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Register a new userAb Initio Horizon-Scale Simulations of Magnetically Arrested Accretion in Sagittarius A* Fed by Stellar Winds
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We present 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of the accretion flow surrounding Sagittarius A* that are initialized using larger-scale MHD simulations of the $sim$ 30 Wolf--Rayet (WR) stellar winds in the Galactic center. The properties of the resulting accretion flow on horizon scales are set not by ad hoc initial conditions but by the observationally constrained properties of the WR winds with limited free parameters. For this initial study we assume a non-spinning black hole. Our simulations naturally produce a $sim 10^{-8} M_odot$ yr$^{-1}$ accretion rate, consistent with previous phenomenological estimates. We find that a magnetically arrested flow is formed by the continuous accretion of coherent magnetic field being fed from large radii. Near the event horizon, the magnetic field is so strong that it tilts the gas with respect to the initial angular momentum and concentrates the originally quasi-spherical flow to a narrow disk-like structure. We also present 230 GHz images calculated from our simulations where the inclination angle and physical accretion rate are not free parameters but are determined by the properties of the WR stellar winds. The image morphology is highly time variable. Linear polarization on horizon scales is coherent with weak internal Faraday rotation.
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We present Athena++ grid-based, hydrodynamic simulations of accretion onto Sagittarius A* via the stellar winds of the $sim 30$ Wolf-Rayet stars within the central parsec of the galactic center. These simulations span $sim$ 4 orders of magnitude in radius, reaching all the way down to 300 gravitational radii of the black hole, $sim 32$ times further in than in previous work. We reproduce reasonably well the diffuse thermal X-ray emission observed by Chandra in the central parsec. The resulting accretion flow at small radii is a superposition of two components: 1) a moderately unbound, sub-Keplerian, thick, pressure-supported disc that is at most (but not all) times aligned with the clockwise stellar disc, and 2) a bound, low-angular momentum inflow that proceeds primarily along the southern pole of the disc. We interpret this structure as a natural consequence of a few of the innermost stellar winds dominating accretion, which produces a flow with a broad distribution of angular momentum. Including the star S2 in the simulation has a negligible effect on the flow structure. Extrapolating our results from simulations with different inner radii, we find an accretion rate of $sim$ a few $times 10^{-8} M_odot$/yr at the horizon scale, consistent with constraints based on modeling the observed emission of Sgr A*. The flow structure found here can be used as more realistic initial conditions for horizon scale simulations of Sgr A*.
The radiative efficiency of super-Eddington accreting black holes (BHs) is explored for magnetically-arrested disks (MADs), where magnetic flux builds-up to saturation near the BH. Our three-dimensional general relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamic (GRRMHD) simulation of a spinning BH (spin $a/M=0.8$) accreting at $sim 50$ times Eddington shows a total efficiency $sim 50%$ when time-averaged and total efficiency $gtrsim 100%$ in moments. Magnetic compression by the magnetic flux near the rotating BH leads to a thin disk, whose radiation escapes via advection by a magnetized wind and via transport through a low-density channel created by a Blandford-Znajek (BZ) jet. The BZ efficiency is sub-optimal due to inertial loading of field lines by optically thick radiation, leading to BZ efficiency $sim 40%$ on the horizon and BZ efficiency $sim 5%$ by $rsim 400r_g$ (gravitational radii) via absorption by the wind. Importantly, radiation escapes at $rsim 400r_g$ with efficiency $etaapprox 15%$ (luminosity $Lsim 50L_{rm Edd}$), similar to $etaapprox 12%$ for a Novikov-Thorne thin disk and beyond $etalesssim 1%$ seen in prior GRRMHD simulations or slim disk theory. Our simulations show how BH spin, magnetic field, and jet mass-loading affect the radiative and jet efficiencies of super-Eddington accretion.
The exact time-dependent solution is obtained for a magnetic field growth during a spherically symmetric accretion into a black hole (BH) with a Schwarzschild metric. Magnetic field is increasing with time, changing from the initially uniform into a quasi-radial field. Equipartition between magnetic and kinetic energies in the falling gas is established in the developed stages of the flow. Estimates of the synchrotron radiation intensity are presented for the stationary flow. The main part of the radiation is formed in the region $r leq 7 r_g$, here $r_g$ is a BH gravitational radius. The two-dimensional stationary self-similar magnetohydrodynamic solution is obtained for the matter accretion into BH, in a presence of a large-scale magnetic field, when the magnetic field far from the BH is homogeneous and does not influence the flow. At the symmetry plane perpendicular to the direction of the distant magnetic field, the quasi-stationary disk is formed around BH, which structure is determined by dissipation processes. Parameters of the shock forming due to matter infall onto the disk are obtained. The radiation spectrum of the disk and the shock are obtained for the $10,, M_odot$ BH. The luminosity of such object is about the solar one, for a characteristic galactic gas density, with possibility of observation at distances less than 1 kpc. The spectra of a laminar and a turbulent disk structure around BH are very different. The turbulent disk emits a large part of its flux in the infrared. It may occur that some of the galactic infrared star-like sources are a single BH in the turbulent accretion state. The radiative efficiency of the magnetized disk is very high, reaching $sim 0.5,dot M,c^2$ so it was called recently as a magnetically arrested disk (MAD). Numerical simulations of MAD, and its appearance during accretion into neutron stars are considered and discussed.
We study the flow structure in 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of accretion onto Sagittarius A* via the magnetized winds of the orbiting Wolf-Rayet stars. These simulations cover over 3 orders of magnitude in radius to reach $approx$ 300 gravitational radii, with only one poorly constrained parameter (the magnetic field in the stellar winds). Even for winds with relatively weak magnetic fields (e.g., plasma $beta$ $sim$ $10^6$), flux freezing/compression in the inflowing gas amplifies the field to $beta$ $sim$ few well before it reaches the event horizon. Overall, the dynamics, accretion rate, and spherically averaged flow profiles (e.g., density, velocity) in our MHD simulations are remarkably similar to analogous hydrodynamic simulations. We attribute this to the broad distribution of angular momentum provided by the stellar winds, which sources accretion even absent much angular momentum transport. We find that the magneto-rotational instability is not important because of i) strong magnetic fields that are amplified by flux freezing/compression, and ii) the rapid inflow/outflow times of the gas and inefficient radiative cooling preclude circularization. The primary effect of magnetic fields is that they drive a polar outflow that is absent in hydrodynamics. The dynamical state of the accretion flow found in our simulations is unlike the rotationally supported tori used as initial conditions in horizon scale simulations, which could have implications for models being used to interpret Event Horizon Telescope and GRAVITY observations of Sgr A*.
The classical, relativistic thin-disk theory of Novikov and Thorne (NT) predicts a maximum accretion efficiency of 40% for an optically thick, radiatively efficient accretion disk around a maximally spinning black hole (BH). However, when a strong magnetic field is introduced to numerical simulations of thin disks, large deviations in efficiency are observed, in part due to mass and energy carried by jets and winds launched by the disk or BH spin. The total efficiency of accretion can be significantly enhanced beyond that predicted by NT but it has remained unclear how the radiative component is affected. In order to study the effect of a dynamically relevant large-scale magnetic field on radiatively efficient accretion, we have performed numerical 3D general relativistic - radiative - magnetohydroynamic (GRRMHD) simulations of a disk with scale height to radius ratio of $H/R~0.1$ around a moderately spinning BH (a=0.5) using the code HARMRAD. Our simulations are fully global and allow us to measure the jet, wind, and radiative properties of a magnetically arrested disk (MAD) that is kept thin via self-consistent transport of energy by radiation using the M1 closure scheme. Our fiducial disk is MAD out to a radius of ~16R_g and the majority of the total ~13% efficiency of the accretion flow is carried by a magnetically driven wind. We find that the radiative efficiency is slightly suppressed compared to NT, contrary to prior MAD GRMHD simulations with an ad hoc cooling function, but it is unclear how much of the radiation and thermal energy trapped in the outflows could ultimately escape.
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