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Register a new userEvolution of warped and twisted accretion discs in close binary systems
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We aim to examine the detailed disc structure that arises in a misaligned binary system as a function of the disc aspect ratio h, viscosity parameter alpha, disc outer radius R, and binary inclination angle gamma_F. We also aim to examine the conditions that lead to an inclined disc being disrupted by strong differential precession. We use a grid-based hydrodynamic code to perform 3D simulations. This code has a relatively low numerical viscosity compared with the SPH schemes that have been used previously to study inclined discs. This allows the influence of viscosity on the disc evolution to be tightly controlled. We find that for thick discs (h=0.05) with low alpha, efficient warp communication in the discs allows them to precess as rigid bodies with very little warping or twisting. Such discs are observed to align with the binary orbit plane on the viscous evolution time. Thinner discs with higher viscosity, in which warp communication is less efficient, develop significant twists before achieving a state of rigid-body precession. Under the most extreme conditions we consider (h=0.01, alpha=0.005 and alpha=0.1), we find that discs can become broken or disrupted by strong differential precession. Discs that become highly twisted are observed to align with the binary orbit plane on timescales much shorter than the viscous timescale, possibly on the precession time. We find agreement with previous studies that show that thick discs with low viscosity experience mild warping and precess rigidly. We also find that as h is decreased substantially, discs may be disrupted by strong differential precession, but for disc thicknesses that are significantly less (h=0.01) than those found in previous studies (h=0.03).
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Discs in binaries have a complex behavior because of the perturbations of the companion star. Planet formation in binary-star systems both depend on the companion star parameters and on the properties of the circumstellar disc. An eccentric disc may increase the impact velocity of planetesimals and therefore jeopardize the accumulation process. We model the evolution of discs in close binaries including the effects of self-gravity and adopting different prescriptions to model the discs radiative properties. We focus on the dynamical properties and evolutionary tracks of the discs. We use the hydrodynamical code FARGO and we include in the energy equation heating and cooling effects. Radiative discs have a lower disc eccentricity compared to locally isothermal discs with same temperature profile. As a consequence, we do not observe the formation of an internal elliptical low density region as in locally isothermal disc models. However, the disc eccentricity depends on the disc mass through the opacities. Akin to locally isothermal disc models, self-gravity forces the discs longitude of pericenter to librate about a fixed orientation with respect to the binary apsidal line ($pi$). The discs radiative properties play an important role in the evolution of discs in binaries. A radiative disc has an overall shape and internal structure that are significantly different compared to a locally isothermal disc with same temperature profile. This is an important finding both for describing the evolutionary track of the disc during its progressive mass loss, and for planet formation since the internal structure of the disc is relevant for planetesimals growth in binary systems. The non-symmetrical distribution of mass in these discs causes large eccentricities for planetesimals that may affect their growth.
Many stars are in binaries or higher-order multiple stellar systems. Although in recent years a large number of binaries have been proven to host exoplanets, how planet formation proceeds in multiple stellar systems has not been studied much yet from the theoretical standpoint. In this paper we focus on the evolution of the dust grains in planet-forming discs in binaries. We take into account the dynamics of gas and dust in discs around each component of a binary system under the hypothesis that the evolution of the circumprimary and the circumsecondary discs is independent. It is known from previous studies that the secular evolution of the gas in binary discs is hastened due to the tidal interactions with their hosting stars. Here we prove that binarity affects dust dynamics too, possibly in a more dramatic way than the gas. In particular, the presence of a stellar companion significantly reduces the amount of solids retained in binary discs because of a faster, more efficient radial drift, ultimately shortening their lifetime. We prove that how rapidly discs disperse depends both on the binary separation, with discs in wider binaries living longer, and on the disc viscosity. Although the less-viscous discs lose high amounts of solids in the earliest stages of their evolution, they are dissipated slowly, while those with higher viscosities show an opposite behaviour. The faster radial migration of dust in binary discs has a striking impact on planet formation, which seems to be inhibited in this hostile environment, unless other disc substructures halt radial drift further in. We conclude that if planetesimal formation were viable in binary discs, this process would take place on very short time scales.
(Abridged) We analyse the stability and evolution of power-law accretion disc models. These have midplane densities that follow radial power-laws, and have either temperature or entropy distributions that are power-law functions of cylindrical radius. We employ two different hydrodynamic codes to perform 2D-axisymmetric and 3D simulations that examine the long-term evolution of the disc models as a function of the power-law indices of the temperature or entropy, the thermal relaxation time of the fluid, and the viscosity. We present a stability analysis of the problem that we use to interpret the simulation results. We find that disc models whose temperature or entropy profiles cause the equilibrium angular velocity to vary with height are unstable to the growth of modes with wavenumber ratios |k_R/k_Z| >> 1 when the thermodynamic response of the fluid is isothermal, or the thermal evolution time is comparable to or shorter than the local dynamical time scale. These discs are subject to the Goldreich-Schubert-Fricke (GSF) or `vertical shear linear instability. Development of the instability involves excitation of vertical breathing and corrugation modes in the disc, with the corrugation modes in particular being a feature of the nonlinear saturated state. Instability operates when the dimensionless disc kinematic viscosity nu < 10^{-6} (Reynolds numbers Re>H c_s/nu > 2500). In 3D the instability generates a quasi-turbulent flow, and the Reynolds stress produces a fluctuating effective viscosity coefficient whose mean value reaches alpha ~ 6 x 10^{-4} by the end of the simulation. The vertical shear instability in disc models which include realistic thermal physics has yet to be examined. Should it occur, however, our results suggest that it will have significant consequences for their internal dynamics, transport properties, and observational appearance.
Three-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical simulations have demonstrated that the structure of a protoplanetary disc may be strongly affected by a planet orbiting in a plane that is misaligned to the disc. When the planet is able to open a gap, the disc is separated into an inner, precessing disc and an outer disc with a warp. In this work, we compute infrared scattered light images to investigate the observational consequences of such an arrangement. We find that an inner disc misaligned by a less than a degree to the outer disc is indeed able to cast a shadow at larger radii. In our simulations a planet of around 6 Jupiter masses inclined by around 2 degrees is enough to warp the disc and cast a shadow with a depth of more than 10% of the average flux at that radius. We also demonstrate that warp in the outer disc can cause a variation in the azimuthal brightness profile at large radii. Importantly, this latter effect is a function of the distance from the star and is most prominent in the outer disc. We apply our model to the TW Hya system, where a misaligned, precessing inner disc has been invoked to explain an recently observed shadow in the outer disc. Consideration of the observational constraints suggest that an inner disc precessing due to a misaligned planet is an unlikely explanation for the features found in TW Hya.
Precessing accretion discs have long been suggested as explanations for the long periods observed in a variety of X-ray binaries, most notably Her X-1/HZ Her. We show that an instability of the discs response to the radiation reaction force from the illumination by the central source can cause the disc to tilt out of the orbital plane and precess in something like the required manner. The rate of precession and disc tilt obtained for realistic values of system parameters compare favourably with the known body of data on X-ray binaries with long periods. We explore other possible types of behaviour than steadily precessing discs that might be observable in systems with somewhat different parameters. At high luminosities, the inner disc tilts through more than 90 degrees, i.e. it rotates counter to the usual direction, which may explain the torque reversals in systems such as 4U 1626-67.
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