The thickness of accretion α-disks: Theory and observations

Details The thickness of accretion α-disks: Theory and observations The thickness of accretion α-disks: Theory and observations

Jul 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007arep...51..549s&link_type=abstract

Astronomy Reports, Volume 51, Issue 7, pp.549-562

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

3

97.10.Gz, 97.80.Jp

Scientific paper

Observations of X-ray binaries indicate substantial half-thicknesses for the accretion disks in these systems (up to h/R ≈ 0.25, where h is the disk half-thickness and R its radius), while standard α accretion disks predict appreciably smaller half-thicknesses. We study the theoretical vertical structure of such disks using two independent numerical methods, and show that their maximum half-thicknesses in the subcritical regime cannot exceed h/R ≈ 0.1. We consider various reasons for the apparent increase in the disk thickness, the most probable of which is the presence of matter above the disk in the form of a hot corona that scatters hard radiation from the central source and inner parts of the disk. As a result, the observed thickness of the disk and the illumination of its outer parts effectively increase. This mechanism can also explain both the optical-to-X-ray flux ratio in these systems and the observed parameters of eclipsing X-ray binaries.

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