2006/04/30 by Takamitsu Tanaka, Kristen Menou · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/506442
published as Astrophys.J.649:345-360,2006 · 38 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
arxiv created 2006/06/02 · openalex publication_date 2006/09/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Motivated by the low collisionality of gas accreted onto black holes in Sgr A* and other nearby galactic nuclei, we study a family of two-dimensional advective accretion solutions with thermal conduction. While we only impose global inflow, the accretion flow spontaneously develops bipolar outflows. The role of conduction is key in providing the extra degree of freedom (latitudinal energy transport) necessary to launch these rotating thermal outflows. The sign of the Bernoulli constant does not discriminate between inflowing and outflowing regions. Our parameter survey covers mass outflow rates from ~0% to 13% of the net inflow rate, outflow velocities from ~0% to 11% of the local Keplerian velocity, and outflow opening angles from ~0° to 60°. As the magnitude of conduction is increased, outflows can adopt a conical geometry, pure inflow solutions emerge, and the limit of two-dimensional nonrotating Bondi-like solutions is eventually reached. These results confirm that radiatively inefficient, hot accretion flows have a hydrodynamic propensity to generate bipolar thermal outflows.