Heating and Cooling of Hot Accretion Flows by Non Local Radiation

We consider non-local effects which arise when radiation emitted at one radius of an accretion disk either heats or cools gas at other radii through Compton scattering. We discuss three situations: 1. Radiation from the inner regions of an advection-dominated flow Compton cooling gas at intermediate radii and Compton heating gas at large radii. 2. Soft radiation from an outer thin accretion disk Compton cooling a hot one- or two-temperature flow on the inside. 3. Soft radiation from an inner thin accretion disk Compton cooling hot gas in a surrounding one-temperature flow. We describe how previous results are modified by these non-local interactions. We find that Compton heating or cooling of the gas by the radiation emitted in the inner regions of a hot flow is not important. Likewise, Compton cooling by the soft photons from an outer thin disk is negligible when the transition from a cold to a hot flow occurs at a radius greater than some minimum $R_{tr,min}$. However, if the hot flow terminates at $R < R_{tr,min}$, non-local cooling is so strong that the hot gas is cooled to a thin disk configuration in a runaway process. In the case of a thin disk surrounded by a hot one-temperature flow, we find that Compton cooling by soft radiation dominates over local cooling in the hot gas for \dot{M} \gsim 10^{-3} \alpha \dot{M}_{Edd}, and R \lsim 10^4 R_{Schw}. As a result, the maximum accretion rate for which an advection-dominated one-temperature solution exists, decreases by a factor of $\sim 10$, compared to the value computed under an assumption of local energy balance.Comment: LaTeX aaspp.sty, 25 pages, and 6 figures; to appear in Ap

Disks Surviving the Radiation Pressure of Radio Pulsars

The radiation pressure of a radio pulsar does not necessarily disrupt a surrounding disk. The position of the inner radius of a thin disk around a neutron star can be estimated by comparing the electromagnetic energy density generated by the neutron star with the kinetic energy density of the disk. Inside the light cylinder, the near zone electromagnetic field is essentially the dipole magnetic field, and the inner radius is the conventional Alfven radius. Far outside the light cylinder, in the radiation zone, $E=B$ and the electromagnetic energy density is $/c \propto 1/r^2$ where $S$ is the Poynting vector. Shvartsman (1970) argued that a stable equilibrium can not be found in the radiative zone because the electromagnetic energy density dominates over the kinetic energy density, with the relative strength of the electromagnetic stresses increasing with radius. In order to check whether this is true also near the light cylinder, we employ global electromagnetic field solutions for rotating oblique magnetic dipoles (Deutsch 1955). Near the light cylinder the electromagnetic energy density increases steeply enough with decreasing $r$ to balance the kinetic energy density at a stable equilibrium. The transition from the near zone to the radiation zone is broad. The radiation pressure of the pulsar can not disrupt the disk for values of the inner radius up to about twice the light cylinder radius if the rotation axis and the magnetic axis are orthogonal. This allowed range beyond the light cylinder extends much further for small inclination angles. We discuss implications of this result for accretion driven millisecond pulsars and young neutron stars with fallback disks.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal, final version with a minor correctio

Trans-sonic propeller stage

We follow the approach used by Davies and Pringle (1981) and discuss the trans-sonic substage of the propeller regime. This substage is intermediate between the supersonic and subsonic propeller substages. In the trans-sonic regime an envelope around a magnetosphere of a neutron star passes through a kind of a reorganization process. The envelope in this regime consists of two parts. In the bottom one turbulent motions are subsonic. Then at some distance $r_\mathrm{s}$ the turbulent velocity becomes equal to the sound velocity. During this substage the boundary $r_\mathrm{s}$ propagates outwards till it reaches the outer boundary, and so the subsonic regime starts. We found that the trans-sonic substage is unstable, so the transition between supersonic and subsonic substages proceeds on the dynamical time scale. For realistic parameters this time is in the range from weeks to years.Comment: 8 pages with figures, submitted to Astron. Astroph. Transaction

Vacuum Breakdown near a Black Hole Charged by Hypercritical Accretion

We consider a black hole accreting spherically from the surrounding medium. If accretion produces a luminosity close to the Eddington limit the hole acquires a net charge so that electrons and ions can fall with the same velocity. The condition for the electrostatic field to be large enough to break the vacuum near the hole horizon translates into an upper limit for the hole mass, $M\sim 6.6\times 10^{20} {\rm g}.$ The astrophysical conditions under which this phaenomenon can take place are rather extreme, but in principle they could be met by a mini black hole residing at the center of a star.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Physical properties of Tolman-Bayin solutions: some cases of static charged fluid spheres in general relativity

In this article, Einstein-Maxwell space-time has been considered in connection to some of the astrophysical solutions as previously obtained by Tolman (1939) and Bayin (1978). The effect of inclusion of charge into these solutions has been investigated thoroughly and also the nature of fluid pressure and mass density throughout the sphere have been discussed. Mass-radius and mass-charge relations have been derived for various cases of the charged matter distribution. Two cases are obtained where perfect fluid with positive pressures give rise to electromagnetic mass models such that gravitational mass is of purely electromagnetic origin.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figure

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays from Quark Novae

We explore acceleration of ions in the Quark Nova (QN) scenario, where a neutron star experiences an explosive phase transition into a quark star (born in the propeller regime). In this picture, two cosmic ray components are isolated: one related to the randomized pulsar wind and the other to the propelled wind, both boosted by the ultra-relativistic Quark Nova shock. The latter component acquires energies $10^{15} {\rm eV}<E<10^{18} {\rm eV}$ while the former, boosted pulsar wind, achieves ultra-high energies $E> 10^{18.6}$ eV. The composition is dominated by ions present in the pulsar wind in the energy range above $10^{18.6}$ eV, while at energies below $10^{18}$ eV the propelled ejecta, consisting of the fall-back neutron star crust material from the explosion, is the dominant one. Added to these two components, the propeller injects relativistic particles with Lorentz factors $\Gamma_{\rm prop.} \sim 1-1000$, later to be accelerated by galactic supernova shocks. The QN model appears to be able to account for the extragalactic cosmic rays above the ankle and to contribute a few percent of the galactic cosmic rays below the ankle. We predict few hundred ultra-high energy cosmic ray events above $10^{19}$ eV for the Pierre Auger detector per distant QN, while some thousands are predicted for the proposed EUSO and OWL detectors.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure. Major revisions in the text. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

On Electrostatic Positron Acceleration In The Accretion Flow Onto Neutron Stars

As first shown by Shvartsman (1970), a neutron star accreting close to the Eddington limit must acquire a positive charge in order for electrons and protons to move at the same speed. The resulting electrostatic field may contribute to accelerating positrons produced near the star surface in conjunction with the radiative force. We reconsider the balance between energy gains and losses, including inverse Compton (IC), bremsstrahlung and non--radiative scatterings. It is found that, even accounting for IC losses only, the maximum positron energy never exceeds $\approx 400$ keV. The electrostatic field alone may produce energies $\approx 50$ keV at most. We also show that Coulomb collisions and annihilation with accreting electrons severely limit the number of positrons that escape to infinity.Comment: 9 pages plus 3 postscript figures, to be published in Ap

Where Are All The Fallback Disks? Constraints on Propeller Systems

Fallback disks are expected to form around new-born neutron stars following a supernova explosion. In almost all cases, the disk will pass through a propeller stage. If the neutron star is spinning rapidly (initial period $\sim 10$ ms) and has an ordinary magnetic moment ($\sim 10^{30}$ G cm$^3$), the rotational power transferred to the disk by the magnetic field of the neutron star will exceed the Eddington limit by many orders of magnitude, and the disk will be rapidly disrupted. Fallback disks can thus survive only around slow-born neutron stars and around black holes, assuming the latter do not torque their surrounding disks as strongly as do neutron stars. This might explain the apparent rarity of fallback disks around young compact objects.Comment: Submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letter

Three-Dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Spherical Accretion

We present three-dimensional numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations of radiatively inefficient spherical accretion onto a black hole. The simulations are initialized with a Bondi flow, and with a weak, dynamically unimportant, large-scale magnetic field. The magnetic field is amplified as the gas flows in. When the magnetic pressure approaches equipartition with the gas pressure, the field begins to reconnect and the gas is heated up. The heated gas is buoyant and moves outward, causing line stretching of the frozen-in magnetic field. This leads to further reconnection, and more heating and buoyancy-induced motions, so that the flow makes a transition to a state of self-sustained convection. The radial structure of the flow changes dramatically from its initial Bondi profile, and the mass accretion rate onto the black hole decreases significantly. Motivated by the numerical results, we develop a simplified analytical model of a radiatively inefficient spherical flow in which convective transport of energy to large radii plays an important role. In this "convection-dominated Bondi flow" the accretion velocity is highly subsonic and the density varies with radius as ~R^{-1/2} rather than the standard Bondi scaling ~R^{-3/2}. We estimate that the mass accretion rate onto the black hole is significantly less than the Bondi accretion rate. Convection-dominated Bondi flows may be relevant for understanding many astrophysical phenomena, e.g. post-supernova fallback and radiatively inefficient accretion onto supermassive black holes, stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap

A Thermal Bremsstrahlung Model For the Quiescent X-ray Emission from Sagittarius A*

I consider the thermal bremsstrahlung emission from hot accretion flows (Bondi/ADAFs), taking into account the finite size of the observing telescope's beam (R_beam) relative to the Bondi accretion radius (R_A). For R_beam >> R_A soft X-ray emission from the hot interstellar medium surrounding the black hole dominates the observed emission while for R_beam << R_A hard X-ray emission from the accretion flow dominates. I apply these models to Chandra observations of the Galactic Center, for which R_beam ~ R_A. I argue that bremsstrahlung emission accounts for most of the ``quiescent'' (non-flaring) flux observed by Chandra from Sgr A*; this emission is spatially extended on scales ~ R_A ~ 1'' and has a relatively soft spectrum, as is observed. If accretion onto the central black hole proceeds via a Bondi or ADAF flow, a hard X-ray power law should be present in deeper observations with a flux ~ 1/3 of the soft X-ray flux; nondetection of this hard X-ray component would argue against ADAF/Bondi models. I briefly discuss the application of these results to other low-luminosity AGN.Comment: final version accepted by ApJ; some rewriting but conclusions unchange