ABSTRACT Recent observations indicate that some class 0 sources have orders of magnitude higher accretion rates than those of class I. We investigated the conditions for the high accretion rates of some class 0 sources by numerical calculations, modelling an external trigger. For no external trigger, we find that the maximum value of the accretion rate is determined by the ratio α of the gravit...

In observations with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer we have discovered quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) near 1 kHz from 4U 1705-44, a low–mass X-ray binary with a neutron star classified as an atoll source. In six separate observations, we detect one QPO with a frequency ranging between 770 and 870 Hz and a 4% rms fraction in the full detector energy band. There is evidence for a second QPO a...

Observations are providing increasingly detailed quantitative information about the accretion flows that power such high energy systems as X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. Analytic models of such systems must rely on assumptions such as regular flow geometry and a simple, parameterized stress. Global numerical simulations offer a way to investigate the basic physical dynamics of accre...

We find a new two-temperature hot branch of equilibrium solutions for stationary accretion disks around black holes. In units of Eddington accretion rate defined as 10LEdd/c , the accretion rates to which these solutions correspond are within the range ṁ1 <∼ ṁ <∼ 1, here ṁ1 is the critical rate of advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF). In these solutions, the energy loss rate of the ions by...

By analogy to the different accretion states observed in black-hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs), it appears plausible that accretion disks in active galactic nuclei (AGN) undergo a state transition between a radiatively efficient and inefficient accretion flow. If the radiative efficiency changes at some critical accretion rate, there will be a change in the distribution of black hole masses and bol...

We calculate the structure of accretion disc around a rapidly rotating black hole with a super-Eddington accretion rate. The luminosity and height of the disc are reduced by the advection effect. In the case of a large viscosity parameter, α > 0.03, the accretion flow strongly deviates from thermodynamic equilibrium and overheats in the central region. With increasing accretion rate, the flow t...

We consider a black hole accreting spherically from the surrounding medium. If accretion produces a luminosity close to the Eddington limit the hole acquires a net charge so that electrons and ions can fall with the same velocity. The condition for the electrostatic field to be large enough to break the vacuum near the hole horizon translates into an upper limit for the hole mass, M ∼ 6.6 × 10 ...

Recent numerical simulations of radiatively inefficient accretion flows onto compact objects have shown that convection is a general feature in such flows. Dissipation of rotational and gravitational energies in the accretion flows results in inward increase of entropy and development of efficient convective motions. Convectiondominated accretion flows (CDAFs) have a structure that is modified ...