Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-02-24
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
6 pages, 5 figures, accepted in MNRAS
Scientific paper
The mechanism of angular momentum transport in accretion discs has long been debated. Although the magnetorotational instability appears to be a promising process, poorly ionized regions of accretion discs may not undergo this instability. In this letter, we revisit the possibility of transporting angular momentum by turbulent thermal convection. Using high-resolution spectral methods, we show that strongly turbulent convection can drive outward angular momentum transport at a rate that is, under certain conditions, compatible with observations of discs. We find however that the angular momentum transport is always much weaker than the vertical heat transport. These results indicate that convection might be another way to explain global disc evolution, provided that a sufficiently unstable vertical temperature profile can be maintained.
Lesur Geoffroy
Ogilvie Gordon I.
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