Radiation GRMHD Models of Accretion onto Stellar-Mass Black Holes: II. Super-Eddington Accretion

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhang, Lizhong, Stone, James M., White, Christopher J., Davis, Shane W., Jiang, Yan-Fei, Mullen, Patrick D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911489606025216
author Zhang, Lizhong
Stone, James M.
White, Christopher J.
Davis, Shane W.
Jiang, Yan-Fei
Mullen, Patrick D.
author_facet Zhang, Lizhong
Stone, James M.
White, Christopher J.
Davis, Shane W.
Jiang, Yan-Fei
Mullen, Patrick D.
contents We present a comprehensive analysis of super-Eddington black hole accretion simulations that solve the GRMHD equations coupled with angle-discretized radiation transport. The simulations span a range of accretion rates, two black hole spins, and two magnetic field topologies, and include resolution studies as well as comparisons with non-radiative models. Super-Eddington accretion flows consistently develop geometrically thick disks supported by radiation pressure, regardless of magnetic field configuration. Radiation generated in the inner disk drives substantial outflows, forming conical funnel regions that limit photon escape and result in very low radiation efficiency. The accretion flows are highly turbulent with thermal energy transport dominated by radiation advection rather than diffusion. Angular momentum is primarily carried outward by Maxwell stress, with turbulent Reynolds stress playing a subdominant role. Both strong and weak jets are produced. Strong jets arise from sufficient net vertical magnetic flux and rapid black hole spin and can effectively evacuate the funnel, enabling radiation to escape through strong geometric beaming. In contrast, weak jets fail to clear the funnel, which becomes obscured by radiation-driven outflows and leads to distinct observational signatures. Spiral structures are observed in the plunging region, behaving like density waves. These super-Eddington models are applicable to a variety of astronomical systems, including ultraluminous X-ray sources, little red dots, and black hole transients.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_10638
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Radiation GRMHD Models of Accretion onto Stellar-Mass Black Holes: II. Super-Eddington Accretion
Zhang, Lizhong
Stone, James M.
White, Christopher J.
Davis, Shane W.
Jiang, Yan-Fei
Mullen, Patrick D.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We present a comprehensive analysis of super-Eddington black hole accretion simulations that solve the GRMHD equations coupled with angle-discretized radiation transport. The simulations span a range of accretion rates, two black hole spins, and two magnetic field topologies, and include resolution studies as well as comparisons with non-radiative models. Super-Eddington accretion flows consistently develop geometrically thick disks supported by radiation pressure, regardless of magnetic field configuration. Radiation generated in the inner disk drives substantial outflows, forming conical funnel regions that limit photon escape and result in very low radiation efficiency. The accretion flows are highly turbulent with thermal energy transport dominated by radiation advection rather than diffusion. Angular momentum is primarily carried outward by Maxwell stress, with turbulent Reynolds stress playing a subdominant role. Both strong and weak jets are produced. Strong jets arise from sufficient net vertical magnetic flux and rapid black hole spin and can effectively evacuate the funnel, enabling radiation to escape through strong geometric beaming. In contrast, weak jets fail to clear the funnel, which becomes obscured by radiation-driven outflows and leads to distinct observational signatures. Spiral structures are observed in the plunging region, behaving like density waves. These super-Eddington models are applicable to a variety of astronomical systems, including ultraluminous X-ray sources, little red dots, and black hole transients.
title Radiation GRMHD Models of Accretion onto Stellar-Mass Black Holes: II. Super-Eddington Accretion
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.10638