Work

Hydrodynamical Studies of Wind Accretion onto Compact Objects: Two‐dimensional Calculations

Year: 1997

Type: article

Abstract: We present the results of hydrodynamical simulations of nonaxisymmetric gas flow past a gravitating compact object in two dimensions. Calculations were performed with uniform flow as well as with transverse velocity and density gradients. We find that the flow is highly nonsteady, exhibiting the "flip-flop" behavior seen in previous studies, in which accretion disks form with alternating directions of rotation. We investigate the periodicity of the flip-flop behavior and study the effects of spatial resolution on the results. We find that the flip-flop motion creates accretion torques that, in some cases, may be large enough to explain the erratic spin behavior observed in Be-type X-ray pulsars.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/303835

Authors: J. S. Benensohn, D. Q. Lamb, R. E. Taam

Institutions: University of Chicago, Northwestern University

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Chicago

OpenAlex ID: W2015733693

FWCI: 5.232

Cites: 35

Cited by: 68

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