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Accretion into the Central Cavity of a Circumbinary Disk

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arxiv 1210.0536 v2 pith:DSZAKRHC submitted 2012-10-01 astro-ph.GA astro-ph.HE

classification astro-ph.GAastro-ph.HE
keywords accretionmassbinarycavityratediskbinariesstreams
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abstract

A near-equal mass binary black hole can clear a central cavity in a circumbinary accretion disk; however, previous works have revealed accretion streams entering this cavity. Here we use 2D hydrodynamical simulations to study the accretion streams and their periodic behavior. In particular, we perform a suite of simulations, covering different binary mass ratios $q=M_2/M_1$ in the range $0.01 \leq q \leq 1$. In each case, we follow the system for several thousand binary orbits, until it relaxes to a stable accretion pattern. We find the following results: (i) while the binary is efficient in maintaining a low-density cavity, the time-averaged mass accretion rate into the cavity, through narrow coherent accretion streams, is suppressed by at most a factor of $\sim 5$, compared to a disk with a single BH with the same mass; (ii) the largest suppression occurs for $q\approx 0.05$; binaries whose mass ratios are either lower or higher both suppress accretion less significantly; (iii) for $q \gtrsim 0.05$, the accretion rate is strongly modulated by the binary, and depending on the precise value of $q$, the power spectrum of the accretion rate shows either one, two, or three distinct periods; and (v) for $q \lesssim 0.05$, the accretion rate becomes steady, with no time-variations. Most binaries produced in galactic mergers are expected to have $q\gtrsim 0.05$. If the luminosity of these binaries tracks their accretion rate, then a periodogram of their light-curve could help in their identification, and to constrain their mass ratio and disk properties.

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Cited by 4 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Relativistic gas accretion onto supermassive black Hole binaries from inspiral through merger

    astro-ph.HE 2025-02 conditional novelty 7.0 of 10

    A new code hand-off enables a 3D GRMHD simulation of an equal-mass nonspinning supermassive black hole binary from 20M separation through merger and postmerger, showing minidisk dissolution, declining accretion, and a...

  2. Instability and Angular Momentum Transfer in Thick Circumbinary Disks

    astro-ph.SR 2026-08 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    An equal-mass binary embedded in a circumbinary disk keeps migrating inward for disk thickness h/r above roughly 0.2, because the eccentric cavity instability never develops.

  3. $\textit{BMAD}$-Circumbinary Magnetically Arrested Disks around Stellar or Black Hole Binaries: Hot Accretion Flows, Disk Properties, and Angular Momentum Transfer

    astro-ph.HE 2025-08 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    Circumbinary accretion disks can enter a magnetically arrested state, and in weakly cooled or adiabatic regimes the resulting magnetic flux eruptions may drive the binary orbit to shrink.

  4. Insights from Analytical Theory of Eccentric Circumbinary Disks II. Forced Modes and Resonance for Precessing Binaries

    astro-ph.GA 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 5.0 of 10

    Semi-analytical theory derives radial scalings for forced disk eccentricity (E ~ r^{-1} or r^{-2}) and resonance criteria for precessing binaries, plus a conjecture that cavity size tunes the ground eccentric mode to ...

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