Radiating Bondi Flows I: Dimensionless Framework and Constant Opacity Solutions

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Main Authors: Bailey, Avery, Youdin, Andrew, Kratter, Kaitlin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Bailey, Avery
Youdin, Andrew
Kratter, Kaitlin
author_facet Bailey, Avery
Youdin, Andrew
Kratter, Kaitlin
contents In this paper, we extend the foundational work of Bondi (1952) to include the effects of radiative feedback in gas-pressure-dominated environments. We construct steady-state spherically symmetric accretion solutions including radiative heating and cooling. Under the simplifying assumption of a constant opacity, the solutions are controlled by four dimensionless parameters: the adiabatic index $γ$, optical depth through the Bondi radius $τ_B$, dimensionless luminosity at infinity $\tilde{L}_\infty$, and a characteristic dimensionless cooling time $β$. We present numerical solutions across the dimensionless parameter space $(τ_B, \tilde{L}_\infty, β)\in [10^{-3}, 10^3]$. Contrary to radiation-pressure-dominated environments, radiative feedback primarily operates to suppress accretion -- particularly at high $τ_B$, $\tilde{L}_\infty$, and/or $β$. We also present analytic descriptions confirming the suppressive nature of this feedback and give the scalings for the accretion rate $\dot{M}\sim \tilde{L}_\infty^{-5/4}$ at large $\tilde{L}_\infty$, $\dot{M}\sim τ_B^{-10/11}β^{-5/11}$ at large $τ_B$, and $\dot{M}\sim (\tilde{L}_\inftyτ_B)^{-5/8}$ for large $\tilde{L}_\inftyτ_B$. We discuss the potential role of convection in these steady-state solutions, and the particular relevance to problems of planet formation where radiative heating is significant, but the system remains in the gas-pressure-dominated regime.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_20373
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Radiating Bondi Flows I: Dimensionless Framework and Constant Opacity Solutions
Bailey, Avery
Youdin, Andrew
Kratter, Kaitlin
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
In this paper, we extend the foundational work of Bondi (1952) to include the effects of radiative feedback in gas-pressure-dominated environments. We construct steady-state spherically symmetric accretion solutions including radiative heating and cooling. Under the simplifying assumption of a constant opacity, the solutions are controlled by four dimensionless parameters: the adiabatic index $γ$, optical depth through the Bondi radius $τ_B$, dimensionless luminosity at infinity $\tilde{L}_\infty$, and a characteristic dimensionless cooling time $β$. We present numerical solutions across the dimensionless parameter space $(τ_B, \tilde{L}_\infty, β)\in [10^{-3}, 10^3]$. Contrary to radiation-pressure-dominated environments, radiative feedback primarily operates to suppress accretion -- particularly at high $τ_B$, $\tilde{L}_\infty$, and/or $β$. We also present analytic descriptions confirming the suppressive nature of this feedback and give the scalings for the accretion rate $\dot{M}\sim \tilde{L}_\infty^{-5/4}$ at large $\tilde{L}_\infty$, $\dot{M}\sim τ_B^{-10/11}β^{-5/11}$ at large $τ_B$, and $\dot{M}\sim (\tilde{L}_\inftyτ_B)^{-5/8}$ for large $\tilde{L}_\inftyτ_B$. We discuss the potential role of convection in these steady-state solutions, and the particular relevance to problems of planet formation where radiative heating is significant, but the system remains in the gas-pressure-dominated regime.
title Radiating Bondi Flows I: Dimensionless Framework and Constant Opacity Solutions
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20373