A numerical approach for radiative cooling in relativistic outflows
Jesús M. Rueda-Becerril
备注：
6 pages, 5 figures, contribution to the 9th International Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics (IWARA2020 Video Conference) conference's proceedings, accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten
In high energy astrophysics scenarios such as blazars, GRBs or PWNe, it is highly probable that ultra-relativistic particles interact with photons in their environment through scattering. As long as the energy of the particle is greater than the energy of the interacting photon, the (classical) scattering is known to be in the Thomson regime. Otherwise, quantum effects will affect the scattering cross section, and we enter into the so-called Klein-Nishina regime. It is well known that radiative cooling in the Thomson regime is very efficient, leading to soft high-energy spectra. However, observations have shown that, in many cases, the high energy spectrum of some objects is rather hard. This has led to think that maybe particles are not being cooled down efficiently. Asymptotic approximations of the Klein-Nishina regime have been formulated in the last decades in order to account for these corrections in the distribution of particles responsible for the observed spectrum of high energy sources. In this work we presenta a numerical approach of the Klein-Nishina corrections to the radiative cooling. It has been developed to simulate the evolution of a distribution of particles interacting with photons in their surroundings via inverse Compton scattering.
The effect of cooling on the outflow rate from an accretion disk around a black hole is investigated using a coupled Monte Carlo Total Variation Diminishing code. A correlation between the spectral states and the outflow rates is found as a consequence.
Based on no-outflow assumption, we investigate steady state, axisymmetric, optically thin accretion flows in spherical coordinates. By comparing the vertically integrated advective cooling rate with the viscous heating rate, we find that the former is generally less than 30% of the latter, which indicates that the advective cooling itself cannot balance the viscous heating. As a consequence, for radiatively inefficient flows with low accretion rates such as $\dot M \la 10^{-3} \dot M_{Edd}$, where $\dot M_{Edd}$ is the Eddington accretion rate, the viscous heating rate will be larger than the …
Advection is believed to be the dominant cooling mechanism in optically thin advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAF's). When outflow is considered, however, the first impression is that advection should be of opposite sign in the inflow and the outflow, due to the opposite direction of radial motion. Then how is the energy balance achieved simultaneously? We investigate the problem in this paper, analysing the profiles of different components of advection with self-similar solutions of ADAF's in spherical coordinates ($rθϕ$). We find that for $n < 3γ/2-1$, where $n$ is the density index in …
Analytical and numerical solutions are obtained for the equation of radiative transfer in ultra-relativistic opaque jets. The solution describes the initial trapping of radiation, its adiabatic cooling, and the transition to transparency. Two opposite regimes are examined: (1) Matter-dominated outflow. Surprisingly, radiation develops enormous anisotropy in the fluid frame before decoupling from the fluid. The radiation is strongly polarized. (2) Radiation-dominated outflow. The transfer occurs as if radiation propagated in vacuum, preserving the angular distribution and the blackbody shape of…
We wish to investigate the effects of cooling of the Compton cloud on the outflow formation rate in an accretion disk around a black hole. We carry out a time dependent numerical simulation where both the hydrodynamics and the radiative transfer processes are coupled together. We consider a two-component accretion flow in which the Keplerian disk is immersed into an accreting low-angular momentum flow (halo) around a black hole. The soft photons which originate from the Keplerian disk are inverse-Comptonized by the electrons in the halo and the region between the centrifugal pressure supported…
Outflow from unmagnetized shocked radiative transonic accretion disk around a black hole
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata（印度科学教育研究所加尔各答分校）；Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata（印度太空科学卓越中心，印度科学教育研究所加尔各答分校）
Plasma outflow from a gravitational potential well with cosmic rays and self-excited Alfvén waves with cooling and wave damping is studied in the hydrodynamics regime. We study outflows in the presence of cosmic ray and Alfvén waves including the effect of cooling and wave damping. We seek physically allowable steady-state subsonic-supersonic transonic solutions. We adopted a multi-fluid hydrodynamical model for the cosmic ray plasma system. Thermal plasma, cosmic rays, and self-excited Alfvén waves are treated as fluids. Interactions such as cosmic-ray streaming instability, cooling, and wave…
The termination regions of non-relativistic jets in protostars and supersonic outflows in classical novae are nonthermal emitters. Given the high densities in these systems, radiative shocks are expected to form. However, in the presence of high velocities, the formation of adiabatic shocks is also possible. A case of interest is when the two types of shocks occur simultaneously. These dense jets/outflows are excellent candidates for laboratory experiments as demonstrated by MHD scaling. We aim at studying the combination of adiabatic and radiative shocks in these systems. We focus on determin…
We investigate the thermal stability of optically thin, two-temperature, radiative cooling-dominated accretion disks. Our linear analysis shows that the disk is thermally unstable without magnetic fields, which agrees with previous stability analysis on the Shapiro-Lightman-Eardley disk. By taking into account the effects of magnetic fields, however, we find that the disk can be or partly be thermally stable. Our results may be helpful to understand the outflows in optically thin flows. Moreover, such radiative cooling-dominated disks may provide a new explanation of the different behaviors be…
We run two GRRMHD simulations of super-Eddington accretion disks around a black hole and a non-magnetized, non-rotating neutron star. The neutron star was modeled using a reflective inner boundary condition. We observe the formation of a transition layer in the inner region of the disk in the neutron star simulation which leads to a larger mass outflow rate and a lower radiative luminosity over the black hole case. Sphereization of the flow leads to an observable luminosity at infinity around the Eddington value when viewed from all directions for the neutron star case, contrasting to the blac…
Radiative Cooling Effects on Plasmoid Formation in Black Hole Accretion Flows with Multiple Magnetic Loops
Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交大李政道研究所）；School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学物理与天文学院）；Key Laboratory for Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology (MOE), Shanghai Key Laboratory for Particle Physics and Cosmology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学粒子物理、天体物理与宇宙学教育部重点实验室/上海市粒子物理与宇宙学重点实验室）；Goethe-Universität Frankfurt（法兰克福歌德大学）；Research Center for Astronomy, Academy of Athens（雅典科学院天文学研究中心）；Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Würzburg（维尔茨堡大学理论与天体物理研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie（马克斯·普朗克射电天文研究所）
The candidate supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), is known to be fed by a radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF), inferred by its low accretion rate. Consequently, radiative cooling has in general been overlooked in the study of Sgr A*. However, the radiative properties of the plasma in RIAFs are poorly understood. In this work, using full 3D general-relativistic magneto-hydrodynamical simulations, we study the impact of radiative cooling on the dynamical evolution of the accreting plasma, presenting spectral energy distributions and synthetic sub-mi…
The cooling flow problem is one of the central problems in galaxy clusters, and active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback is considered to play a key role in offsetting cooling. However, how AGN jets heat and suppress cooling flows remains highly debated. Using an idealized simulation of a cool-core cluster, we study the development of central cooling catastrophe and how a subsequent powerful AGN jet event averts cooling flows, with a focus on complex gasdynamical processes involved. We find that the jet drives a bow shock, which reverses cooling inflows and overheats inner cool core regions. The…
Warm ionized and cold neutral outflows with velocities exceeding $100\,{\rm km\,s}^{-1}$ are commonly observed in galaxies and clusters. Theoretical studies however indicate that ram pressure from a hot wind, driven either by the central active galactic nucleus (AGN) or a starburst, cannot accelerate existing cold gas to such high speeds without destroying it. In this work we explore a different scenario, where cold gas forms in a fast, radiatively cooling outflow with temperature $T\lesssim 10^7\,{\rm K}$. Using 3D hydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that cold gas continuously fragments …
Diverging supersonic flows are accelerating, as in the case of a de Laval nozzle, and the same concept has been applied for acceleration of magnetohydrodynamic flows in the universe. Here, we study the dynamics of "non-diverging" cylindrical supersonic flows and show that they can be accelerated by effects of radiative cooling and the tangled magnetic field. In addition to radiative cooling of the jet materials (cooling effect), conversion of the ordered magnetic field into the turbulent one (conversion effect) and dissipation of the turbulent magnetic field (dissipation effect) are formulated…
Accretion flows having positive specific energy are known to produce outflows and winds which escape to a large distance. According to Two Component Advective Flow (TCAF) model, centrifugal pressure dominated region of the flow just outside the black hole horizon, with or without shocks, acts as the base of this outflow. Electrons from this region are depleted due to the wind and consequently, energy transfer rate due to inverse Comptonization of low energy photons are affected. Specifically, it becomes easier to cool this region and emerging spectrum is softened. Our main goal is to show spec…
Observations of radiative cooling in a synchrotron source offer a possibility to further constrain its properties. Inverse Compton cooling is indicated in the radio spectra during the early phases of SN\,2020oi. It is shown that contrary to previous claims, observations are consistent with equipartition between relativistic electrons and magnetic field as well as a constant mass-loss rate of the progenitor star prior to the supernova explosion. The reason for this difference is the need to include cooling directly in the fitting procedure rather than estimating its effects afterward. It is emp…
From Morphology to Variability: Radiative Cooling Effects on Horizon-Scale Polarization in Two-Temperature GRMHD Simulations
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London（伦敦大学学院穆拉德空间科学实验室）；Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学李政道研究所）；School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学物理与天文学院）；Institut für Theoretische Physik, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt（法兰克福歌德大学理论物理研究所）
Radiative cooling plays a crucial role in the dynamics of many astrophysical flows, and is particularly important in the dense shocked gas within Herbig-Haro (HH) objects and stellar jets. Simulating cooling processes accurately is necessary to compare numerical simulations with existing and planned observations of HH objects, such as those from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. In this paper we discuss a new, non-equilibrium cooling scheme we have implemented into the 3-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code AstroBEAR. The new cooling function includes ionization, recom…
We describe our modelling of the radiatively cooling shocks and their thin shells with various numerical tools in different physical and calculational setups. We inspect structure of the dense shell, its formation and evolution, pointing out physical and numerical factors that sustain its shape and also may lead to instabilities. We have found that under certain physical conditions, the circular shaped shells show a strong bending instability and successive fragmentation on Cartesian grids soon after their formation, while remain almost unperturbed when simulated on polar meshes. We explain th…
We investigate the adiabatic and radiative (synchrotron and inverse-Compton) cooling of relativistic electrons whose injected/initial distribution with energy is a power-law above a typical energy $γ_i$. Analytical and numerical results are presented for the cooling-tail and the cooled-injected distribution that develop below and above the typical energy of injected electrons, for the evolution of the peak-energy $E_p$ of the synchrotron emission spectrum, and for the pulse shape resulting from an episode of electron injection. The synchrotron emission calculated numerically is compared with t…
A number of X-ray binaries exhibit clear evidence for the presence of disk winds in the high/soft state. A promising driving mechanism for these outflows is mass loss driven by the thermal expansion of X-ray heated material in the outer disk atmosphere. Higginbottom \& Proga recently demonstrated that the properties of thermally-driven winds depend critically on the shape of the thermal equilibrium curve, since this determines the thermal stability of the irradiated material. For a given spectral energy distribution, the thermal equilibrium curve depends on exact balance between the various he…
The determination of the mass, composition, and geometry of matter outflows in black hole-neutron star and neutron star-neutron star binaries is crucial to current efforts to model kilonovae, and to understand the role of neutron star merger in r-process nucleosynthesis. In this manuscript, we review the simple criteria currently used in merger simulations to determine whether matter is unbound and what the asymptotic velocity of ejected material will be. We then show that properly accounting for both heating and cooling during r-process nucleosynthesis is important to accurately predict the m…
Magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma process associated with a rapid dissipation of magnetic energy, is believed to power many disruptive phenomena in laboratory plasma devices, the Earth magnetosphere, and the solar corona. Traditional reconnection research, geared towards these rather tenuous environments, has justifiably ignored the effects of radiation on the reconnection process. However, in many reconnecting systems in high-energy astrophysics (e.g., accretion-disk coronae, relativistic jets, magnetar flares) and, potentially, in powerful laser plasma and z-pinch experiments, the …
The actual mechanism(s) powering galactic outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is still a matter of debate. At least two physical models have been considered in the literature: wind shocks and radiation pressure on dust. Here we provide a first quantitative comparison of the AGN radiative feedback scenario with observations of galactic outflows. We directly compare our radiation pressure-driven shell models with the observational data from the most recent compilation of molecular outflows on galactic scales. We show that the observed dynamics and energetics of galactic outflows can be repr…
The effects of cosmic-ray diffusion and radiative cooling on the structure of the Galactic wind are studied using a steady state approximation. It is known that realistic cooling processes suppress the wind from launching. The effects of cosmic-ray diffusion are also supposed to be unfavorable for launching the wind. Both of these effects have not been studied simultaneously in a steady-state approximation of the wind. We find 327,254 solutions of the steady-state Galactic wind and confirm that: the effect of cosmic-ray pressure depends on the Alfv{é}n Mach number, the mass flux carried by the…
We perform two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical simulations of accretion flows onto black holes (BHs) at the nuclei of protogalaxies, and study the impact of mechanical and radiative feedback on rapid growth of BHs. The outflows deposit mass, momentum and energy into the surrounding medium and prevent mass accretion onto the BH, resulting in the reduction of radiative output. We find that when the BH is embedded in a dense gas core, ionizing radiation attenuated by inefficient BH feeding owing to mechanical feedback hardly affects the gas dynamics at the BH gravitational sphere of influenc…
Growing observational evidence confirms the existence of massive black holes ($M_{BH} \sim 10^9 M_{\odot}$), accreting at rates close to the Eddington limit, at very high redshifts ($z \gtrsim 6-7$) in the early Universe. Recent observations indicate that the host galaxies of the first quasars are chemically evolved systems, containing unexpectedly large amounts of dust. Such a combination of high luminosities and large dust content should form favourable physical conditions for radiative dusty feedback. We explore the impact of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, driven by radiation p…
Nature's most powerful high-energy sources are capable of accelerating particles to high energy and radiate it away on extremely short timescales, even shorter than the light crossing time of the system. It is yet unclear what physical processes can produce such an efficient acceleration, despite the copious radiative losses. By means of radiative particle-in-cell simulations, we show that magnetically dominated turbulence in pair plasmas subject to strong synchrotron cooling generates a nonthermal particle spectrum with a hard power-law range (slope $p \sim 1$) within a few eddy turnover time…
Observational and theoretical arguments suggest that the momentum carried in mass outflows from AGN can reach several times L / c, corresponding to outflow rates of hundreds of solar masses per year. Radiation pressure on lines alone may not be sufficient to provide this momentum deposition, and the transfer of reprocessed IR radiation in dusty nuclear gas has been postulated to provide the extra enhancement. The efficacy of this mechanism, however, will be sensitive to multi-dimensional effects such as the tendency for the reprocessed radiation to preferentially escape along sight-lines of lo…
