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| Paper: |
GRMHD Simulations of Black Hole Accretion Disks |
| Volume: |
444, 5th International Conference of Numerical Modeling of Space Plasma Flows (ASTRONUM 2010) |
| Page: |
63 |
| Authors: |
Hawley, J. F. |
| Abstract: |
The most energetic phenomena in the universe are systems powered by
gravity through accretion into black holes. Numerical simulations provide
a way to investigate the dynamics of these accretion flows directly with
far fewer limitations compared to analytic models. Because magnetic
fields are fundamentally important for jets and disks, and because we
now know that magnetic turbulence accounts for the internal stress, the
governing equations are those of compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD).
Accretion disk dynamics can thus be investigated using three-dimensional
general relativistic MHD simulation codes. Although it is not yet
possible to do fully global time dependent radiation transport in
disk models, the observational implications of these simulations can
be investigated using simple emission and absorption models coupled
with relativistic ray tracing. The time and length-scales involved make
such simulations challenging, but results to date have revealed details
about time-dependent properties of disks, magnetic disk dynamos, jet
launching mechanisms, and the dynamical properties of systems other than
the standard thin disk. As the capabilities of computational hardware
increase, and the development of advanced numerical codes continues,
our theoretical understanding of accretion physics will substantially
increase. |
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