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Martin Pessah
mpessah@nbi.ku.dk
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Preface
This is the second version of the set of notes for the course Theoretical Astrophysics taught at the Niels Bohr
Institute in the Fall of 2016.
This course provides an overview of some of the most important astrophysical processes that shape the evolution,
and observational properties, of astrophysical systems, from planets to stars, and from supermassive black holes
to entire galaxies. The course is strongly recommended for all students starting at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels in
preparation for their further study and research in any area of astrophysics, including planetary sciences and cosmol-
ogy. This course will provide students with a wide range of interests in observational, theoretical, or computational
astrophysics with a valuable toolkit to become more competent researchers. We will cover the basic equations, learn
how to solve them, and understand their implications. The competences acquired in this course are a valuable
complement to those obtained in observational and phenomenological astrophysics courses and are an indispensable
asset for students wishing to pursue studies in any branch of astrophysics.
The content of this course draws from a broad variety of sources, including the courses "Topics on Theoretical
Astrophysics" and "High Energy Astrophysics" that I took as a student in the University of Arizona in the years
2001 and 2002 with Prof. Adam Burrows and Prof. Fulvio Melia, as well as select sections from several books as
mentioned throughout the notes and referenced in the bibliography. These notes are not intended to be a substitute
to any of these books but are merely a guide to introduce you to some of the key physical processes that are relevant
in astrophysics. Having said this, in defining the topics for the course, I have done my best to select the core set of
concepts that I believe any student interested in astrophysics should be acquainted with. In defining the material in
these notes, I have done my best to provide a relatively self-contained set of lectures. It is remarkably difficult to be
consistent with notation when drawing from a large set of resources which use different conventions. The notation
should be consistent at least within each class and hopefully the context will be clear enough to minimize any possible
ambiguity.
I am grateful to Oliver Gressel, Tobias Heinemann, Christian Brinch, and Neil Vaytet, who gave guest lectures
and contributed with the respective set of notes. I am also thankful to Thomas Berlok, Gopakumar Mohandas, and
Michael Kffmeier, who were teaching assistants for this course, and were instrumental in making this set of notes a
reality. I am committed to improving this set of notes, so please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions
as they will be most welcome.
Martin Pessah
Niels Bohr Institute
4
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You are probably mostly familiar with electromagnetism If the force acting on a point mass is proportional to the
in SI units. In these units the force between two charged displacement so that F = kx, then the equation of
particles is given by Coulombs law motion for a particle moving in one dimension is
1 q1 q2
F = , (1.15) d2 x
40 r2 m = kx , (1.23)
dt2
where q1 and q2 are the charges, r is the separation and
is the vacuum permittivity. d2 x k
+ x = 0, (1.24)
In CGS units, the corresponding equation is simply dt2 m
q1 q2 d2 x
F = 2 . (1.16) + 02 x = 0 . (1.25)
r dt2
What is the unit of charge in CGS units? Answer: If we p
where 0 = k/m has dimensions of a frequency. If we
use the fact that force has units of [F ] = M L/T 2 , we can define as the characteristic length scale in this problem
show that L0 and the characteristic time scale 01 , we can define a
1/2
L3 set of dimensionless variables according to
2 1/2
[e] = M L/T L= M 2 . (1.17)
T
x0 = x/L0 , (1.26)
This result can be simplified slightly by writing it in
terms of the units of energy (think of kinetic energy) and
E = M L2 /T 2 . We then find t0 = t0 . (1.27)
1/2
[e] = (EL) . (1.18) The dimensionless equation of motion found by dividing
the original equation by L0 02
1.2.5 Alfvn Speed 1
2
d x
2
+ 0 x = 0 , (1.28)
L0 02 dt2
The Alfvn speed, which is the speed at which Alfvn
waves propagate1 , is given by d2 (x/L0 ) 02 x
+ 2 = 0. (1.29)
B B d(t0 )2 0 L0
vA = . (1.19)
4 In the new variables, the equation is therefore simply
From this relation we can find the units of the magnetic
field. We can isolate B 2 d2 x0
02
+ x0 = 0 . (1.30)
2 2
dt
B = v , (1.20)
This dimensionless equation is the kind of equation that
and immediately see that you can solve in a computer! We will later encounter
2 M L 2
E more complex examples in which the advantages of work-
B = 3 2 = 3, (1.21) ing with dimensionless variables are even greater. The
L T L
underlying principle, nevertheless, is always the same. If
where we recognized the E = M L2 /T 2 in the last step. you choose your scales wisely, the equations will look sim-
The intermediate step could have been skipped by seeing pler!
that v 2 /2 must have units of energy per volume.
R 8 103 pc , (1.34)
v2 GmM
m = . (1.36)
r r2
We can write v = r, where is the angular frequency,
and rewrite
GM
= 2 r2 , (1.37)
r
or, solving for the angular frequency,
GM
2 = . (1.38)
r3
The orbital period is associated with this angular fre-
quency is
2
P = , (1.39)
and thus
4 2 3
P2 = r . (1.40)
GM
Therefore the ratio of periods for two planets orbiting the
same star is given by
2 3
P2 r2
= (1.41)
P1 r1
2 BASICS OF FLUID DYNAMICS for the energy per unit volume, e , and the result
reads
2.1 Lagrangian derivative e
+ (ev) = P (v). (2.10)
t
The total change of a quantity as we move along with the The 5 equations of fluid dynamics listed so far contain 6
fluid is given by the Lagrangian derivative variables, namely , v, P and either s or . We therefore
need an equation of state, either P P (, s) or P
d
= + v (2.1) P (, ), that relates the pressure, P , to the density, ,
dt t and the entropy, s, or the internal energy, .
Think about the number density of particles: n(x, t) For an ideal fluid the pressure is given by
n n P = ( 1) (2.11)
dn(xi , t) = dxi + dt (2.2)
xi t where
If we think about how dn changes along the trajectory of = CP /CV (2.12)
the moving fluid element xi and vi are related via dxi = is the ratio of specific heats. Therefore, we can write the
vi t. Thus internal energy per unit mass as
n dxi n n n
1 P
dn = dt + dt = vi + dt (2.3) = . (2.13)
xi dt t xi t 1
and we find therefore that The pressure for an ideal gas is related to the density,
dn
temperature and the mean molecular weight, , by
= + v n (2.4)
dt t kB T
P = (2.14)
mH
where the terms inside the square brackets are the rate of
change. where mH the mass of the Hydrogen atom.
Note that the mean molecular weight depends on the
composition and ionization state of the gas. If the gas is
2.2 Equations for fluid dynamics pure, neutral Hydrogen then = 1, if it is pure, fully ion-
ized Hydrogen then = 1/2, and if it is a mixture of fully
The equations of fluid dynamics for an ideal fluid are the ionized Hydrogen and Helium with primordial composi-
continuity equation tion then ' 0.6. If you merely need a rough estimate
of the pressure, then it is OK to use ' 1 for practical
+ (v) = 0 , (2.5) purposes.
t
Recall that for a monoatomic gas with three degrees of
the momentum equations freedom = 5/3 so that
v P 3 kB T
+ (v)v = , (2.6) = , (2.15)
t 2 mH
and the equation for the entropy per particle s S/N and each degree of freedom contributes with kB T /2.
The entropy per unit mass for fluid is
ds s
= + (v)s = 0 . (2.7) kB
dt t s= ln P (2.16)
1
The RHS of the entropy equation is only zero for an ideal
fluid where there is no dissipation. For an adiabatic process entropy is constant along stream-
The entropy equation can also be written as an equa- lines
tion for the energy per unit mass, , using the fundamen- ds
=0 (2.17)
tal thermodynamic relation dt
which is equivalent to
1
T ds = d + P d , (2.8) P = constant (2.18)
After some algebra, we obtain Perturbations in the pressure and density propagate
with the speed of sound, c, is given by
d
+ P v = 0 , (2.9) P
P
dt 2
c = = . (2.19)
s
where T is the temperature. Alternatively, we can write
this equation for the energy per unit mass as an equation We will talk more about this later.
11
The enthalpy is a thermodynamic potential which is use- We consider the change in kinetic energy v 2 /2
ful to consider for adiabatic processes. It is defined so
that 1 2 1 v
P v = v 2 + v , (2.30)
h=+ (2.20) t 2 2 t t
and internal energy
or, substituting ,
s
P =h + T . (2.31)
h= . (2.21) t t t
1
We add the two equations and obtain an equation for the
In terms of the sound speed, c, we have
change in the total energy v 2 /2 +
2
c
h= (2.22) 1 2 1 2
1 v + = v v +h (2.32)
t 2 2
An incremental change in enthalpy can be written as
Integrating over volume, as in the case of mass conserva-
1 dP
dh = + P d + (2.23) tion, we find that
Z Z
Using the thermodynamic relation 1 2 1 2
v + dV = v v + h dS .
t V 2 S 2
1
d = T ds P d (2.24) (2.33)
The quantity
we have 1 2
v v +h (2.34)
dP 2
dh = T ds + . (2.25)
is the energy flux.
If the change in entropy is zero (ds = 0), then the change
in enthalpy is
dP 2.6 Plane-Parallel Atmospheres
dh . (2.26)
Let us consider a plane parallel atmosphere where all
So in an adiabatic process, the change in enthalpy is just
quantities are constant along x and y but can vary with
the change in pressure divided by the density.
z. The gravitational potential can be taken to be
2.7 Sound Waves This is a wave equation for the density perturbation. Its
solutions are sound waves that propagate with speed c.
Starting from the continuity equation Let us take a perturbation of the form
= A sin(kx t) , (2.53)
+ (v) = 0 , (2.40)
t
where A is the amplitude. The derivatives with respect
and the momentum equation to time and space are
dv
= P (2.41) = A cos(kx t) (2.54)
dt t
we will derive the wave equation for sound waves. 2
We consider an equilibrium with v 0 = 0, 0 and P0 = A 2 sin(kx t) (2.55)
t2
constant in space and time with small perturbations ,
P and v. The quantities are then
= Ak cos(kx t) (2.56)
x
= 0 + , (2.42) 2
= Ak 2 sin(kx t) (2.57)
x2
P = P0 + P , (2.43)
So that the one dimensional wave equation
v = v . (2.44)
2 2
We plug these into the equations and find 2
= c2s , (2.58)
t x2
0
+ + (0 v +
v)
=0,
(2.45) gives
t t
A 2 sin(kx t) = Ak 2 c2s sin(kx t) . (2.59)
v Simplifying we find the dispersion relation for sound
P
P
(0 + ) +
(vv)
= (2.46)
t waves
2 = c2s k 2 . (2.60)
The perturbations are small P/P 1, / 1 which
means that we can ignore all terms that are more than The dispersion relation is a relation between the scale of
linear in the perturbations. We have crossed out all the the perturbation and the frequency.
terms that can be ignored due to being small or zero. The
linearized equations are then
+ 0 v = 0 . (2.47)
t
v
0 = P . (2.48)
t
Let us now differentiate the equation for with respect
to time. We find
2 v
+ 0 =0. (2.49)
t2 t
We can then use the linearized momentum equation to
substitute for tv , yielding
2
= 2 P . (2.50)
t2
Now, we can use the relation between pressure and den-
sity
P = c2 , (2.51)
where c is the soundspeed, to find
2
= c2 2 . (2.52)
t2
13
3 HYDRO INSTABILITIES where v k,j (t) are the eigenvectors associated with the ma-
trix M and j are the roots of the characteristic polyno-
3.1 Linear Mode Analysis for Sound Waves mial associated with the matrix M and are in general
complex scalars.
Let us start with the linearized equations, Equations The advantage of working in this base is that the equa-
(2.47) and (2.48), but specializing to one spatial dimen- tions are decoupled, i.e.,
sion, x, and setting P = c2s In this case we have
k (t)
vx = j k (t) , (3.13)
+ 0 =0, (3.1) t
t x
vk (t)
vx = j vk (t) , (3.14)
0 = c2s . (3.2) t
t x and the solutions are exponentials
Before proceeding we make these equations dimensionless
by using the background value, 0 , the characteristic scale k (t) = k (0) ej t , (3.15)
L, the soundspeed cs and the characteristic time t0 =
L/cs . In terms of the dimensionless parameters vk (t) = vk (0) ej t . (3.16)
x vx t Note that here we have omitted the index j in the eigen-
0 = x0 = vx0 = t0 =
(3.3) vectors for the sake of brevity.
0 L csL/cs
Now how do we find the eigenvalues j ? Given our
the equations are then previous equations we need to find j such that
0 vx0
0 ik
k (t)
j 0
k (t)
+ = 0 , (3.4) = ,
t0 x0 ik 0 vk (t) 0 j vk (t)
vx0 0 (3.17)
+ = 0 . (3.5) or, moving everything to the LHS,
t0 x0
We drop the primes on the dimensionless variables in the
j ik
k (t)
following. The main idea of a linear mode analysis is to =0. (3.18)
ik j vk (t)
now assume that the perturbations depend on space and
time as X You should remember from linear algebra that such a lin-
(x, t) = k (t)eikx (3.6) ear, homogeneous system only has non trivial solutions
k (that is a solution that is not just vk = k = 0) if the
(3.7) determinant of the matrix is zero. Taking the determi-
X
ikx
vx (x, t) = vk (t)e
k
nant, we find what is called the characteristic polynomial
where k is the wavenumber. Substituting this into our j2 + k 2 = 0 , (3.19)
linearized equations we obtain
X k (t) which has solutions
+ ikvk (t) eikx = 0 (3.8)
t j = ik . (3.20)
k
X vk (t)
If only one mode is excited, and we restore the physical
+ ikk (t) eikx = 0 (3.9)
t dimensions, e.g., = kc then the perturbations in real
k
space become
This can be written in matrix form as
k (t)
0 ik
k (t)
(x, t) = k (0)e(ikxit) + k (0)e(ikxit) , (3.21)
= . (3.10)
t vk (t) ik 0 vk (t)
and then since
This matrix equation can be written as ei + ei
cos , (3.22)
2
v k (t) = M v k (t) (3.11)
t we find
In order to solve this matrix equation, it is convenient to (x, t) cos(kx t) . (3.23)
work in the base of eigenvectors in which the matrix is
diagonal. In this base, the action of M over the set of
eigenvectors is equivalent to a scalar multiplication, i.e.,
3.2 Bernoulli Equation and Barotropic Fluids 3.3 Incompressible and Irrotational Flows
The momentum equation for an ideal fluid in a gravita- For incompressible flows the density is constant. Using
tional potential is the momentum equation, this implies that
v P v = 0 (3.35)
+ (v)v = . (3.24)
t and thus the velocity field is divergence-free.
Let us know assume that the flow is curl-free, or irro-
We can revrite the term (v)v as tational, i.e.,
v = = 0 . (3.36)
1
(v)v v 2 v(v) (3.25) This implies that v can be written as the gradient of a
2
scalar function , i.e.,
and use this relation to define the vorticity, , as
v = . (3.37)
v . (3.26) This should be familiar from electrostatics where a curl-
free electric field can be written as the gradient of a po-
In terms of the , the momentum equation is tential.
If we now have a flow which is incompressible and irro-
v 1 P
v = v 2 , (3.27) tatinal, i.e., both divergence-free and curl-free, then
t 2
v = = 2 = 0 . (3.38)
Let us consider an ideal fluid in steady state by setting
and the potential satisfies Laplaces equation.
v
=0 (3.28)
t 3.4 Viscous Dissipation and Reynolds Number
in the momentum equation we find
So far we have only discussed ideal fluids where there is
1 P no dissipation. Let us now add a dissipation term, 2 v,
v 2 v = , (3.29) on the RHS of the momentum equation to find what is
2
refereed to as the Navier-Stokes equation
If we take the scalar product of this equation with the v P
unit vectos i = v/|v|, we can obtain and equation for the + (v)v = + 2 v . (3.39)
t
total change in the energy as
One of the important dimensionless parameters of flu-
1 2 ids dynamics is the Reynolds number, Re. We can de-
dv + dh + d 0 , (3.30)
2 termine the Reynolds number by considering the dimen-
sionless version of the momentum equation. We make the
or
v 2 equation dimensionless by introducing the dimensionless
+ h + constant . (3.31) variables
2
v P d L d
If the entropy is constant along streamlines ds = 0 then v0 = P0 = = 0 = L 0 =
v0 0 v02 dt0 v0 dt 0
(3.40)
dP
dh = (3.32) where L, v0 , L/v0 and 0 are respectively the character-
istic length, speed, time and density. We find
and v 0 0 0 0 0 P 0 02 0
P 0
+ (v )v = 0
+ v . (3.41)
h=+ (3.33) t Lv
Or by introducing the Reynolds number
The Bernoulli equation is
Lv
Re = , (3.42)
v2
P
+ + + constant (3.34) The momentum equation is
2
v 0 0 0 0 0 P 0 1 02 0
Note that if s(, P ) constant globally then the flow is 0
+ (v )v = 0
+ v . (3.43)
referred to as isentropic. For isentropic flows the pressure t Re
is only a function of the density and thus P = P (). and the flow is characterized only by the Reynolds num-
Fluids for which P = P () are called barotropic. ber.
15
form
Figure 3.1: Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability. P = f (z)ei(kxt) , (3.46)
Laplaces equation leads to
3.5 Hydrodynamic Instabilities
d2 f
= k2 f , (3.47)
dz 2
Fluid instabilities can arise in a wide range of physical
conditions and they play an important role in nature. which has solutions f exp[kz].
Here we will outline the derivation of some important With a little bit of algebra using the previous equa-
instabilities in astrophysics without going into all the de- tions, it can be seen that demanding that the pressure is
tails. You can find some of the intermediate steps in the continuous at the interface, i.e., P1 P2 , leads to
book by Padmanhaban (Section 8.13).
The general strategy is always the same. We consider a 1 (kv )2 2 2 , (3.48)
system which is in equilibrium and we perturb all the fluid
This is no other than the dispersion relation associated
variables by a small amount. When the perturbations are
with the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, which has solu-
small, we can linearize the equations of motion for the
tions
perturbations by neglecting terms that are quadratic in
1 i 1 2
the small perturbations. We can attempt to find solutions = kv ., (3.49)
1 + 2
of the form exp[i(kx t)]. Substituting this expression
in the equations for the perturbations will lead, in general If the two fluids have the same density, i.e., 1 2 , then
after some algebra, to a polynomial in as a function of the imaginary part of reads
the wavenumber k. If any of the roots of this polynomial kv
has an imaginary part, then we have an instability. =() = (k) = (3.50)
2
In Figure 3.2, you can see how the growth rate de-
3.5.1 Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability pends linearly on the wavenumber k. Obviously, this
growth can not be infinite for large k, or small physi-
The Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability can arise when there is cal scales, and in reality viscous dissipation prevents the
a velocity gradient along the direction that separates two small scales fro going unstable.
fluids.
For the sake of simplicity we will assume that the fluid
is incompressible and we will work in the frame of refer- 3.5.2 Rayleigh-Taylor instability
ence in which the fluid velocity is zero on one side of the
interface and v on the other. We are going to look for We have two fluids with an interface, which is slightly
solutions that are of the form exp[i(kx t)]. If the dis- distorted. The setup is unstable in case of a heavier fluid
persion relation between and the wavenumber k leads on top of a lighter fluid due to the gravitational field.
to an with an imaginary part, then the small amplitude For the sake of simplicity, let us assume that we have
perturbations will go unstable. an incompressible and irrotational flow, i.e.,
The linearized equations for an incompressible ideal
v , (3.51)
fluid are v = 0 and
v P and thus
+ (v )v = (3.44) 2 0 . (3.52)
t
Using the Ansatz for the potential function
Taking the divergence of this equation we find that the
pressure perturbations must satisfy Laplaces equation, = f (z) cos(kx t), (3.53)
i.e.,
2 P 0 . (3.45) where again f (z) is
Thus assuming that the pressure perturbations are of the f (z) ekz (3.54)
16
kg( 0 )
2 = (3.58)
coth(kh) + 0 coth(kh0 )
2 < 0 (3.59)
4 SHOCKS time we will used the conserved quantity, the total energy,
which is just the sum of internal and kinetic energy.
4.1 Shock waves in astrophysics
1 2
E= v + e (4.3)
It seems to be a good principle that the prediction of a 2
singularity by a physical theory indicates that the theory
has broken down, i.e. it no longer provides a correct E 1 3
+ v + (e + P )v =0 (4.4)
description of observations - S. Hawking t 2
Notice that the moment equations have successively
Astrophysical examples of shock waves include super- higher orders of v. Can you think of a reason for this?
nova remnants like the Crab Nebula, SN1006, SN1604 The internal energy is given by
and SN1987A. Jets from active galactic nuclei also form
shocks which are observed as hot spots. Herbig-Haro e = (4.5)
objects are shock waves which appear periodically along
the beams of bipolar jets from young stars. On Earth, we For an adiabatic equation of state
have shock waves produced in thunderstorms, which are
produced when air is heated up to 50,000 K by light- p
e= . (4.6)
ning. The air expands outward rapidly and creates a 1
shock wave. Schlieren plots show shock waves from whips
cracking travelling at twice the sound speed. The angular The adiabatic index/ratio of specific heats is defined as
velocity imparted to the handle of the whip can produced follows:
Q
a tangential velocity which is supersonic. Other examples Cp m
are blasts from nuclear explosions in air, e.g. the atmo- = P (4.7)
Cv Q
spheric tests from 1945-1980. Shock waves affect engi- m
V
neering applications, supersonic jets often have pointed
Typical values are: = 5/3 ideal, monatomic gas = 7/5
noses and delta-shaped wings which subtend the narrow-
diatomic gas (air)
est possible conical bow shocks. Blunt objects, e.g. space
Consider a velocity oscillation, propagating in a gas.
shuttle noses or re-entry capsules, create wide, curved,
The crests have higher velocity than the troughs, and
bow shocks, which can be desirable to increase drag and
eventually overtake them. The system becomes multival-
slow down on re-entry from orbit.
ued and is therefore no longer monotonic and no longer
To read a little more, see Lautrups Physics of Contin-
differentiable. What has happened? As the gradient be-
uous Matter , chap 26 and Landau & Lifshitz, Fluid Me-
comes steeper, the non-ideal terms (2 v) in the con-
chanics For more details, see Zeldovich & Raizer (1967).
servation of momentum dominate over the ideal terms.
Even for very large Reynolds numbers/ very small values
4.2 Conservative form of fluid equations of , the viscous term eventually dominates and smears
out the discontinuity over a distance of one mean free
Recall the equations of hydrodynamics, which can be de- path (for collisional shocks) or one Debye length (for col-
rived by taking moments of the Boltzmann equation. lisionless plasmas). We treat this thin non-ideal layer as a
We write them in conservative form: discontinuous jump and apply weak solutions which are
piecewise continuous up to the thin discontinuous jumps
+ (v) = 0 , (4.1) or shocks.
t
the vector momentum equation
v
+ (v 2 + P ) = 0, (4.2)
t
Note the pressure2 term can also be written
q as: P = c2s
p
where cs is the speed of sound cs = . You should
confirm the dimensions make sense! The pressure is a Figure 4.1: Sinusoidal velocity oscillation, propagating
really a tensor quantity, P I3 , where I3 is the identity in a gas. The crests have higher velocity than the
matrix. The quantity v 2 is the tensor product of velocity troughs, and outrun (b) and eventually overtake them
with itself. (c). The system does not become multivalued (c, dashed
Finally we write the energy equation, which before you line). Instead non-ideal effects smooth out the solution
have seen in terms of entropy and internal energy. This over a thin layer, which we call a shock.
2 For this class we will use P and p interchangeably for the pres-
v1 v2
1 2
p1 p2
If the ram pressure decreases across the shock, thermal 4.6 Phases of supernova remnant evolution
pressure must increase! We might expect this from Li-
ouvilles theorem. Since the total volume in phase space Supernovae (SNe) occur when massive stars implode and
is conserved, a convergence in real/configuration space eject their outer layers. 99% of the energy released is car-
implies a divergence in velocity space. ried away by neutrinos. The remainder drives a super-
On one side of the shock, kinetic energy is converted to nova remnant into the ISM. The SN ejecta expand into
pressure by dissipative, non-ideal processes. the interstellar medium, and shock it.
Can divide the process into 3 phases.
v 2 < p (4.29)
1. free expansion/constant velocity phase.
On the other side kinetic energy dominates over thermal 2. adiabatic, energy-conserving/ Sedov phase.
pressure.
3. radiative/momentum conserving/snowplow phase.
v 2 > p (4.30)
Can define adiabatic speed of sound as 4.6.1 Free expansion/constant velocity phase
r
p
cs (4.31) Simple model: Mass Mej of ejecta expands at the max-
imum velocity, v0 Assume distributed in a spherical vol-
ume, and uniform density ej .
Flow on one side is supersonic
Radius R0 = v0 t
v 2 > c2s (4.32) 3Mej
ej = (4.39)
4(v0 t)3
Flow on other side is subsonic
V (r) = r/t, 0 < r < V0 t (4.40)
2
v < c2s (4.33) We can now make an expression for the supernova energy.
Z v0 t r 2
Kinetic energy is irreversibly converted to thermal energy. 1 3
ESN = 4r2 ej dr = Mej V02 (4.41)
Shock waves increase entropy. 0 2 t 10
Mach number definition
Ejecta shocks ISM, creates a forward shock. ISM gas
v shocks ejecta, creates a reverse shock. Ejecta expand to
M= (4.34)
cs
A(u1 u2 ) = p2 (4.35)
1
A(u1 u2 )(u1 + u2 ) = u2 (e2 + p2 ) (4.36)
2
Substituting:
e2
u1 + u2 = 2u2 (1 + ) (4.37)
p2
or
u1 2 e2 +1
= =1+2 = (4.38)
u2 1 p2 1
We have the interesting result that the jump in density
and velocity and pressure depends only on the properties
of the medium, the adiabatic index. For ideal monatomic Figure 4.3: Expanding blast wave showing forward and
gas, compression ratio 21 is 4. For diatomic gas, compres- reverse shock and contact discontinuity.
sion ratio is 6. For gases with strong radiative cooling,
compression can be much higher as the effective adiabatic
index approaches unity. radius RCD (See Figure 4.3)
20
Forward shock as @ radius RF . All ISM gas is initially along under its own inertia. Momentum is conserved, en-
inside RF , has been compressed to a thin shell, between ergy is lost. The swept-up mass now gradually slows the
RCD and RF . front to subsonic speeds. At this point it begins to merge
with the ISM.
4 3 4 3 3
R 0 ' (RF RCD )40 (4.42) In order to calculate the expansion radius RS (t) and
3 F 3 speed VS (t) in the snowplow phase, we can set the mo-
43 mentum equal to that at the end of the Sedov phase.
4
RF RCD ' 1.1006RCD (4.43)
3 4 3 4 3
RS 0 VS = constant = R 0 V 0 (4.49)
Assume each element does not expand or contract after 3 3 0
being compressed in shock. RS
Phase ends @ tSW , sweep-up time, where swept-up VS = (4.50)
t
mass = mass of ejecta.
Integrate to get the expression for the radius in the
4 3 3 snowplow regime.
V t 0 = Mej (4.44)
3 0 SW Z Z
3 3
RS dRs = R0 V0 dt (4.51)
4.6.2 Adiabatic, energy-conserving/ Sedov phase
1
RS t 4 (4.52)
The Sedov phase begins after about 102 years, when the
sweep-up time is over, and enough mass has been accu- You can differentiate to get the velocity, or just use the
mulated to decelerate the remnant from a constant veloc- momentum conservation expression above.
ity. During 1941-1945, in unpublished work, J. von Neu- RS 3
mann, L. Sedov and G. I. Taylor independently studied VS = t 4 (4.53)
t
the instantaneous input of fixed amounts of energy E0 E FRIDER
IA
O
ALEXA
only free parameters were the initial energy (at the end a supernova remnant, from constant velocity expansion,
LV
ND
441
RI IL
AE SIG
N
of the free expansion phase), the initial ambient density to constant energy, toSummary
constant momentum.
and the radius of the blast wave. See homework exercise.
R = (constant) ESN 0 t (4.45) Blast wave
v=const.
Sedov
E=const.
Snow plough Merging
p=const. r=const.
s
10 3
r
p ESN
' (4.46)
R3
10 0
R ESN 3/2
Vs = ' R (4.47)
t 0
10 1
10-2
100 102 104 106
Integrate to get the radius. Time [years]
5.1 The gravitational potential The gravitational binding energy of a system is the
amount of energy that needs to be removed from it in
The gravitational force on a particle of mass mi due to a order to build the system doing work against the grav-
particle of mj is: itational field. Using dimensional analysis, it is easy
to argue that the gravitational binding energy of a sys-
Gmi mj (r i r j )
F ij = . (5.1) tem of mass M and size R, should be of the order of
3
|r i r j | U (R) = GM 2 /R, where the minus sign indicates that
the system is gravitationally bound.
We can write the acceleration due to gravitational force
Let us analyze in detail the case of a uniform sphere of
exerted by a continuous distribution of matter as:
radius R, mass M and density = 3M/(4R3 ). Let us
G(t, x0 )(x x0 ) 3 0 consider that we are at the stage where we have already
Z
g(t, x) = 3 d x . (5.2) built a spherical object of mass m(r). The incremental
|x x0 |
change in the potential energy of the system associated
The gravitational acceleration can be written as the gra- with the addition of a new shell of mass m(r) that it is
dient of the gravitational potential , i.e., brought from infinity to the distance r is given by
g = , (5.3) m(r)m(r)
dU = G , (5.10)
r
with
G(t, x0 ) 3 0
Z
2 3
(t, x) d x . (5.4) where m(r) = 4r dr and m(r) = 4r /3 Therefore,
|x x0 | the total energy associated with the build up of the entire
This implies that the gravitational field is conservative, sphere can be obtained as
i.e., the work done by the gravitational field between two Z
points in space is independent of the path used to go U (R) = dU (r) (5.11)
from one point to the other one. You can see that the 0
4r2 34 r3
Z R
gravitational field tends to 0, as |x| , assuming that
3 = G dr (5.12)
drops faster than |x| . 0 r
Using that the Laplacian of 1/|x| is related to the Dirac 16
delta function = 2 G2 R5 , (5.13)
15
1
2 = 4(x) , (5.5) which can be written in terms of the total mass of the
|x| sphere as
where 3 GM 2
U (R) = . (5.14)
Z x2 5 R
f (x0 ) if x0 [x1 , x2 ]
(xx0 )f (x)dx = (5.6)
x1 0 if x0
/ [x1 , x2 ] In general, the density can be a complicated function of
position and we will have:
we can show that the gravitational potential satisfies the
Poisson equation
GM 2
U (R) = , (5.15)
R
2 = 4G . (5.7)
with a constant of order unity.
The previous set of equations apply to situations in which
relativistic effects can be neglected. Newtonian gravity is
a good approximation provided that || c2 , where c is 5.3 Virial theorem for N-body system
the speed of light. For a test mass orbiting a mass M in
circular orbit we have The equation of motion for a particle of mass mi subject
GM to gravitational interactions with a set of particles of mass
= v2 . (5.8) m is
r j
by dotting the equation for the force acting on mi with 5.4 Virial theorem for self-gravitating gases
r i and summing over all indices i. This leads to
r i (r i r j ) When we consider a fluid, there will be a force contribu-
i mi r i r i = i j6=i Gmi mj 3 (5.18) tion arising from the pressure gradient
|r i r j |
using the identity ri F i = r i P (5.27)
= (r i P ) + P r i (5.28)
1 1
ri = (r i r j ) + (r i + r j ) (5.19) = (r i P ) + 3P . (5.29)
2 2
we find that the virial in no other thing than the gravi- Recall that for ideal fluids the pressure and the internal
tational potential energy: energy are related via an equation of state
1 P = ( 1) . (5.30)
mi r i r i = j6=i Gmi mj U . (5.20)
|r i r j |
We now consider the virial that we introduced before and
On the other hand, the left-hand side (LHS) of this write it in the continuous limit as
equation is related to the second time derivative of the
Z Z
moment of inertia of the system of particles, i.e., I i ri Fi (ri P )dV + 3 P dV (5.31)
V
2
mi r i since Z
= 3P s V + 3 P dV (5.32)
1 d2
I = i mi r i r i + i mi r i r i . (5.21) Z
2 dt2 = 3Ps V + ( 1) dV (5.33)
Realizing that the second term on the RHS of this equa-
tion is twice the kinetic energy of the system of particles, = 3Ps V + 3( 1)Uint (5.34)
5.3.1 Approximately steady state I ' 0 Lets assume the system is not moving as a whole, K = 0,
and that we can neglect the pressure acting on its surface,
In steady state, the virial theorem implies i.e., Ps = 0. The virial theorem becomes
1 1
2K + U = 0 K = U (5.24) I = Ugr + 3( 1)Uint (5.36)
2 2
Thus, we can write the total energy of the system as = Ugr + 3( 1)[E Ugr ] (5.37)
1 = 3( 1)E (3 4)Ugr . (5.38)
E = K + U E = K = U (5.25)
2 Therefore, in steady state
The total energy of a system in virial equilibrium is half of
3 4
its gravitational potential energy, which must be negative E= Ugr . (5.39)
for bound systems. 3( 1)
This form of the virial theorem has been applied to glob- Let us consider a ideal monoatomic gas in steady state
ular clusters and galaxy clusters. In the former case it and for which there is no bulk motion, i.e., K = 0, U =
int
can be used to estimate the mass of the cluster whereas 3k T /2, = 5/3. The virial theorem reduces then to
B
in the latter it has been used to infer the presence of dark
matter in galaxy clusters. 3kB T + Ugr = 3Ps V . (5.40)
23
We can solve for the pressure acting over the surface of If the system is in virial equilibrium we have v 2 GM/R
the volume under consideration as and thus
R
GM 2 tcr N , (5.50)
1 3M 2
Ps = v 4 . (5.41) v
4 R 3 R
which is N times the crossing time.
Recalling that the binding gravitational energy is A more refined treatment leads to:
GM 2 v3
Ugr (5.42) tcr = (5.51)
R 2G2 m2 n ln N
and that the characteristic velocity associated with ther- and subsequently to:
mal motions is
kB T 1 N R
v2 = (5.43) tcr ' . (5.52)
m 8 ln N v
we can derive the critical value for the mass that would
lead to Ps = 0. This critical mass for gravitational col- For a galaxy, we get
lapse is called the Jeans mass:
tgal ' 1018 yr tuniverse , (5.53)
2
3v R 3 kB T R
Mcrit = = . (5.44) whereas for a globular cluster we find
G Gm
tgc ' 0.4 Gyr . tuniverse . (5.54)
We can estimate a Jeans length associated with this mass
using that M R3 to obtain Beware of other processes such as resonant relaxation
(where the presence of a massive body can enforce Kep-
s lerian orbits that interact resonantly) and violent relax-
3 kB T
crit = . (5.45) ation (where the gravitational potential changes signifi-
Gm cantly on the timescales of interest) that operate faster.
We can estimate the cross section for gravitational inter- Let us now consider a particle of mass M moving on a
action in an ensemble of particles interacting gravitation- sea of lighter particles of mass m. As the particle moves
ally by using dimensional analysis. We could in principle through the medium it will create a wake of lighter parti-
ask, what is the combination of G, M , and v, that would cles that will exert an enhanced gravitational pull. This
give as a length-scale squared, i.e., "dynamical friction" will slow down the mass M on a time
scale that can be estimated by replacing Gm2 GM m
2
L =G M v . (5.46) in the equations that we derived for the collisional relax-
ation.
We could take a short cut and realize that the ratio of v3
tdf ' (5.55)
the potential energy to the kinetic energy is dimensionless 2G2 M ln N
and thus Note that this time is shorter than the timescale associ-
GM
L
# = 2 L GM v 2
(5.47) ated with the relaxation timescale by a factor of m/M ,
v i.e.,
Therefore the cross section for interaction scales like m
tdf = tcr (5.56)
M
2 2
G M
grav = (5.48) This dynamical friction is thought to provide a mech-
v4 anism for the condensation of heavier bodies at the cen-
ters of clusters of lighter objects. This "slow down" has
Lets us now consider N identical particles with mass m.
associated a loss of angular momentum that makes the
The total mass of the system is M = N m. We will denote
embedded heavy object spiral toward the center of the
the characteristic number density and velocity as n and
medium of lighter bodies. This could be applied to heavy
v, respectively. We can estimate the timescale associated
stars and stellar mass black holes in globular clusters, or
with with collisional relaxation as
even to massive black holes and globular clusters in the
1 R3 v 3 N R3 v 3 R R2 v 4 galaxy.
tcr = ' 2 2
' 2 2 =N .
nvgrav N G m G M v G2 M 2
(5.49)
24
We can combine these two equations to obtain Figure 5.1: Sketch of the solutions to the Lane-Emden
equation as a function of the politropic index n.
r2 dP
1 d
= 4G (5.59)
r2 dr dr 5.8.1 Boundary conditions for the Lane-Emden equation
In case of a barotropic fluid, P P () and we can inte- In order to integrate the Lane-Emden equation we need
grate this equation to get P (r) and (r), and thus solve two boundary conditions on (). We must have
for the radial structure of the self-gravitating object.
( = 0) 0 (5.67)
5.8 Lane-Emden equation polytropes so the density matches the correct value at the origin, and
d
A particularly simple form of the barotropic fluid is given 0 (5.68)
d =0
by a polytropic equation of state
if we require that the pressure does not exhibit a cusp at
P K , (5.60) the origin, i.e.,
dP
0 (5.69)
where both K and are constants. In this case, we dr r=0
can rewrite equation (5.59) in dimensionless form, the In general, the Lane-Emden equation only has a few
so called Lane-Emden equation, analytic solutions:
1 d
= , n = 0 (sphere of constant density)
2 d
= n , (5.61)
2 d d 2
0 = 1 (5.70)
6
where we have defined
10 = 6 (5.71)
n
= c , (5.62) = 2, n = 1 (planetary interiors and brown dwarfs)
with sin()
1 = (5.72)
c (0) , (5.63)
11 = (5.73)
and
r = , (5.64) = 56 , n = 5 (galaxies)
12
with 3
12 5 = 1+ (5.74)
n+1 1n 3
Kc n , (5.65)
4G
Here, we have denoted the first zero of the polytrope of
and the polytropic index n is related to via index n by 1n the. Only the solutions with n < 5 have
a finite 1n such that n (1 ) = 0. In general, if K and
1
= 1. (5.66) n are given, we can integrate the Lane-Emden equations
n from = 0 up to 1 , and state the results in terms of the
central density c or the total mass M .
25
5.9 Dynamical stability of self-gravitating disk or, in terms of the angular frequency, 0 = v0 (r)/r
We first need to find steady state solutions over which 1 (t, r) P1 (t, r) 1 (t, r) e(krt) (5.94)
we will perform the linear mode analysis. Denoting this
background solution with a subscript "0", we obtain for with kr 1 (locally). Recall that in cylindrical coordi-
the continuity, momentum, and Poisson equations nates the velocity is v = vr (r)r + v (r) and thus
(0 v 0 ) = 0 , (5.80)
!
v2
vr v vr v
(v )v vr r vr + .
P r r r r
(v 0 )v 0 = 0 , (5.81)
0 (5.95)
2 Substituting for , P , and v, we obtain
0 = 4G [M (x, y, z) + 0 (z)] , (5.82)
Note that if the speed at which the gas rotates in the i1 + vr 0 ik = 0 , (5.96)
disk depends only on radius, i.e.,
1 dP1 d1
v 0 = v0 (r) , (5.83) ivr 2v = , (5.97)
0 dr dr
then the continuity equation is trivially satisfied because 2
iv +
vr = 0 . (5.98)
2
0 ( v 0 ) + v 0 0 = 0 . (5.84)
Here, we have defined the epicyclic frequency as
The momentum equations reads
dln
v2 P0 1 dP0 0 2 = 42 + 22 (5.99)
0 = 0 = , (5.85) dln r
r 0 0 dr dr
One way to derive the dispersion relation associated
where the gravitational potential due to the central star with this linear, homogeneous system is to recast all the
and disk is quantities that depend on the perturbations in terms of,
GM
0 = + 2G0 |z| . (5.86) for instance, 1 . This is easy to do for the radial and
r
azimuthal velocity fluctuations
Using this expression in the previous equation, we obtain
v02 1 dP0 GM 1
= 2 , (5.87) vr = , (5.100)
r 0 dr r k 0
26
and thus
2 i 1
v = . (5.101)
2 k 0
We now need to relate dP1 /dr and d1 /dr with 1 .
From the equation for the sound speed,
dP
c2 = , (5.102)
d
we obtain
1 dP1 ik 2
= c 1 . (5.103)
0 dr 0 s
From the Poisson equation for the perturbations Figure 5.2: Sketch to find the roots of the dispersion re-
lation in equation (5.112).
2 1 = 4G1 (z) , (5.104)
d1 2ikG1
= . (5.110)
dr |k|
1 2 1 1 2ik
i +i = ikc2s + G1 , (5.111)
k 0 k 0 0 |k|
v = m+ n+ v + + m n v (6.21)
+ (v) = v (6.7)
t so the two charged fluid momentum equation is
v
+ (v)v = P (6.8)
t
v
1
+ (v)v = qE + j B P (6.22)
Take a fluid made up of two particle species of oppo- t | c
{z }
site charges. The conservation laws for the two types of Need to figure
particles are out what this is.
That specified j, but what about E and B? and introduce the definiton of the magnetic diffusivity in
The critical next step is to impose charge neutrality CGS Gaussian
q=0 (6.25) c2
(6.37)
4
and then given
then we get
1 B
E = (6.26) B 0
c t (v 0 B 0 ) = 02 B 0 (6.38)
t0 v0 L
cE ` (flow lengthscale)
v (6.27)
B (flow timescale) This form immediately suggests an analogous definition
to the Reynolds number introduced with a viscous fluid.
This is hence the magnetic Reynolds number:
1 E 1 E
2
c t 1 ` v2
B
2
2 1 (6.28) v0 L
B c ` c c
ReM (6.39)
so
4 6.2 Ideal MHD
B = j (6.29)
c
Take perfect conduction (and perfect Lenzs law).
which is a charge-neutral, non-relativistic approximation. So the Ideal MHD induction equation is
The momentum equation is then
B
v 1 P = (v B) (6.40)
+ (v)v = 0 + BB t
t 4
(6.30) We have here the same situation as Kelvins Circulation
Therom (regarding vorticity). Note the (v)B is hidden
or inside the (v B). Magnetic field lines are frozen
v 1jB P in (pinned, stuck) to the fluid.
+ (v)v = (6.31)
t c
6.3 Energetics in MHD
Now back to
4 In a fluid, we have
B = j (6.32)
c
Internal thermal energy density e. For an ideal gas
Take the curl, substitute in Ohms law with = constant e = P/( 1)
E
B
EB
+ F = 0 (6.43) = E (6.55)
t 4/c 4/c
| {z } | {z }
For example, if you take E = and F = v then this is j = B Poynting
4/c
conservation of mass, or the continuity equation. Flux
So, we can write for the thermal energy S = E
B/(4/c)
e 1 2
+ ((e + P )v ) = P
| {zv} + j (6.44) With Ohms law E = 1c v B.
1
t | {z } j
flux pressure work |{z}
Ohmic heating
1 2 1 EB
= j + (v B)j (6.56)
This is for a fluid which does not lose or transfer energy | c {z } 4/c
by radiating it away, there is no sink term. Its adiabatic. triple product
Now, for the others = 1c (j B)v
1 v 2 So
EK 1 v
= 2 = v2 +v (6.45) Poynting Flux (incl. Ohmic)
t t | {zt}
2 t z }|
|{z} {
continuity momentum EB c 1 1
+ vB+ j B
t 4 c
1 2
1jB P
1 2 jB
= v (v) + v (v)v + = j v (6.57)
2 c }
| {z c
| {z }
(6.46) Ohmic Lorentz
1 jB And the gravitational energy
= v 2 (v) v(v)v + v
2 c
EG = (6.58)
vP v (6.47)
Now, note EG
= = (v) = (v) + v
t t
(6.59)
1 2 1 1
v v = v 2 (v) + v(vv) (6.48)
2 2 2 so
EG
with the identity + (v) = v (6.60)
t | {z } | {z }
1 Grav. Pot. Flux work against gravity
(AA) = (A)A + A ( A) (6.49)
2 Now if we add these all together
(Note we used the same sort of identity when deriving the (e + EK + EB + EG )
Bernoulli Equation.)
t
1
= v 2 (v) + v(v)v + v(v ( v)) (6.50) 1 EB
2 + (e + P )v + v 2 v + + v = 0 (6.61)
1 | {z } |2 {z } 4/c |{z}
= v 2 (v) + v(v)v + ( v)
(vv)
(6.51) Thermal | {z } Grav.
Kinetic
2 Poynting
with a being a conserved fluid variable (such as the den- where we additionally obtain a minus sign from swapping
sity, %, the momentum density %v, the total energy den- the terms in the cross product, that is B v vB,
sity, etot v 2 /2 + . . . ), and Fa representing the hydro- I
dynamic flux associated with that variable (for instance, = t l(vB) . (7.5)
v in the case of a = %). C
According
H to Stokes theorem, we can replace
R a line inte-
7.1 Flux freezing gral CS
lA with a surface integral S
dS A for
any vector field A. Thus the last expression becomes
The so-called flux freezing is an important property of
Z
ideal MHD fluids, and as such is violated once diffusive = t dS (vB) , (7.6)
S
31
which we recognise as the induction term in Faradays the upper right-hand corner, with x pointing to the right,
law. Taking the limit t 0, where B/t t B, we y going into the page, and z pointing up. The field ini-
obtain the corresponding infinitesimal change, which we tially consists of a constant vertical field B = B0 z. Such
a field does not have a curl, and hence j = 0, implying
can insert into the expression for the total time derivative
of the magnetic flux, yielding that no Lorentz force is exerted.
Z By imposing a shear flow v = v0 sin(kz)x, with a si-
d d nusoidal variation of wavenumber k along z, we will cre-
B B dS
dt dt S ate a distortion in the field lines. As a result, after some
Z
d B finite time, the field lines will become corrugated, as is
= dS (vB) , (7.7)
dt S t shown in the right hand side of Fig. 7.3. To compute the
change in the magnetic field, we have to solve the induc-
where the integrand vanishes according to the ideal MHD tion equation. For this, we first evaluate the vB term,
equation, completing the proof that B = 0 for any co- employing the useful property that the vector product
moving surface, S. can conveniently be written as a determinant (with the
unit coordinate vectors in the first row).
7.2 The plasma parameter
x
y z 0
vB = vx vy vz = v0 B0 sin(kz) (7.11)
An important dimensionless number in plasma physics Bx By Bz 0
is the so-called plasma parameter, or plasma beta, P .
It signifies the relative importance of the p and the which means that vB only has a y component, and hence
Lorentz force j B. points out-of (into) the page on the top (bottom) half
of the distorted pattern (note the location of the z = 0
| j B | | p | . (7.8) location in Fig. 7.3). The induction equation yields
depicted in Fig. 7.3. The coordinate axes are shown in is not impeded by the Lorentz force in the momentum equation.
32
can now compute the Lorentz force, which is of state. We now insert an ansatz for wave-like perturba-
tions, that is,
2 1
B %1 = %1 exp [i(kr t)] ,
j B = v0 sin(kz) k 2 t 0 0 , (7.16)
0
v0 k t cos(kz) and accordingly for the other perturbed variables. With
this ansatz, spatial derivatives (curl, gradient, divergence)
which scales with the magnetic energy density, emag
2 will morph into factors of the (vector-like) wavenumber
B0 /0 , of the background field. The jB is always per-
k, preserving the respective vector operation associated,
pendicular to the magnetic fields as depicted on the right
for instance ik . . . ; similarly, the partial time
hand side of Fig. 7.3. We summarise:
derivative will translate into a factor i. In the follow-
the magnetic field distortion grows linear in time ing we will moreover drop the subscript 1, for easier
growth is fastest where the velocity shear is biggest notation. Dividing by common factors of the imaginary
(but: the field line does not actually get displaced) unit, i, we obtain the following algebraic system of equa-
tions:
distorted field lines exert perpendicular stresses
field lines oppose bending via fluid motions % + %0 kv = 0 (7.21)
magnitude of the force scales with magnetic energy 1
%0 v + kp (kB) B 0 = 0 (7.22)
0
B + k (v B 0 ) = 0 (7.23)
7.4 Basic MHD waves p %
= 0 . (7.24)
p0 %0
As shown above, the field line tension provides a restoring
Assuming 6= 0, we can solve the resulting system of
force (in the transverse direction) introducing an elastic
equations for three dependent variables
property of the field-line fabric. Together with the flux
freezing property, and the plasmas inertia, this allows % = %0 kv/ (7.25)
to propagate wave-like disturbances along field lines. We p = p0 kv/ (7.26)
can derive the dispersion relation for such MHD waves
B = [(kv) B 0 (kB 0 ) v] / (7.27)
by following the procedure that we have already seen for
acoustic waves. We begin by writing down the linearised already, leaving only the velocity v undetermined. By
MHD equations, where subscript 0 refers to background substituting these relations into the momentum equa-
state, and subscript 1 indicates fluctuations, for in- tion 7.22, we obtain the following vector equation for v,
stance, % = %0 + %1 . As previously, we ignore any terms
(kB 0 )2
(kB 0 ) (vB 0 )
2
quadratic in fluctuations, and thus obtain: v = k
%0 0 %0 0
B02
t %1 + %0 v 1 = 0 (7.17) p0 kB 0
+ + k B 0 (kv) ,
%0 t v 1 + p 10 (B 1 ) B 0 = 0 (7.18)
%0 %0 0
|{z} | {z }
%0 0
t B 1 + (v 1 B 0 ) = 0 (7.19) =c2s =c2A
p1 %1 (7.28)
t = 0 , (7.20)
p0 %0 where we identify the (adiabatic sound speed)
with Cp /CV the ratio of specific heats, and where the
r
p0
last equation is derived from the thermodynamic equation cs ,
%0
33
which is a property of the background pressure and den- 7.4.2 Slow and fast magnetosonic waves
sity. The corresponding magnetic term that adds to this
signal speed, is called the Alfvn speed, cA , given by The two remaining roots of (7.31) follow from setting
s the term in square brackets to zero. Solving this simple
B02 quadratic equation in 2 , we obtain
cA ,
%0 0
= k c+ and = k c ,
which is itself a property of the background magnetic field
and the gas density. We can see that this speed is fast for with the fast (c ) and slow (c ) magnetosonic velocity
+
strong magnetic fields (high tension), or low density (low defined by
gas inertia). We will identify this speed as the propaga-
s
tion velocity of transverse perturbations along the field 1 2
q
c c + c2 (c 2 + c2 )2 4c2 c2 cos2 .
lines. s s A s
2 A A
Without loss of generality, we can assume that B 0 k z,
and that k y = 0, where the latter implies k x-z- (7.32)
plane. With these restrictions, and indroducing the angle
B 0 , k, we can rewrite equation 7.28 as a simple Note that c cs for the unmagnetised case B0 0
linear eigenvalue problem (EVP) (i.e., for cA 0), illustrating the relation of these waves
! ! with regular sound waves. Because all terms appearing
2k2 (c2A+c2s sin2 ) 0 k2 c2s sin cos vx
0 2 2 2
k cA cos 2 0 vy = 0 .
in (7.32) are positive definite, we easily see that c+ > c ,
k2 c2s sin cos 0 2k2 c2s cos2 vz explaining the names of the two wave branches.
In contrast to the Alfvn wave, the EV for the magne-
(7.29)
tosonic waves is
To guarantee that the linear system of equations has a vx
solution, we evaluate the determinant of the matrix v MS 0 ,
2 2 2 2 2 v z
k (c +c sin )
A s 0 k 2 c2s sin cos
, implying compressional waves (kv 6= 0) with longitudinal
2 2 2 2
0 k cA cos 0
k 2 c2 sin cos
s 0 2
k 2 2
c s cos 2
polarisation (vB 0 6= 0). The different propagation speed
of the two wave branches can be understood in terms of
(7.30)
the pressure perturbations being in phase or out of phase
which yields the dispersion relation with the (linear) magnetic pressure fluctuation B 0B/0 .
2 2 2 2
More specifically
k cA cos
4
2 k 2 (c2A + c2s ) + k 4 c2A c2s cos2 = 0 , kv B02 (kB 0 ) (vB 0 )
(7.31) B 0 B
= = ...
which is a third-order polynomial in 2 . The three inde- 0 0
c2 k 2 c2s cos2
pendent roots correspond to 3 distinct wave types. = A2 1 p. (7.33)
cs 2
7.4.1 Alfvn waves From this equation, we can see that both perturbations
have the same sign if c > cs cos , and have opposite
The obvious pair of roots in the dispersion relation (7.31) signs if c < cs cos . As a simple exercise, check that this
for ideal-MHD waves can be obtained by setting ( 2 is indeed the case for c = c+ and c = c , as is claimed
k 2 c2A cos2 ) = 0, which yields above.
The angle dependence of the three wave families is il-
= kcA cos ,
lustrated in Fig. 7.4 for the case cA > cs (left panel)
where the plus and minus sign corresponds to the left- and and the case cA < cs (right panel). We can see that
right-travelling wave, respectively. The group speed, c the pure Alfvn wave as well as the slow magnetosonic
/k, of the perturbations is simply the projected Alfvn branch vanish for /2. For 0, the slow speed,
speed cA cos , that is, the maximum propagation speed c min (cA , cs ), that is, it approaches whichever of the
is obtained for k k B 0 , and waves that are perpendicular two speeds is lower. In the same limit, the fast speed
to the field lines do not propagate at all. The associated c max (cA , cs ), that is, it approaches the faster of the
eigenvector (EV) of this particular solution of (7.31) is two wave velocities. As an exercise, verify this behaviour
by setting cos = 1 in (7.32), and applying the binomial
0
formula to simplify terms. The absolute speed limit for
v A vy ,
MHD waves is reached for the fast magnetosonic wave in
0
the case /2. Setting to zero the pcorresponding term
satisfying both kv = 0 ( incompressible perturbation), cos in (7.32), we arrive at cmax
+ = c2A + c2s , which con-
and vB 0 = 0 ( transverse polarisation of the wave). cludes our brief introduction of linear waves in ideal MHD
34
Figure 7.4: MHD wave speeds, c /k, as a function of the angle between the background magnetic field and
the wave vector, k. Left: magnetically dominated case, cA > cs . Right: gas-pressure dominated case, cA < cs .
The vast majority of the information that we obtain from Imagine a beam of light going through a medium. The
astrophysical systems is carried by electromagnetic waves. optical depth, , tells how the initial intensity of radia-
In many cases, the photons that reach our eyes or detec- tion, I0 , is attenuated as radiation propagates throughout
tors have interacted with matter after they were emitted. he medium according to
The propagation of radiation through a medium is af-
fected by absorption, emission, and scattering processes. I = I0 e . (8.4)
The equation of radiative transfer describes these inter-
actions mathematically. Before we can write down this There are two different reasons for attenuation: absorp-
equations, we need to introduce several concepts. tion and scattering. In, for example a star, there will
also be emission which counteracts the attenuation. For
a medium that is semi-opaque the optical depth can be
8.1 Solid Angle calculated as Z L
= d` , (8.5)
In order to characterize the energy contained in a beam 0
of light, it is useful to introduce the concept of a solid
where d = d`. Here, is the extinction coefficient,
angle. You can think of it as the two-dimensional angle
is the density and d` is an incremental distance through
in three-dimensional space that an object subtends at a
the medium. The coefficient has units of
point. It is a measure of how large the object appears
to an observer looking from that point. A solid angle is L2
expressed in a dimensionless unit called a steradian, or sr [] = cross section per unit mass . (8.6)
M
for short.
If 1 the medium is said to be optically thin and
Mathematically, the differential of solid angle is defined
as thus most radiation goes through without attenuation. If
dA dA 1 the medium is said to be optically thick and blocks
d 2 = 2 , (8.1)
r r most of the incident radiation. The transition between
Note that what matters is the projection of the element these two regimes takes place around optical depths of
order unity, i.e., ' 1.
of area into the direction given by the unit vector , see
Figure 8.1, The opacity is given by and it can be related to the
number density of the medium, n, and the cross section
In general, for a finite more complex surface, as illus-
of collisions between photons and the components of the
trated in Figure 8.2, the total solid angle is calculated as
an integral medium, , as
1
= n . (8.7)
Z
dA
= . (8.2) `
A r2
Here ` is the mean distance, or mean-free path, between
As an example, the solid angle subtended by a sphere by collisions. Intuitively, high opacity corresponds to a very
an observer inside of it is short distance between each collision experienced by a
2 photon. On the other hand, low opacity corresponds to
4R
= 4 sr , (8.3) essentially freely streaming photons.
R2
and for a semi-sphere, the solid angle is = 2 sr.
Figure 8.1: Differential of solid angle. As an example of these concepts, consider photons
propagating through a gas made out of free electrons.
36
Note that if r2 4Dt n t3/2 . Here, the frequency dependence is indicated with a sub-
In order to understand the dispersion of particles at script, n = (0, 0, 1) is the unit vector perpendicular to
the differential area and
time t, we would like to know the mean value r2 taken
over the number density n particle distribution (Note that
= (sin cos , sin sin , cos ) , (8.21)
the mean value hri = 0!). This is simplified if we recall
that for a one-dimensional distribution is the unit vector characterizing the solid angle under con-
1 2 2 sideration expressed in spherical coordinates, with respect
g(x, t) = e(xhxi) /21 . (8.15) to n. Note that n no energy is transported in the di-
21
rection perpendicular to the surface dA. This dot product
The dispersion is given by appears often so we define
2
2 x2 hxi = 12 .
(8.16) n = cos . (8.22)
37
9 RADIATIVE TRANSFER
1 I
+ I = I + j (9.1)
c t Z
s
+ I0 (0 )(, 0 ) d0 .
4
Here, the total extinction coefficient, , is the sum of the
extinction coefficient due to absorption, a , and extinc- Figure 9.1: Slab geometry.
tion coefficient due scattering, s , i.e.,
then Note that the equation for the moment n involves moment
d
ds = , (9.6) n + 1, i.e., the equation for the energy involves the flux,
and the equation for the flux involves the pressure. In
and the equation of radiative transfer becomes order to have a complete set of equations we need closure
relations to relate E, F and P . One way to do this is to
use the Eddington approximation that assumes that
Z
dI j 0
= I + I d , (9.7) the intensity depends linearly on , i.e., I = I + I .
d 4 0 1
39
Using the definitions for E, F and P , we obtain information about the physical state of the gas. In order
Z to simplify this problem we will assume a plane-parallel
1 4
E = I d = I0 , (9.15) geometry and that all the opacities involved do not de-
c c pend on frequency and thus the atmosphere is said to be
Z
4 grey. We will also ignore scattering.
F = I d = I1 , (9.16) In radiative equilibrium, i.e., F/z = 0 and thus
3
Z F/ = 0 with
1 4 E
P = I 2 d = I0 = . (9.17) c 1 E c E
c 3c 3 F = = . (9.24)
3 z 3
This implies that the intensity is
Integrating this equation with respect to , we obtain
cE 3F
I= + . (9.18)
4 4 3F
E( ) = + E(0) . (9.25)
In steady state, equation 9.14 leads to an expression c
for the flux In order to determine the constant of integration, we make
c 1 E
F = , (9.19) use of an approximate boundary condition by assuming
3 z
that the emergent flux is given by
which provides a closure relation between F and E. Note
that because of our convention, a positive value for F c
F = E(0) . (9.26)
means that the flux is travelling upwards (in the negative 2
z direction). This means that about half of the photons at the stellar
If we consider a slab geometry, substituting this ex- surface stream freely out of the star. This leads to
pression for the flux in equation 9.13 provides a diffusion
equation for the energy in one dimension 3F 2F
E( ) = + , (9.27)
c c
2
E c E
= c(1 ) [E EBB ] . (9.20) thus the energy density as a function of optical depth is
t 3 z 2
The fact that the right hand side of this equation does 3F 2
E( ) = + . (9.28)
not vanish in general reflects the fact that the number c 3
density of photons is not conserved.
If we now define the effective temperature Teff as the
temperature that a black body must have in order for the
9.3 Thermalization Time emitted flux to be
4
If we consider radiative equilibrium, i.e., F/z = 0 then F = Teff . (9.29)
2e2 2
d = . (10.22)
3me c3
e E 0 eit
x(t) = . (10.23)
me 02 + id
2
1 t+ /2
Z
proportional to 2 at low frequencies. In reality, these hP i = P dt , (10.24)
low frequency photons will be self-absorbed by the emit- t /2
ting plasma and the emissivity at low frequencies behaves,
quite universally, as 5/2 below a break frequency b that where = 2/, is
depends on the source, see Figure 10.5. This behavior at 2
(e2 /m2e ) E02
low frequencies is a signature of non-thermal synchrotron e
hP i = . (10.25)
radiation and the frequency b provides a measure of the 3c3 ( 2 02 )2 + d2 2
optical depth through the emitting plasma. Measuring
the spectral index of the spectrum at high frequencies Note that the time-averaged incident flux is
provides insight on the power-law index of the emitting c 2
particles and the observed power can be used to estimate hSi = E . (10.26)
8 0
the magnetic field.
Defining the total cross section as the ratio of the scat-
tered power to the incident flux, i.e., = hP i/hSi, we
10.4 Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves by
obtain
non-relativistic Particles
4e2 d 2
Note that the power depends on the product ev which can = . (10.27)
me c ( 2 02 )2 + d2 2
be thought to be associated with the changes induced in
the dipole moment characterizing two charges of opposite Note that re = e2 /me c2 ' 3 1013 cm is the classi-
sign separated by a distance x, i.e., d = ex, since d = cal electron radius. For wavelengths much greater that
ex = ev and thus the radius of the electron the damping frequency is much
2
2 |d| smaller than the frequency of the incident wave, i.e.,
P = . (10.20) d . The general scattering cross section that we
3 c3
derived enable us to study a few limiting cases of inter-
We have managed to link the power emitted in terms
est.
of the second time derivative of the dipole moment char-
acterizing the system. We now briefly address what hap-
pens when the changes in the dipole moment are induced 10.4.1 Thomson Scattering
by the action of an electromagnetic wave on the system
characterized by a dipole moment d. Consider the Thom- If the electrons are free, i.e., not bound to an atom, then
son model for the atom in which electrons are assumed we can take 0 = 0 and obtain the Thomson scattering
to be in an equilibrium configuration such as to neutral- cross section
ize the positive charges. When the electrons are displaced
from this configuration by a distance x, they will oscillate 8 2
T = r , (10.28)
with a characteristic frequency 0 . The dipole moment 3 e
associated with this displacement is d = ex.
If we now consider an incident electromagnetic wave, which is independent of the frequency of the incident ra-
diation, . This result is valid only if the energy of the in-
E = E 0 ei(kxt) , acting on this atom we can write the
cident photons is much smaller than the rest mass energy
equation of motion for the displaced electron as
of the electrons, i.e., me c2 0.5MeV. When the energy
e
x = 02 x d x E 0 eit , of the incident radiation is not negligible compared to
(10.21)
me the rest mass energy the non-relativistic approach breaks
where we have included the driving force due to the elec- down and the relevant cross section is the Compton cross
tromagnetic wave and the radiative damping force, which section (see below).
43
10.6 Inverse Compton Scattering and SZ-effect the scattering protons, the emissivity associated with
Bremsstrahlung radiation is given by
When a photon of initial energy interacts with a fast
moving electron with a Lorentz factor , the energy of the j 6.8 1038 ne ni Z 2 T 1/2 exp h gff erg
,
0 2 kT cm 3 sHz
photon gets boosted to = . This is how a cosmic ray
electron with energy 109 eV, i.e., 103 , can boost up a (10.35)
CMB photon ( 103 eV) to X-ray (with 0 104 keV).
This process is intimately related to the so-called where ne and ni are the numbers densities of the electrons
Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (or SZ effect). This is the result and ions with charge number Z and the Gaunt factor gff
of high energy electrons distorting the cosmic microwave is a number of order unity for practical purposes. The
background (CMB) radiation through inverse Compton total energy radiated can be obtained by integrating over
scattering, in which the low-energy CMB photons receive all frequencies
an average energy boost during collision with the high en- erg
ergy electrons in clusters of galaxies. The magnitude of jbrem 1.4 1027 n2e T 1/2 3 , (10.36)
cm s
this temperature change has a very unique frequency de-
pendence, below 220 Ghz (1.4mm) the SZ effect produces where we have assumed a plasma made of Hydrogen.
a decrement, or a "cold spot" relative to the mean CMB The thermal bremsstrahlung energy spectrum is flat
temperature. Above 220 Ghz, it produces a temperature for photon energies h kT , see Figure 10.8. This is
increase ("hot spot"). The distortions observed in the a rather distinctive feature that provides a unique ob-
CMB can be used to detect dense clusters of galaxies. servational signature. Because of the exponential cut-off
the spectrum turns over at energies h kT , which pro-
vides a way to measure the temperature of the emitting
10.7 Thermal Bremsstrahlung Radiation plama. Thermal bremsstrahlung is the dominant source
of X-rays in the hot (107 108 K!) intracluster medium
An unbound electron moving in the presence of an ion permeating cluster of galaxies. This radiation is easily ob-
will be deflected from a straight-line trajectory and emit served with space-based telescopes such as Chandra X-ray
bremsstrahlung radiation. This radiation has a contin- Observatory, XMM-Newton, ROSAT, ASCA, EXOSAT,
uos spectrum which becomes more intense and whose Suzaku, RHESSI and future missions like IXO and Astro-
peak intensity shifts toward higher frequencies as the H. Bremsstrahlung is also the dominant emission mecha-
change of the energy of the accelerated particles increases. nism for H II regions at radio wavelengths.
Bremsstrahlung emitted from plasma is sometimes re- If the plasma is optically thin, the bremsstrahlung
ferred to as free/free radiation when the emitting charged radiation leaves the plasma, carrying part of the in-
particles are free both before and after the deflection (ac- ternal plasma energy. This effect is known as the
celeration) that caused the emission. A formal deriva- bremsstrahlung cooling and can be quite effective at high
tion of the equations involved is beyond the scope of temperatures. The characteristic cooling time can be es-
these notes and the details can be found, for example, timated by taking the ratio between the thermal energy
in Rybicki & Lightman (1986); Shu (1991); Padmanab- density ne kT and the energy lost per second per unit vol-
han (2000); Melia (2009). Here, we will limit ourselves ume jbrem as
to analyze the result and understand some of its conse- 1
quences. T ne
tcool 3 Gyr . (10.37)
108 K 0.01cm3
11 SPHERICAL ACCRETION
becomes
" 1 #
2 2c20
v = 1 , (11.22)
1 0
" #
2c20
1
T
= 1 , (11.23)
1 T0
" 1 #
2c20 P
= 1 . (11.24)
1 P0
Figure 11.3: Sketch of subsonic and supersonic flows in de Laval nozzles and diffusers.
r2 v = const . (11.56)
M = 4r2 v , (11.57)
Recall from equation (11.44) we can write the rate of We can re write the term involving the pressure gradi-
change of the matter current density with respect to the ent in terms of the sound speed by recalling that
speed of the flow as P P
= = c2s , (11.59)
dj dv 2
r r r
= = 1M . (11.49)
dv dv
and realizing that, from equation (11.55), we have
This implies that the matter current density reaches an
extreme value when M = 1, see Figure 11.5. Moreover,
= 2 (vr2 ) . (11.60)
by construction, this is the sonic point so that r vr r
and thus the right hand side is positive. On the left hand
Let us consider the accretion of matter onto a central
side, we expect
object of mass M . This is a fairly complicated process
v 2
but we can get a handle on the basic physics invoking < 0, (11.64)
r
some assumptions. We will assume the process to be time
independent, spherically symmetric, and isentropic. The since v ' 0. This implies that at large distances the
equations describing the gas dynamics are then flow is subsonic, i.e.,
v 2 < c2s .
+ (v) = 0 , (11.53)
t
As r decreases the quantity
v P
+ (v )v = , (11.54)
t 2c2s
1 r
where t = 0, P , = GM/r, and all the fluid GM
variables are only a function of the spherical radius r. will tend to zero and vanish at the critical radius rc
The continuity equation can be written in spherical co-
ordinates as 1 GM
1 2 rc = , (11.65)
(r v) = 0 . (11.55) 2 c2s (rc )
r2 r
49
we denote by v? = c? .
c2
2 1 1
c? + 2 = . (11.71)
2 1 1
This implies that the speed of sound at the critical radius
is related to the speed of sound at infinity via
r
2
c? = c (11.72)
5 3
11.9 Accretion Luminosity This means that there is an upper limit to the accre-
tion luminosity, such that radiation forces do not prevent
Matter falling onto a central object at a rate M will re- the accretion of matter. This maximum luminosity is
lease gravitational energy at a rate given by achieved when frad = fgrav and is called the Eddington
luminosity
GM M 4GcM
Lacc (r) = . (11.82) LEdd = . (11.88)
r
If all the kinetic energy of the infalling matter is given In summary, the Eddington luminosity is the maximum
up in the form of radiation at the stellar surface, the luminosity a body can achieve via steady-state spherical
accretion luminosity is given by accretion when there is balance between the force of ra-
diation acting outward and the gravitational force acting
GM M inward. For pure ionized hydrogen = T /mp
Lacc = . (11.83)
R?
4GcM mp
LEdd = , (11.89)
Typical values for accreting white dwarfs and neutron T
stars in binary systems are M erg
= 1038 , (11.90)
WD 33 erg NS 36 erg
M s
Lacc = 10 , Lacc = 10 , (11.84) M
s s = 3 104 L . (11.91)
M
where we have assumed that RWD 109 cm and RNS
105 cm and M 1016 gr s1 which is roughly 1.5 Note that this is significantly larger than the typical val-
1010 M yr1 . Note that this values are much larger ues we have quoted for accreting stars in binary sys-
than what we would expect when these objects are ac- tems. However, supermassive black holes are thought to
creting from the interstellar medium! go through phases where they accrete close to this limit!
In the case of a black hole, which lacks a hard surface,
the accretion luminosity can be written as
GM M
Lacc = 2 = M c2 , (11.85)
RBH
where we have used the definition of the Schwarzschild
radius RBH = 2(GM/c2 ). The parameter is a measure
of how efficiently the rest mass energy of the accreted ma-
terial is converted into radiation. Realistic estimates sug-
gest that 0.1 for accretion onto compact objects. This
is very large compared to the efficiency of 0.007, at
which rest mass energy is converted into radiation when
hydrogen is burned into helium in stellar interiors.
Figure 12.1: Thin accretion disk. Figure 12.2: Viscous angular momentum transport.
52
is the mean free path for particles to interact, and the Note that the ratio of timescales associated with molec-
cross section characterizing Coulomb interactions, bc , can ular viscosity and its turbulent counterpart is very large
be obtained from
Ze2 3 tmol turb H
kT (12.30) 1010 (12.41)
bc 2 tturb mol mol
Considering typical values for the mean free path and This is in agreement with observations of binary systems
the sound speed where the systems are seen to undergo dramatic changes
2
T
in brightness in timescales of a week or so as opposed
4
6 10 cm (12.31) to millions of years as it would be implied if transport
n
processes where govern by molecular viscosity rather than
1 turbulent processes.
cs 104 T 2 cm s1 (12.32)
The model for the disk viscosity such that
the molecular viscosity can be written as
turb = cs H (12.42)
5
8T
2
2 1
mol 6 10 cm s
(12.33) is referred to as the "alpha" model and leads to what is
n
known as the standard model for accretion disks that has
Let us now estimate the Reynolds number characteriz- been widely adopted since it was introduce by Shakura
ing an accretion disk. Recall that and Sunyaev in the 70s.
LV Rv
Re . (12.34) 12.6 Viscous force per unit length and Stress
mol
Using that can be estimated as d
Z
F = R Tr dz HTr (12.43)
12 12 dR
M R
Rv 1018 10
cm2 s1 (12.35) 1
Z
M 10 cm Tr = Tr dz (12.44)
H
we obtain for the Reynolds number
E
12 12 [Tr ] = (12.45)
L3
Rv M R 25
Re 109 nT (12.36)
mol M 10
10 cm F E
[F] = = 2 (12.46)
L L
Using as characteristic values for the particle density,
temperature, and rarius
d
15 3
HTr = HR (12.47)
n 10 cm (12.37) dR
d ln
T 104 K (12.38) = H (12.48)
d ln R
we can see that the Reynolds number characterizing an d ln
= Hcs H (12.49)
astrophysical disk are huge d ln r
= Hc2s q (12.50)
Re 1014 (12.39)
= HP q (12.51)
In laboratory, flows become turbulent if Re > 103 .
When this happens the transport properties in the flow Tr = P q (12.52)
change dramatically. In particular, the effective viscos-
ity increases significantly. Turbulent astrophysical disks
can be modeled with an effective viscosity that has an 12.7 Time Scales in Accretion Disks
enhanced value due to turbulence
There are several relevant time scales in accretion disks
turb vturb lturb cs H (12.40)
H 1
thydrostatic (12.53)
where we have assumed that the turbulent velocity is of cs
the order of the sounds speed and the turbulent eddies
have a characteristic scale which is a fraction of the scale 2
R2 R2 R2
height of the disk. The parameter is a number that R 1 1
tviscous 2
needs to be provided and characterizes the model for the cs H cs H
disk structure and its evolution. (12.54)
54
3
cs R 2
H= 1 (12.67)
E c2s c2s c2s cs 1 (GM ) 2
tthermal 2
2
2
, Pc
E D(R) H c2s = (12.68)
(12.55) c
where we have used that " 12 #
M R
2 cs H = 1 (12.69)
d 2 d ln 9 3 R
D(R) R 2 .
dR d ln R 4 " 1 #
4T 4
(12.56) 3GM M R 2
= 1 (12.70)
Note that these timescales are related via 3 8R3 R
2 kT 4 4
Pc = c + T (12.71)
R R hyd
tv th (12.57) m p 3c
H H
Note that the dominant pressure support as well as
and thus tv th hyd . the dominant source of opacity vary in the different disk
regions as follows
outer: Pg Prot , f f dominates.
12.8 The structure of the Standard Disk Model
middle: Pg Prot , c dominates.
For a thin disk, hydrostatic equilibrium in the vertical
inner: Pg Prot , e dominates.
direction implies
If we know M , M , , we can calculate c , , H, cs , Pc
P GM z
= = 2 = 2K z (12.58) and T at position R.
z z r r
Thus the density gradient satisfies
12.9 The magnetorotational instability
K
= (12.59) Recall the equations for MHD (ideal). Continuity equa-
z c2s
tion
and thus
2K z 2
+ (v) = 0, (12.72)
(z) = c exp (12.60) t
2cs2 where we consider = const and thus v = 0 Momentum
It make sense to define the scale height of the disk H as equation
cs cs R v
+ (v )v = P + J B, (12.73)
H 2 = 2 (12.61) t
K vK
where we use = GM r . Induction equation
which implies that the disk thickness is related to the
ratio between the sound speed and the Keplerian speed B
= (v B), (12.74)
t
H cs
(12.62) where we use J = 1 B.
R vK 0
and thus cs vK if H R.
12.9.1 The shearing box approximation
We can estimate the pressure support in the radial co-
ordinate as
If we only care about a small piece of the disk, we could
1 P Pc c2 GM H 2 expand the equations of motion around r0 in a frame
s 2 2 (12.63)
R c R R R R rotating with V0 = /r0 . Provided that the departures
with respect to r0 are small; i.e. rx0 , ry0 , rz0 1.
and therefore
r P r (12.64)
v B 2 (B )B
which implies that the rotation speed is ver close to Ke- + (v )v = 2 v + 2q2 x +
t 8 4
plerian (12.75)
v vK (12.65)
B
We can now collect all the relationships we have derived + (v )B = (B )v (12.76)
t
in a concise way as
These equations admit as a solution v0 (x) = qxy,
c = (12.66) B0 = Bz z.
H
55
vx vA Bx
= 2vy + (12.79)
t 4 z
vy vA By
= (2 q)vx + (12.80)
t 4 z
Bx vx
= B0 (12.81)
t z
By vy
= qBx + B0 (12.82)
t z
This can be written in matrix form.
0 2 ikvA 0 vx vx
(q 2) 0 0 ikvA vy
= vy
ikvA 0 0 0 Bx Bx
0 ikvA q 0 By By
(12.83)
Av = v, det(A 1) 0.
This leads to a fourth degree dispersion relation for
(k):
References