The biconical kiloparsec structure generated by nuclear starbursts

Two-dimensional calculations of the hydrodynamics produced by nuclear starbursts, taking into consideration the accretion or infall of disc matter on to the heart of the starburst, are here shown to lead to stationary solutions that naturally account for the kpc-scale biconical X-ray and optically detected filamentary structure. The calculated flows are critically compared with former models and with observations of nuclear starbursts. For the infall models, we find that the mechanical energy power of the nuclear cluster must exceed a threshold value, imposed by the rate of disc mass accretion, to undergo blowout. This, combined with an initial mass function (IMF), is shown to regulate the minimum amount of mass that a starburst needs to generate kpc-scale outflows.     

Observations of the SW Sextantis star UU Aquarii

We present 14 nights of medium resolution (1–2 Å) spectroscopy of the eclipsing cataclysmic variable UU Aquarii obtained during a high accretion state in 1995 August–October. UU Aqr appears to be an SW Sextantis (SW Sex) star, as noted by Baptista, Steiner & Horne, and we discuss its spectroscopic behaviour in the context of the SW Sex phenomenon. Emission-line equivalent width curves, Doppler tomography, and line profile simulation provide evidence for the presence of a bright spot at the impact site of the accretion stream with the edge of the disc, and a non-axisymmetric, vertically and azimuthally extended absorbing structure in the disc. The absorption has maximum depth in the emission lines around orbital phase 0.8, but is present from φ≈0.4 to φ≈0.95. An origin is explored for this absorbing structure (as well as for the other spectroscopic behaviour of UU Aqr) in terms of the explosive impact of the accretion stream with the disc.     

'Stokes imaging' of the accretion region in magnetic cataclysmic variables — I. Conception and realization

Modelling the polarized cyclotron emission from magnetic cataclysmic variables has been a pivotal technique for determining the structure of the accretion zones on the white dwarf. To date, model solutions have been obtained from trial fits to the intensity and polarization data, which have been constructed from emission regions (for example arcs and spots) put in by hand. These models were all inferred indirectly from arguments based on the polarization and X-ray light curves.   We present a more analytical and objective technique using optimization by a genetic algorithm, Tikhonov regularization and Powell's method that robustly models the details of polarized emission.   To demonstrate the success of this technique, we show the results of several simulations in which we calculated the intensity and polarization curves from arbitrarily shaped emission regions on the surface of a sphere and then applied our code to these curves to recover the original test data. We also show how adding artificial noise affects the outcome of the optimization technique.     

Stellar dynamics in a galactic centre surrounded by a massive accretion disc — I. Newtonian description

The long-term evolution of stellar orbits bound to a massive centre is studied in order to understand the cores of star clusters in central regions of galaxies. Stellar trajectories undergo tiny perturbations, the origins of which are twofold: (i) the gravitational field of a thin gaseous disc surrounding the galactic centre, and (ii) cumulative drag arising from successive interactions of the stars with the material of the disc. Both effects are closely related because they depend on the total mass of the disc, assumed to be a small fraction of the central mass. It is shown that, in contrast to previous works, most of the retrograde (with respect to the disc) orbits are captured by the central object, presumably a massive black hole. Initially prograde orbits are also affected, so that statistical properties of the central star cluster in quasi-equilibrium may differ significantly from those deduced in previous analyses.     

Slim accretion discs: a model for ADAF–SLE transitions

We numerically construct slim, global, vertically integrated models of optically thin, transonic accretion discs around black holes, assuming a regularity condition at the sonic radius and boundary conditions at the outer radius of the disc and near the black hole. In agreement with several previous studies, we find two branches of shock-free solutions, in which the cooling is dominated either by advection or by local radiation. We also confirm that the part of the accretion flow where advection dominates is in some circumstances limited in size: it does not extend beyond a certain outer limiting radius. New results found in our paper concern the location of the limiting radius and the properties of the flow near to it. In particular, we find that beyond the limiting radius the advective-dominated solutions match on to Shapiro, Lightman &38; Eardley (SLE) discs through a smooth transition region. Therefore, the full global solutions are shock-free and unlimited in size. There is no need to postulate an extra physical effect (e.g. evaporation) for triggering the ADAF–SLE transition. It occurs as a result of standard accretion processes described by the classic slim disc equations.     

Non-axisymmetric relativistic Bondi–Hoyle accretion on to a Schwarzschild black hole

We present the results of an exhaustive numerical study of fully relativistic non-axisymmetric Bondi–Hoyle accretion on to a moving Schwarzschild black hole. We have solved the equations of general relativistic hydrodynamics with a high-resolution shock-capturing numerical scheme based on a linearized Riemann solver. The numerical code was previously used to study axisymmetric flow configurations past a Schwarzschild black hole. We have analysed and discussed the flow morphology for a sample of asymptotically high Mach number models. The results of this work reveal that initially asymptotic uniform flows always accrete on to the hole in a stationary way, which closely resembles the previous axisymmetric patterns. This is in contrast with some Newtonian numerical studies where violent flip-flop instabilities were found. As discussed in the text, the reason can be found in the initial conditions used in the relativistic regime, as they cannot exactly duplicate the previous Newtonian setups where the instability appeared. The dependence of the final solution on the inner boundary condition as well as on the grid resolution has also been studied. Finally, we have computed the accretion rates of mass and linear and angular momentum.     

Variability associated with α accretion disc theory for standard and advection-dominated discs

The α turbulent viscosity formalism for accretion discs must be interpreted as a mean field theory, modelling a steady state only on spatial or time-scales greater than those of the turbulence. The extent of the scale separation determines the relative precision error (RPE) of the predicted luminosity L _ν. Turbulence and the use of α implies that (1) field line stretching gives a magnetic pressure  α²/6 of the total pressure generally, and a one-to-one relation between α and the pressure ratio for thin discs, and (2) large turbulent scales in advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) predict a lower L _ν precision than thin discs for a given observation duration and central mass. The allowed variability (or RPE) at frequency ν increases with the size of the contributing region. For X-ray binary ADAFs, the RPE ∼ 5 per cent at R  ≤ 1000 Schwarzchild radii ( R _s) for averages over  1000 s. However, current data for galaxies like NGC 4258 and M87 give RPEs in L _ν of 50–100 per cent even at R  ≤ 100  R _S. More data are required, but systematic deviations from ADAF predictions are more significant than random deviations, and may constrain properties of the turbulence, the accretion mode, the assumption of a steady state or the accretion rate.     

Magnetospheric accretion and pre-main-sequence stellar masses

We present a method of determining lower limits on the masses of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars and so constraining the PMS evolutionary tracks. This method uses the redshifted absorption feature observed in some emission-line profiles of T Tauri stars, indicative of infall. The maximum velocity of the accreting material measures the potential energy at the stellar surface, which, combined with an observational determination of the stellar radius, yields the stellar mass. This estimate is a lower limit owing to uncertainties in the geometry and projection effects. Using available data, we show that the computed lower limits can be larger than the masses derived from PMS evolutionary tracks for M   0.5 M. Our analysis also supports the notion that accretion streams do not impact near the stellar poles but probably hit the stellar surface at moderate latitudes.