1996/10/14 by C. S. Reynolds, T. Di Matteo, Tiziana Di Matteo +4 · 200 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Accretion (finance) #Active galactic nucleus #Advection #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Black hole (networking) #Elliptical galaxy #Galactic nuclei #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Physics #Quasar #Radiative transfer #Radio galaxy #Statistics Education and Methodologies #Supermassive black hole #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnras/283.4.l111
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 283(4), L111-L116 (Oxford University Press) · 6 pages, 2 postscript figues included. Accepted for publication in MNRAS (pink pages)
arxiv created 1996/10/14 · openalex publication_date 1996/12/11 · arxiv updated 2016/06/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
It is believed that most giant elliptical galaxies possess nuclear black holes with masses in excess of 108 M⊙. Bondi accretion from the interstellar medium might then be expected to produce quasar-like luminosities from the nuclei of even quiescent elliptical galaxies. It is a puzzle that such luminosities are not observed. Motivated by this problem, Fabian & Rees have recently suggested that the final stages of accretion in these objects occurs in an advection-dominated mode with a correspondingly small radiative efficiency. Despite possessing a long-known active nucleus and dynamical evidence for a black hole, the low radiative and kinetic luminosities of the core of M87 provide the best illustration of this problem. We examine an advection-dominated model for the nucleus of M87, and show that accretion at the Bondi rate is compatible with the best-known estimates for the core flux from radio through to X-ray wavelengths. The success of this model prompts us to propose that Fanaroff-Riley (FR)I radio galaxies and quiescent elliptical galaxies accrete in an advection-dominated mode whereas FRII-type radio-loud nuclei possess radiatively efficient thin accretion discs.