Possible Range of Viscosity Parameters to Trigger Black Hole Candidates to Exhibit Different States of Outbursts

Santanu Mondal, Sandip K. Chakrabarti, Shreeram Nagarkoti, Patricia Aré

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

a two component advective flow around a compact object, a high-viscosity Keplerian disk is flanked by a low angular momentum and low-viscosity flow that forms a centrifugal, pressure-supported shock wave close to the black hole. The post-shock region that behaves like a Compton cloud becomes progressively smaller during the outburst as the spectra change from the hard state (HS) to the soft state (SS), in order to satisfy the Rankine- Hugoniot relation in the presence of cooling. The resonance oscillation of the shock wave that causes lowfrequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) also allows us to obtain the shock location from each observed QPO frequency. Applying the theory of transonic flow, along with Compton cooling and viscosity, we obtain the viscosity parameter αSK required for the shock to form at those places in the low-Keplerian component. When we compare the evolution of αSK for each outburst, we arrive at a major conclusion: in each source, the advective flow component typically requires an exactly similar value of aSK when transiting from one spectral state to another (e.g., from HS to SS through intermediate states and the other way around in the declining phase). Most importantly, these αSK values in the low angular momentum advective component are fully self-consistent in the sense that they remain below the critical value αcr required to form a Keplerian disk. For a further consistency check, we compute the αK of the Keplerian component, and find that in each of the objects, αSK < αcr < αK.

Original languageEnglish
Article number47
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume850
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 20 Nov 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • accretion
  • accretion disks - hydrodynamics - radiation
  • black holes
  • dynamics - shock waves - stars

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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