We present a discussion of two-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) configurations, concerning the equilibria of accretion disks of a strongly magnetized astrophysical object. We set up a viscoresistive scenario which generalizes previous two-dimensional analyses by reconciling the ideal MHD coupling of the vertical and the radial equilibria within the disk with the standard mechanism of the angular momentum transport, relying on dissipative properties of the plasma configuration. The linear features of the considered model are analytically developed and the non-linear configuration problem is addressed, by fixing the entire disk profile at the same order of approximation. Indeed, the azimuthal and electron force balance equations are no longer automatically satisfied when poloidal currents and matter fluxes are included in the problem. These additional components of the equilibrium configuration induce a different morphology of the magnetic flux surface, with respect to the ideal and simply rotating disk.
We analyze a two dimensional viscoresistive magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) model for a thin accretion disk which reconciles the crystalline structure outlined in [Coppi(2005), Coppi and Rousseau(2006)] with real microscopic and macroscopic features of astrophysical accreting systems. In particular, we consider small dissipative effects (viscosity and resistivity, characterized by a magnetic Prandtl number of order unity), poloidal matter fluxes and a toroidal component of the magnetic field. These new ingredients allow us to set up the full equilibrium profile including the azimuthal component of…
We have performed stability analysis of axisymmetric accretion mounds on neutron stars in High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXB) by 2-D MHD simulations with the PLUTO MHD code. We find that the mounds are stable with respect to interchange instabilities, but addition of excess mass destabilizes the equilibria. Our simulations confirm that accretion mounds are unstable with respect to MHD instabilities beyond a threshold mass. We investigate both filled and hollow mounds and the for the latter also compute the expected profile of cyclotron resonance scattering features (CRSF). In comparison to CRSF fr…
We investigate the onset of pressure driven toroidal mode instabilities in accretion mounds on neutron stars by 3D MHD simulations using the PLUTO MHD code. Our results confirm that for mounds beyond a threshold mass, instabilities form finger like channels at the periphery, resulting in mass loss from the magnetically confined mound. Ring like mounds with hollow interior show the instabilities at the inner edge as well. We perform the simulations for mounds of different sizes to investigate the effect of the mound mass on the growth rate of the instabilities. We also investigate the effect of…
We analyse the two-dimensional MHD configurations characterising the steady state of the accretion disk on a highly magnetised neutron star. The model we describe has a local character and represents the extension of the crystalline structure outlined in Coppi (2005), dealing with a local model too, when a specific accretion rate is taken into account. We limit our attention to the linearised MHD formulation of the electromagnetic back-reaction characterising the equilibrium, by fixing the structure of the radial, vertical and azimuthal profiles. Since we deal with toroidal currents only, the …
We compare some predictions of Wagoner & Tandon (2021) with the results of the hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of Reynolds & Miller (2009). It appears that the MHD simulations were not run for long enough and the numerical damping was not small enough to produce the observed high-frequency QPOs (and the g-mode seen in the hydro simulations).
When an accretion disk surrounds a binary rotating in the same sense, the binary exerts strong torques on the gas. Analytic work in the 1D approximation indicated that these torques sharply diminish or even eliminate accretion from the disk onto the binary. However, recent 2D and 3D simulational work has shown at most modest diminution. We present new MHD simulations demonstrating that for binaries with mass ratios of 1 and 0.1 there is essentially no difference between the accretion rate at large radius in the disk and the accretion rate onto the binary. To resolve the discrepancy with earlie…
We have numerically solved the Grad-Shafranov equation for axisymmetric static MHD equilibria of matter confined at the polar cap of neutron stars. From the equilibrium solutions we explore the stability of the accretion mounds using the PLUTO MHD code. We find that pressure driven modes disrupt the equilibria beyond a threshold mound mass, forming dynamic structures, as matter spreads over the neutron star surface. Our results show that local variation of magnetic field will significantly affect the shape and nature of the cyclotron features observed in the spectra of High Mass X-ray Binaries…
We perform MHD simulations of a thin resistive and viscous accretion disk around a neutron star with the surface dipolar magnetic field of 10$^8$ Gauss. The system evolution is followed during the interval of 500 millisecond pulsar rotations. Matter is accreted through a stable accretion column from the disk onto the star. We also show propagation of the stellar wind through the corona. Analysis of the mass accretion flux and torques on the star shows that the disk reaches the quasi-stationary state.
It is widely accepted that quasars and other active galactic nuclei (AGN) are powered by accretion of matter onto a central supermassive black hole. While numerical simulations have demonstrated the importance of magnetic fields in generating the turbulence believed necessary for accretion, so far they have not produced the high mass accretion rates required to explain the most powerful sources. We describe new global 3D simulations we are developing to assess the importance of radiation and non-ideal MHD in generating magnetized outflows that can enhance the overall rates of angular momentum …
We discuss basic features of steady accretion disk morphology around magnetized compact astrophysical objects. A comparison between the standard model of accretion based on visco-resistive MHD and the plasma instabilities, like ballooning modes, triggered by very low value of resistivity, is proposed.
We use analytic estimates and numerical simulations of test particles interacting with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence to show that subsonic MHD turbulence produces efficient second-order Fermi acceleration of relativistic particles. This acceleration is not well-described by standard quasi-linear theory but is a consequence of resonance broadening of wave-particle interactions in MHD turbulence. We provide momentum diffusion coefficients that can be used for astrophysical and heliospheric applications and discuss the implications of our results for accretion flows onto black holes. In pa…
Astrophysical accretion is arguably the most prevalent physical process in the Universe; it occurs during the birth and death of individual stars and plays a pivotal role in the evolution of entire galaxies. Accretion onto a black hole, in particular, is also the most efficient mechanism known in nature, converting up to 40% of accreting rest mass energy into spectacular forms such as high-energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) emission and relativistic jets. Whilst magnetic fields are thought to be ultimately responsible for these phenomena, our understanding of the microphysics of MHD turbulence in ac…
The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope observations of blazars show a strong correlation between the spectral index of their gamma-ray spectra and their synchrotron peak frequency $ν_{\rm{pk}}^{\rm{syn}}$; additionally, the rate of Compton Dominance of these sources also seems to be a function of $ν_{\rm{pk}}^{\rm{syn}}$. In this work, we adopt the assumption that the nonthermal emission of blazars is primarily due to radiation by a population of Fermi-accelerated electrons in a relativistic outflow (jet) along the symmetry axis of the blazar's accretion disk. Furthermore, we assume that the Comp…
We perform resistive MHD simulations of accretion disk with alpha-viscosity, accreting onto a rotating star endowed with a magnetic dipole. We find backflow in the presence of strong magnetic field and large resistivity, and probe for the dependence on Prandtl number. We find that in the magnetic case the distance from the star at which backflow begins, the stagnation radius, is different than in the hydrodynamic case, and the backflow shows non-stationary behavior. We compare the results with hydrodynamics simulations.
Turbulent magnetic diffusivity plays an important role for accretion disks and the launching of disk winds. We have implemented magnetic diffusivity, respective resistivity in the general relativistic MHD code HARM. This paper describes the theoretical background of our implementation, its numerical realization, our numerical tests and preliminary applications. The test simulations of the new code rHARM are compared with an analytic solution of the diffusion equation and a classical shock tube problem. We have further investigated the evolution of the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) in to…
We present results of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of jet formation and propagation, discussing a variety of astrophysical setups. In the first approach we consider simulations of relativistic MHD jet formation, considering jets launched from the surface of a Keplerian disk, demonstrating numerically - for the first time - the self-collimating ability of relativistic MHD jets. We obtain Lorentz factors up to about 10 while acquiring a high degree of collimation of about 1 degree. We then present synchrotron maps calculated from the intrinsic jet structure derived from the MHD jet form…
Astrophysical jets are launched from strongly magnetized systems that host an accretion disk surrounding a central object. Here we address the question how to generate the accretion disk magnetization and field structure required for jet launching. We continue our work from Paper I (Mattia & Fendt 2020a), considering a non-scalar accretion disk mean-field $α^2Ω$-dynamo in the context of large scale disk-jet simulations. We now investigate a disk dynamo that follows analytical solutions of mean-field dynamo theory, essentially based only on a single parameter, the Coriolis number. We thereby co…
We investigate the accretion induced spin up of the black hole via numerical simulations. Our method is based on general-relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics of the slowly-rotating flows in the Kerr metric, where possibly transonic shock fronts may form. We account for the changing black hole mass and spin during accretion which enforces dynamical evolution of the space-time metric. We first study non-magnetized flows with shocks, and we also include magnetic field endowed in the gas. The aim of this study is to verify whether the high mass black holes may be produced with large spins, even thou…
We investigate the launching mechanism of relativistic jets from black hole sources, in particular the strong winds from the surrounding accretion disk. Numerical investigations of the disk wind launching - the simulation of the accretion-ejection transition - have so far almost only been done for non-relativistic systems. From these simulations we know that resistivity, or magnetic diffusivity, plays an important role for the launching process. Here, we extend this treatment to general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GR-MHD) applying the resistive GR-MHD code rHARM. Our model setup conside…
We performed 3D MHD calculations of stream accretion in cataclysmic variable stars for which the white dwarf primary star possesses a strong and complex magnetic field. These calculations are motivated by observations of polars; cataclysmic variables containing white dwarfs with magnetic fields sufficiently strong to prevent the formation of an accretion disk. So an accretion stream flows from the L1 point and impacts directly onto one or more spots on the surface of the white dwarf. Observations indicate that the white dwarf, in some binaries, possesses a complex (non-dipolar) magnetic field.…
Astrophysical jets are launched from strongly magnetized systems that host an accretion disk surrounding a central object. The origin of the jet launching magnetic field is one of the open questions for modeling the accretion-ejection process. Here we address the question how to generate the accretion disk magnetization and field structure required for jet launching. Applying the PLUTO code, we present the first resistive MHD simulations of jet launching including a non-scalar accretion disk mean-field $α^2Ω$-dynamo in the context of large scale disk-jet simulations. Essentially, we find the $…
Blazars are a sub-category of radio-loud active galactic nuclei with relativistic jets pointing towards the observer. They exhibit non-thermal variable emission, which practically extends over the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Despite the plethora of multi-wavelength observations, the origin of the emission in blazar jets remains an open question. In this work, we construct a two-zone leptonic model: particles accelerate in a small region and lose energy through synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton Scattering. Consequently, the relativistic electrons escape to a larger area where the am…
The physical modeling of the accretion disk boundary layer, the region where the disk meets the surface of the accreting star, usually relies on the assumption that angular momentum transport is opposite to the radial angular frequency gradient of the disk. The standard model for turbulent shear viscosity, widely adopted in astrophysics, satisfies this assumption by construction. However, this behavior is not supported by numerical simulations of turbulent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) accretion disks, which show that angular momentum transport driven by the magnetorotational instability is ineffi…
We present results of the first global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of accretion disks fed by Roche lobe overflow, including vertical stratification, in order to investigate the roles of spiral shocks, magnetorotational instability (MRI), and the accretion stream on disk structure and evolution. Our models include a simple treatment of gas thermodynamics, with orbital Mach numbers at the inner edge of the disk $M_{\rm in}$ of 5 and 10. We find mass accretion rates to vary considerably on all time scales, with only the Mach 5 model reaching a clear quasi-stationary state. For Mach 10, …
This paper presents a series of stratified shearing-box simulations of collisionless accretion disks in the recently developed framework of kinetic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which can handle finite non-gyrotropy of a pressure tensor. Although a fully kinetic simulation predicted a more efficient angular-momentum transport in collisionless disks than in the standard MHD regime, the enhanced transport has not been observed in past kinetic MHD approaches to gyrotropic pressure anisotropy. For the purpose of investigating this missing link between the fully kinetic and MHD treatments, this paper…
We perform GR-MHD simulations of outflow launching from thin accretion disks. As in the non-relativistic case, resistivity is essential for the mass loading of the disk wind. We implemented resistivity in the ideal GR-MHD code HARM3D, extending previous works (Qian et al. 2017, 2018) for larger physical grids, higher spatial resolution, and longer simulation time. We consider an initially thin, resistive disk orbiting the black hole, threaded by a large-scale magnetic flux. As the system evolves, outflows are launched from the black hole magnetosphere and the disk surface. We mainly focus on d…
We present the results of a 3D global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of an AM CVn system that was aimed at exploring eccentricity growth in the accretion disc self-consistently from a first principles treatment of the MHD turbulence. No significant eccentricity growth occurs in the simulation. In order to investigate the reasons why, we ran 2D alpha disc simulations with alpha values of 0.01, 0.1, and 0.2, and found that only the latter two exhibit significant eccentricity growth. We present an equation expressing global eccentricity evolution in terms of contributing forces and use it t…
Magnetohydrodynamic instabilities play an important role in accretion disks systems. Besides the well-known effects of the magnetorotational instability (MRI), the Parker-Rayleigh-Taylor instability (PRTI) also arises as an important mechanism to help in the formation of the coronal region around an accretion disk and in the production of magnetic reconnection events similar to those occurring in the solar corona. In this work, we have performed three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (3D-MHD) shearing-box numerical simulations of accretion disks with an initial stratified density distribution…
AIMS. We investigate the stability and dynamics of accretion shocks in CTTSs, considering the case of beta >= 1 in the post-shock region. In these cases the 1D approximation is not valid and a multi-dimensional MHD approach is necessary. METHODS. We model an accretion stream propagating through the atmosphere of a CTTS and impacting onto its chromosphere, by performing 2D axisymmetric MHD simulations. The model takes into account the stellar magnetic field, the gravity, the radiative cooling, and the thermal conduction (including the effects of heat flux saturation). RESULTS. The dynamics and …
Winds are commonly observed in luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs). A plausible model of those winds is magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) disc winds. In the case of disc winds from a thin accretion disc, isothermal or adiabatic assumption is usually adopted in such MHD models. In this work we perform two-dimensional MHD simulations implementing different thermal treatments (isothermal, adiabatic and radiative) to study their effects on winds from a thin accretion disc. We find that both the isothermal model and the adiabatic model overestimate the temperature, underestimate the power of disc winds,…
We want to test if self-similar magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) accretion-ejection models can explain the observational results for accretion disk winds in BHBs. In our models, the density at the base of the outflow, from the accretion disk, is not a free parameter, but is determined by solving the full set of dynamical MHD equations without neglecting any physical term. Different MHD solutions were generated for different values of (a) the disk aspect ratio ($\varepsilon$) and (b) the ejection efficiency ($p$). We generated two kinds of MHD solutions depending on the absence (cold solution) or pre…
We present results of axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations investigating the launching of jets and outflows from a magnetically diffusive accretion disk. The time evolution of the disk structure is self-consistently taken into account. In contrast to previous works we have applied {\em spherical} coordinates for the numerical grid, implying substantial benefits concerning the numerical resolution and the stability of the simulation. Thanks to the new setup we were able to run simulations for more than 150,000 dynamical times on a domain extending 1500 inner disk radii with a reso…
Turbulence in an accretion disk launches Alfvén waves (AWs) that propagate away from the disk along magnetic field lines. Because the Alfvén speed varies with distance from the disk, the AWs undergo partial non-WKB reflection, and counter-propagating AWs subsequently interact, causing AW energy to cascade to small scales and dissipate. To investigate this process, we introduce an Elsasser-like formulation of general relativistic MHD (GRMHD) and develop the theory of general relativistic reduced MHD in an inhomogeneous medium. We then derive a set of equations for the mean-square AW amplitude $…
In accreting neutron star binaries, matter is channelled by the magnetic fields from the accretion disc to the poles of neutron stars forming an accretion mound. We model such mounds by numerically solving the Grad-Shafranov equation for axisymmetric static MHD equilibria. From our solutions we infer local distortion of field lines due to the weight of accreted matter. Variation in mass loading at the accretion disc will alter the shape of the accretion mound which will also affect the local field distortion. From simulations of cyclotron resonance scattering features from HMXBs, we conclude t…
We perform global three-dimensional MHD simulations of unstratified accretion disks in cataclysmic variables (CVs). By including mass inflow via an accretion stream, we are able to evolve the disk to a steady state. We investigate the relative importance of spiral shocks and the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in driving angular momentum transport and how each depend on the geometry and strength of seed magnetic field and the Mach number of the disk (where Mach number is ratio of the azimuthal velocity and the sound speed of gas). We use a locally isothermal equation of state and adopt tem…
We present the first three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of a circumbinary disk surrounding an equal mass binary. The binary maintains a fixed circular orbit of separation $a$. As in previous hydrodynamical simulations, strong torques by the binary can maintain a gap of radius $\simeq 2a$. Streams curve inward from $r \simeq 2a$ toward the binary; some of their mass passes through the inner boundary, while the remainder swings back out to the disk. However, we also find that near its inner edge the disk develops both a strong $m=1$ asymmetry and growing orbital eccentricity…
Aims. We wish to establish a firm link between jet simulations and analytical studies of magnetically-driven steady-state jets from Keplerian accretion disks. In particular, the latter have predicted the existence of recollimation shocks due to the dominant hoop-stress, so far never observed in platform simulations. Methods. We perform a set of axisymmetric MHD simulations of non-relativistic jets using the PLUTO code. The simulations are designed to reproduce the boundary conditions generally expected in analytical studies. We vary two parameters: the magnetic flux radial exponent $α$ and the…
Numerical simulations of hot accretion flows have shown that the mass accretion rate decreases with decreasing radius. Two models have been proposed to explain this result. In the adiabatic inflow-outflow solution (ADIOS), it is thought to be due to the loss of gas in outflows. In the convection-dominated accretion flow (CDAF) model, it is explained as because that the gas is locked in convective eddies. In this paper we use hydrodynamical (HD) and magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations to investigate which one is physical. We calculate and compare various properties of inflow (gas with an in…
Detailed calculations of the physical structure of accretion disk boundary layers, and thus their inferred observational properties, rely on the assumption that angular momentum transport is opposite to the radial angular frequency gradient of the disk. The standard model for turbulent shear viscosity satisfies this assumption by construction. However, this behavior is not supported by numerical simulations of turbulent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) accretion disks, which show that angular momentum transport driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) is inefficient in disk regions where, as…
Previous hydrodynamical (HD) and magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) numerical simulations of hot accretion flows have shown that the mass accretion rate decreases with decreasing radius. Two models have been proposed to explain this result. In the ADIOS model, the inward decrease of accretion rate is because of the loss of gas in the outflow. In the CDAF model, the gas is assumed to be locked in convective eddies, which results in the inward decrease of the accretion rate. We investigate the nature of inward decrease of accretion rate using HD and MHD simulations. We calculate various properties of i…
We investigate under which conditions cold, fan-shaped winds can be steadily launched from thin (Keplerian) accretion discs. Such winds are magneto-centrifugal winds launched from a thin annulus in the disc, along open magnetic field lines that fan out above the disc. In principle, such winds could be found in two situations: (1) at the interface between an inner Jet Emitting Disc, which is itself powering magneto-centrifugally driven winds, and an outer standard accretion disc; (2) at the interface between an inner closed stellar magnetosphere and the outer standard accretion disc. We refer t…
We solved the set of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations for optically thin black hole accretion flows incorporating toroidal component of magnetic field. Following global and local MHD simulations of black hole accretion disks, the magnetic field inside the disk is decomposed into a large scale field and a fluctuating field. The effects of the fluctuating magnetic field in transferring the angular momentum and dissipating the energy are described through the usual $ α$ description. We solved the MHD equations by assuming steady state and radially self-similar approximation in …
Relativistic jets are launched from black hole (BH) X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei when the disk accretion rate is below a certain limit (i.e., when the ratio of the accretion rate to the Eddingtion accretion rate, $\dot{m}$, is below about 0.01) but quenched when above. We propose a new paradigm to explain this observed coupling between the jet and the accretion disk by investigating the extraction of the rotational energy of a BH when it is surrounded by different types of accretion disk. At low accretion rates (e.g., when $\dot{m}\lesssim0.1$), the accretion near the event horizo…
The high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HFQPOs) that punctuate the light curves of X-ray binary systems present a window onto the intrinsic properties of stellar-mass black holes and hence a testbed for general relativity. One explanation for these features is that relativistic distortion of the accretion disc's differential rotation creates a trapping region in which inertial waves (r-modes) might grow to observable amplitudes. Local analyses, however, predict that large-scale magnetic fields push this trapping region to the inner disc edge, where conditions may be unfavorable for r-m…
We present a survey of optical [OI] emission at 6300 Å toward 65 TTauri stars at the spectral resolution of $\sim7$ km/s. Past work identified a highly blueshifted velocity component (HVC) tracing microjets, and a less blueshifted low-velocity-component (LVC) attributed to winds. We focus here on the LVC kinematics to investigate links between winds, jets, accretion, and disk dispersal. We track the behavior of four types of LVC components: a broad and narrow component ("BC" and "NC") in LVCs that are decomposed into two Gaussians, which typically have an HVC, and the single-Gaussian LVC profi…
We present a new, semi-analytic formalism to model the acceleration and collimation of relativistic jets in a gravitational potential. The gravitational energy density includes the kinetic, thermal, and electromagnetic mass contributions. The solutions are close to self-similar throughout the integration, from very close to the black hole to the region where gravity is unimportant. The field lines are tied to the conditions very close to the central object and eventually overcollimate, possibly leading to a collimation shock. This collimation shock could provide the conditions for diffusive sh…
Fast magnetic reconnection events can play an important role in accretion disk systems. A potential model to explain the non-thermal very-high-energy (VHE) emission (from GeV to TeV) observed in black-hole binaries (BHBs) and Active Galatic Nuclei (AGNs) can be attributed to fast magnetic reconnection induced in the turbulent corona of accretion disks and/or jets. In this work, we will discuss the results of global general relativistic MHD (GRMHD) simulations of accretion disks around black holes, whose turbulence is naturally driven by MHD instabilities, such as the magnetorotational instabil…
Global simulations of accretion flows onto perturbers embedded in magnetized disks -I. MRI and jet formation in ideal MHD
Charles University（查理大学）；Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México（墨西哥国立自治大学天文研究所）；Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute（尼尔斯·玻尔国际学院，尼尔斯·玻尔研究所）
Direct collapse black holes (DCBHs) are the leading candidates for the origin of the first supermassive black holes. However, the role of magnetic fields during their formation is still unclear as none of the previous studies has been evolved long enough to assess their impact during the accretion phase. Here, we report the results from a suite of 3D cosmological magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations which are evolved for 1.6 Myrs comparable to the expected lifetime of supermassive stars (SMSs). Our findings suggest that magnetic fields are rapidly amplified by strong accretion shocks irrespe…
Grid-based magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations have proven invaluable for the study of astrophysical accretion disks. However, the fact that angular momentum transport in disks is mediated by MHD turbulence (with structure down to very small scales) raises the concern that the properties of the modeled accretion disks are affected by the finite numerical resolution of the simulation. By implementing an orbital advection algorithm into the Athena code in cylindrical geometry, we have performed a set of global (but unstratified) Newtonian disk simulations extending up to resolutions previously…
The properties of a new-born neutron star, produced in a core-collapse supernova, can be strongly affected by the possible late fallback which occurs several hours after the explosion. This accretion occurs in the regime dominated by neutrino cooling, explored initially in this context by Chevalier (1989). Here we revisit this approach in a 1D spherically symmetric model and carry out numerical simulations in 2D in an accretion column onto a neutron star considering detailed microphysics, neutrino cooling and the presence of magnetic fields in ideal MHD. We compare our numerical results to the…
Remnant accretion disks formed in compact object mergers are an important ingredient in the understanding of electromagnetic afterglows of multi-messenger gravitational-wave events. Due to magnetically and neutrino driven winds, a significant fraction of the disk mass will eventually become unbound and undergo r-process nucleosynthesis. While this process has been studied in some detail, previous studies have typically used approximate initial conditions for the accretion disks, or started from purely hydrodynamical simulations. In this work, we analyse the properties of accretion disks formed…
3D Magnetohydrodynamic simulations show that when matter accretes onto neutron stars, in particular if the misalignment angle is small, it does not constantly fall at a fixed spot. Instead, the location at which matter reaches the star moves. These moving hot spots can be produced both during stable accretion, where matter falls near the magnetic poles of the star, and unstable accretion, characterized by the presence of several tongues of matter which fall on the star near the equator, due to Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. Precise modeling with Monte Carlo simulations shows that those movemen…
