On the possibility of a warped disc origin of the inclined stellar discs at the Galactic Centre

(Abridged) The Galactic Center (GC) hosts a population of young stars some of which seem to form mutually inclined discs of clockwise and counter clockwise rotating stars. We present a warped disc origin scenario for these stars assuming that an initially flat accretion disc becomes warped due to the Pringle instability, or due to Bardeen-Petterson effect, before it fragments to stars. We show that this is plausible if the star formation efficiency $\epsilon_{SF} \lesssim 1$, and the viscosity parameter $\alpha \sim 0.1$. After fragmentation, we model the disc as a collection of concentric, circular, mutually tilted rings, and construct warped disc models for mass ratios and other parameters relevant to the GC environment, but also for more massive discs. We take into account the disc's self-gravity and the torques exerted by a surrounding star cluster. We show that a self-gravitating low-mass disc ($M_d / M_{bh} \sim 0.001$) precesses in integrity in the life-time of the stars, but precesses freely when the torques from a non-spherical cluster are included. An intermediate-mass disc ($M_d / M_{bh} \sim 0.01$) breaks into pieces which precess independently in the self-gravity-only case, and become disrupted in the presence of the star cluster torques. For a high-mass disc ($M_d / M_{bh} \sim 0.1$) the evolution is dominated by self-gravity and the disc is broken but not dissolved. The time-scale after which the disc breaks scales almost linearly with ($M_d / M_{bh}$) for self-gravitating models. Typical values are longer than the age of the stars for a low mass disc, and are in the range $\sim 8 \times 10^4-10^5$ yr for high and intermediate-mass discs respectively. None of these models explain the rotation properties of the two GC discs, but a comparison of them with the clockwise disc shows that the lowest mass model in a spherical star cluster matches the data best.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figures, abstract abridged to meet arXiv requirements. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Simulations of Direct Collisions of Gas Clouds with the Central Black Hole

We perform numerical simulations of clouds in the Galactic Centre (GC) engulfing the nuclear super-massive black hole and show that this mechanism leads to the formation of gaseous accretion discs with properties that are similar to the expected gaseous progenitor discs that fragmented into the observed stellar disc in the GC. As soon as the cloud hits the black hole, gas with opposite angular momentum relative to the black hole collides downstream. This process leads to redistribution of angular momentum and dissipation of kinetic energy, resulting in a compact gaseous accretion disc. A parameter study using thirteen high resolution simulations of homogeneous clouds falling onto the black hole and engulfing it in parts demonstrates that this mechanism is able to produce gaseous accretion discs that could potentially be the progenitor of the observed stellar disc in the GC. A comparison of simulations with different equations of state (adiabatic, isothermal and full cooling) demonstrates the importance of including a detailed thermodynamical description. However the simple isothermal approach already yields good results on the radial mass transfer and accretion rates, as well as disc eccentricities and sizes. We find that the cloud impact parameter strongly influences the accretion rate whereas the impact velocity has a small affect on the accretion rate.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Self-gravitating warped discs around supermassive black holes

We consider warped equilibrium configurations for stellar and gaseous disks in the Keplerian force-field of a supermassive black hole, assuming that the self-gravity of the disk provides the only acting torques. Modeling the disk as a collection of concentric circular rings, and computing the torques in the non-linear regime, we show that stable, strongly warped precessing equilibria are possible. These solutions exist for a wide range of disk-to-black hole mass ratios $M_d/M_{bh}$, can span large warp angles of up to $\pm\sim 120\deg$, have inner and outer boundaries, and extend over a radial range of a factor of typically two to four. These equilibrium configurations obey a scaling relation such that in good approximation \phidot/\Omega\propto M_d/M_{bh} where \phidot is the (retrograde) precession frequency and $\Omega$ is a characteristic orbital frequency in the disk. Stability was determined using linear perturbation theory and, in a few cases, confirmed by numerical integration of the equations of motion. Most of the precessing equilibria are found to be stable, but some are unstable. The main result of this study is that highly warped disks near black holes can persist for long times without any persistent forcing other than by their self-gravity. The possible relevance of this to galactic nuclei is briefly discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 21 figures, published in MNRA

Evidence for Warped Disks of Young Stars in the Galactic Center

The central parsec around the super-massive black hole in the Galactic Center hosts more than 100 young and massive stars. Outside the central cusp (R~1") the majority of these O and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars reside in a main clockwise system, plus a second, less prominent disk or streamer system at large angles with respect to the main system. Here we present the results from new observations of the Galactic Center with the AO-assisted near-infrared imager NACO and the integral field spectrograph SINFONI on the ESO/VLT. These include the detection of 27 new reliably measured WR/O stars in the central 12" and improved measurements of 63 previously detected stars, with proper motion uncertainties reduced by a factor of four compared to our earlier work. We develop a detailed statistical analysis of their orbital properties and orientations. Half of the WR/O stars are compatible with being members of a clockwise rotating system. The rotation axis of this system shows a strong transition as a function of the projected distance from SgrA*. The main clockwise system either is either a strongly warped single disk with a thickness of about 10 degrees, or consists of a series of streamers with significant radial variation in their orbital planes. 11 out of 61 clockwise moving stars have an angular separation of more than 30 degrees from the clockwise system. The mean eccentricity of the clockwise system is 0.36+/-0.06. The distribution of the counter-clockwise WR/O star is not isotropic at the 98% confidence level. It is compatible with a coherent structure such as stellar filaments, streams, small clusters or possibly a disk in a dissolving state. The observed disk warp and the steep surface density distribution favor in situ star formation in gaseous accretion disks as the origin of the young stars.Comment: ApJ in pres

Radiations and male fertility

During recent years, an increasing percentage of male infertility has to be attributed to an array of environmental, health and lifestyle factors. Male infertility is likely to be affected by the intense exposure to heat and extreme exposure to pesticides, radiations, radioactivity and other hazardous substances. We are surrounded by several types of ionizing and non-ionizing radiations and both have recognized causative effects on spermatogenesis. Since it is impossible to cover all types of radiation sources and their biological effects under a single title, this review is focusing on radiation deriving from cell phones, laptops, Wi-Fi and microwave ovens, as these are the most common sources of non-ionizing radiations, which may contribute to the cause of infertility by exploring the effect of exposure to radiofrequency radiations on the male fertility pattern. From currently available studies it is clear that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) have deleterious effects on sperm parameters (like sperm count, morphology, motility), affects the role of kinases in cellular metabolism and the endocrine system, and produces genotoxicity, genomic instability and oxidative stress. This is followed with protective measures for these radiations and future recommendations. The study concludes that the RF-EMF may induce oxidative stress with an increased level of reactive oxygen species, which may lead to infertility. This has been concluded based on available evidences from in vitro and in vivo studies suggesting that RF-EMF exposure negatively affects sperm quality

Simulations of the Galactic Centre Stellar Discs In a Warped Disc Origin Scenario

The Galactic Center (GC) hosts a population of young stars some of which seem to form a system of mutually inclined warped discs. While the presence of young stars in the close vicinity of the massive black hole is already problematic, their orbital configuration makes the situation even more puzzling. We present a possible warped disc origin scenario for these stars, which assumes an initially flat accretion disc which develops a warp through Pringle instability, or Bardeen-Petterson Effect. By working out the critical radii and the time scales involved, we argue that disc warping is plausible for GC parameters. We construct time evolution models for such discs considering the discs' self-gravity, and the torques exerted by the surrounding old star cluster. Our simulations suggest that the best agreement for a purely self-gravitating model is obtained for a disc-to-black hole mass ratio of M-d/M-bh similar to 0.001

Magnetorotational instability in diamagnetic, misaligned protostellar discs

2-s2.0-85096901264In this study, we addressed the question of how the growth rate of the magnetorotational instability is modified when the radial component of the stellar dipole magnetic field is taken into account in addition to the vertical component. Considering a fiducial radius in the disc where diamagnetic currents are pronounced, we carried out a linear stability analysis to obtain the growth rates of the magnetorotational instability for various parameters such as the ratio of the radial-To-vertical component and the gradient of the magnetic field, the Alfvenic Mach number, and the diamagnetization parameter. Our results show that the interaction between the diamagnetic current and the radial component of the magnetic field increases the growth rate of the magnetorotational instability and generates a force perpendicular to the disc plane that may induce a torque. It is also shown that considering the radial component of the magnetic field and taking into account a radial gradient in the vertical component of the magnetic field causes an increase in the magnitudes of the growth rates of both the axisymmetric (m = 0) and the non-Axisymmetric (m = 1) modes. © 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society