23 research outputs found
Wave Excitation in Disks Around Rotating Magnetic Stars
The accretion disk around a rotating magnetic star (neutron star, white dwarf
or T Tauri star) is subjected to periodic vertical magnetic forces from the
star, with the forcing frequency equal to the stellar spin frequency or twice
the spin frequency. This gives rise bending waves in the disk that may
influence the variabilities of the system. We study the excitation, propagation
and dissipation of these waves using a hydrodynamical model coupled with a
generic model description of the magnetic forces. The bending waves are
excited at the Lindblad/vertical resonance, and propagate either to larger
radii or inward toward the corotation resonance where dissipation takes place.
While the resonant torque is negligible compared to the accretion torque, the
wave nevertheless may reach appreciable amplitude and can cause or modulate
flux variabilities from the system. We discuss applications of our result to
the observed quasi-periodic oscillations from various systems, in particular
neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries.Comment: Small changes/clarifications. To be published in ApJ, Aug.20,2008
issu
Warping of Accretion Disks with Magnetically Driven Outflows: A Possible Origin for Jet Precession
Current theoretical models for the outflows/jets from AGN, X-ray binaries and
young stellar objects involve large-scale magnetic fields threading an
underlying accretion disk. We suggest that such a disk is subjected to warping
instability and retrograde precession driven by magnetic torques associated
with the outflow. The growth timescale for the disk warp and the precession
period are of order the radial infall time of the disk. These effects may be
relevant to jet precession and other variabilities observed in many systems.Comment: 4 pages with 2 figures. ApJL in pres
Three-dimensional Simulations of Disk Accretion to an Inclined Dipole: I. Magnetospheric Flow at Different Theta
We present results of fully three-dimensional MHD simulations of disk
accretion to a rotating magnetized star with its dipole moment inclined at an
angle Theta to the rotation axis of the disk. We observed that matter accretes
from the disk to a star in two or several streams depending on Theta. Streams
may precess around the star at small Theta. The inner regions of the disk are
warped. The warping is due to the tendency of matter to co-rotate with inclined
magnetosphere. The accreting matter brings positive angular momentum to the
(slowly rotating) star tending to spin it up. The corresponding torque N_z
depends only weakly on Theta. The angular momentum flux to the star is
transported predominantly by the magnetic field; the matter component
contributes < 1 % of the total flux. Results of simulations are important for
understanding the nature of classical T Tauri stars, cataclysmic variables, and
X-ray pulsars.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, LaTeX, macros: emulapj.sty, avi simulations are
available at http://www.astro.cornell.edu/us-rus/inclined.ht
Magnetically Driven Warping, Precession and Resonances in Accretion Disks
The inner region of the accretion disk onto a rotating magnetized central
star (neutron star, white dwarf or T Tauri star) is subjected to magnetic
torques which induce warping and precession of the disk. The origin of these
torques lies in the interaction between the (induced) surface current on the
disk and the horizontal magnetic field (parallel to the disk) produced by the
inclined magnetic dipole. Under quite general conditions, there exists a
magnetic warping instability in which the magnetic torque drives the disk plane
away from the equatorial plane of the star toward a state where the disk normal
vector is perpendicular to the spin axis. Viscous stress tends to suppress the
warping instability at large radii, but the magnetic torque always dominates as
the disk approaches the magnetosphere boundary. The magnetic torque also drives
the tilted inner disk into retrograde precession around the stellar spin axis.
Moreover, resonant magnetic forcing on the disk can occur which may affect the
dynamics of the disk. The magnetically driven warping instability and
precession may be related to a number observational puzzles, including: (1)
Spin evolution (torque reversal) of accreting X-ray pulsars; (2) Quasi-periodic
oscillations in low-mass X-ray binaries; (3) Super-orbital periods in X-ray
binaries; (4) Photometric period variations of T Tauri stars.Comment: 39 pages including 1 ps figure; Published version; ApJ, 524,
1030-1047 (1999
Magnetically Arrested Disks and Origin of Poynting Jets: Numerical Study
The dynamics and structure of accretion disks, which accumulate the vertical
magnetic field in the centers, are investigated using two- and
three-dimensional MHD simulations. The central field can be built up to the
equipartition level and disrupts a nearly axisymmetric outer accretion disk
inside a magnetospheric radius, forming a magnetically arrested disk (MAD). In
the MAD, the mass accretes in a form of irregular dense spiral streams and the
vertical field, split into separate bundles, penetrates through the disk plane
in low-density magnetic islands. The accreting mass, when spiraling inward,
drags the field and twists it around the axis of rotation, resulting in
collimated Poynting jets in the polar directions. These jets are powered by the
accretion flow with the efficiency up to ~1.5% (in units \dot{M}c^2). The
spiral flow pattern in the MAD is dominated by modes with low azimuthal
wavenumbers m~1-5 and can be a source of quasi-periodic oscillations in the
outgoing radiation. The formation of MAD and Poynting jets can naturally
explain the observed changes of spectral states in Galactic black hole
binaries. Our study is focused on black hole accretion flows; however, the
results can also be applicable to accretion disks around nonrelativistic
objects, such as young stellar objects and stars in binary systems.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, attached as jpg-file
Warping and precession in galactic and extragalactic accretion disks
The Bardeen-Petterson general relativistic effect has been suggested as the
mechanism responsible for precession in some accretion disk systems. Here we
examine separately four mechanisms (tidally-induced, irradiation-induced,
magnetically-induced and Bardeen-Petterson-induced) that can lead to warping
and precession. We use a sample of eight X-ray binaries and four Active
Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) that present signatures of warping and/or precession in
their accretion disks to explore the viability of the different mechanisms. For
the X-ray binaries SMC X-1 and 4U 1907+09 all four mechanisms provide
precession periods compatible with those observed, while for Cyg X-1 and the
active galaxies Arp 102B and NGC 1068, only two mechanisms are in agreement
with the observations. The irradiation-driven instability seems incapable of
producing the inferred precession of the active galaxies in our sample, and the
tidally-induced precession can probably be ruled out in the case of Arp 102B.
Perhaps the best case for a Bardeen-Petterson precession can be achieved for
NGC 1068. Our results show that given the many observational uncertainties that
still exist, it is extremely difficult to confirm unambiguously that the
Bardeen-Petterson effect has been observed in any of the other sources of our
sample.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Eclipses by circumstellar material in the T Tauri star AA Tau. II. Evidence for non-stationary magnetospheric accretion
We report the results of a synoptic study of the photometric and
spectroscopic variability of the classical T Tauri star AA Tau on timescales
ranging from a few hours to several weeks. Emission lines show both infall and
outflow signatures and are well reproduced by magnetospheric accretion models
with moderate mass accretion rates and high inclinations. The veiling shows
variations that indicate the presence of 2 rotationally modulated hot spots
corresponding to the two magnetosphere poles. It correlates well with the HeI
line flux, with B-V and the V excess flux. We have indications of a time delay
between the main emission lines and veiling, the lines formed farther away
preceding the veiling changes. The time delay we measure is consistent with
accreted material propagating downwards the accretion columns at free fall
velocity from a distance of about 8 Rstar. We also report periodic radial
velocity variations of the photospheric spectrum which might point to the
existence of a 0.02 Msun object orbiting the star at a distance of 0.08 AU.
During a few days, the variability of the system was strongly reduced and the
line fluxes and veiling severely depressed. We argue that this episode of
quiescence corresponds to the temporary disruption of the magnetic
configuration at the disk inner edge. The radial velocity variations of inflow
and outflow diagnostics in the Halpha profile yield further evidence for large
scale variations of the magnetic configuration on a timescale of a month. These
results may provide the first clear evidence for large scale instabilities
developping in T Tauri magnetospheres as the magnetic field lines are twisted
by differential rotation between the star and the inner disk.Comment: 25 pages, Astron. Astrophys., in pres
Magnetically channeled accretion in T Tauri stars : a dynamical process
We review observational evidence and open issues related to the process of
magnetospheric accretion in T Tauri stars. Emphasis is put on recent numerical
simulations and observational results which suggest that the interaction
between the stellar magnetosphere and the inner accretion disk is a highly time
dependent process on timescales ranging from hours to months.Comment: To appear in Open Issues in Local Star Formation and Early Stellar
Evolution, eds. J. Lepine, J. Gregorio-Hete
Exercise intolerance in chronic heart failure: The role of cortisol and the catabolic state
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome leading to exercise intolerance due to muscular fatigue and dyspnea. Hemodynamics fail to explain the reduced exercise capacity, while a significant skeletal muscular pathology seems to constitute the main underlying mechanism for exercise intolerance in CHF patients. There have been proposed several metabolic, neurohormonal and immune system abnormalities leading to an anabolic/catabolic imbalance that plays a central role in the pathogenesis of the wasting process of skeletal muscle myopathy. The impairment of the anabolic axes is associated with the severity of symptoms and the poor outcome in CHF, whereas increased cortisol levels are predictive of exercise intolerance, ventilatory inefficiency and chronotropic incompetence, suggesting a significant contributing mechanism to the limited functional status. Exercise training and device therapy could have beneficial effects in preventing and treating muscle wasting in CHF. However, specific anabolic treatment needs more investigation to prove possible beneficial effects. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York