
turbulence on magnetic reconnection. Turbulence is known to change the nature
of many physical processes dramatically and in this review we claim that
magnetic reconnection is not an exception. We stress that not only
astrophysical turbulence is ubiquitous, but also magnetic reconnection itself
induces turbulence. Thus turbulence must be accounted for in any realistic
astrophysical reconnection setup. We argue that due to the similarities of MHD
turbulence in relativistic and non-relativistic cases the theory of magnetic
reconnection developed for the non-relativistic case can be extended to the
relativistic case and we provide numerical simulations that support this
conjecture. We also provide quantitative comparisons of the theoretical
predictions and results of numerical experiments, including the situations when
turbulent reconnection is self-driven, i.e. the turbulence in the system is
generated by the reconnection process itself. We show how turbulent
reconnection entails the violation of magnetic flux freezing, the conclusion
that has really far reaching consequences for many realistically turbulent
astrophysical environments. In addition, we consider observational testing of
turbulent reconnection as well as numerous implications of the theory. The
former includes the Sun and solar wind reconnection, while the latter include
the process of reconnection diffusion induced by turbulent reconnection, the
acceleration of energetic particles, bursts of turbulent reconnection related
to black hole sources as well as gamma ray bursts. Finally, we explain why
turbulent reconnection cannot be explained by turbulent resistivity or derived
through the mean field approach.Comment: 66 pages, 24 figures, a chapter of the book "Magnetic Reconnection -
Concepts and Applications", editors W. Gonzalez, E. N. Parke
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