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Dynamical structure of highly eccentric discs with applications to tidal disruption events

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Lynch, EM 
Ogilvie, GI 

Abstract

jats:titleABSTRACT</jats:title> jats:pWhether tidal disruption events circularize or accrete directly as highly eccentric discs is the subject of current research and appears to depend sensitively on the disc thermodynamics. One aspect of this problem that has not received much attention is that a highly eccentric disc must have a strong, non-hydrostatic variation of the disc scale height around each orbit. As a complement to numerical simulations carried out by other groups, we investigate the dynamical structure of TDE discs using the non-linear theory of eccentric accretion discs. In particular, we study the variation of physical quantities around each elliptical orbit, taking into account the dynamical vertical structure, as well as viscous dissipation and radiative cooling. The solutions include a structure similar to the nozzle-like structure seen in simulations. We find evidence for the existence of the thermal instability in highly eccentric discs dominated by radiation pressure. For thermally stable solutions many of our models indicate a failure of the α-prescription for turbulent stresses. We discuss the consequences of our results for the structure of eccentric TDE discs.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

accretion, accretion discs, black hole physics, hydrodynamics, galaxies: nuclei

Journal Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0035-8711
1365-2966

Volume Title

500

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/P000673/1)
STFC (ST/T00049X/1)
STFC (1782155)