Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1990
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1990natur.345..679s&link_type=abstract
Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 345, June 21, 1990, p. 679-686. Research supported by NSF, NASA, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and D
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
330
Accretion Disks, Active Galactic Nuclei, Astronomical Models, Galactic Evolution, Gravitational Fields, Interstellar Matter, Perturbation Theory, Star Clusters, Starburst Galaxies
Scientific paper
Accretion mechanisms for powering the central engines of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and possible sources of fuel are reviewed. It is a argued that the interstellar matter in the main body of the host galaxy is channeled toward the center, and the problem of angular momentum transport is addressed. Thin accretion disks are not a viable means of delivering fuel to luminous AGN on scales much larger than a parsec because of the long inflow time and effects of self-gravity. There are also serious obstacles to maintaining and regulating geometrically thick, hot accretion flows. The role of nonaxisymmetric perturbations of the gravitational potential on galactic scales and their triggers is emphasized. A unified model is outlined for fueling AGN, in which the inflow on large scales is driven by gravitational torques, and on small scales forms a mildly self-gravitating disk of clouds with inflow driven by magnetic torques or cloud-cloud collisions.
Begelman Mitchell C.
Frank Julian
Shlosman Isaac
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