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The theoretical debris supply rate from a tidal disruption of stars can exceed about 100 times of Eddington accretion rate for a 106−7 M ⊙ supermassive black hole. It is believed that a strong wind will be launched from the disk surface due to the radiation pressure in the case of super-Eddington accretion, which may be one of the mechanisms for the formation of the envelope, as observed in tidal disruption events (TDEs). In this work, we explore the evolution of the envelope that formed from the optical thick winds by solving the global solution of the slim-disk model. Our model can roughly reproduce the typical temperature, luminosity, and size of the photosphere for TDEs. Based on Cloudy modeling, we find that, if only considering the radiation-driven disk wind, the emission line luminosities are normally much lower than the typical observational results, due to the limited atmosphere mass outside the envelope. We propose that the ejection of the outflow from the self-collision of the stellar debris during the circularization may provide enough matter outside the disk-wind photosphere. Our calculated spectra can roughly reproduce the main properties of several typical emission lines (e.g., H α, H β, and He ii), which was applied well to a TDE candidate AT2018dyb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the first quasiperiodic eruption (QPE; GSN 069) was reported in 2019, four other sources have been identified as a QPE or a candidate. However, the physics behind QPEs is still unclear, although several models have been proposed. Pan et al. proposed an instability model for an accretion disk with magnetically driven outflows in the first QPE of GSN 069, which is able to reproduce both the light curve and the evolution of the spectra fairly well. In this work, we extend this model to all QPEs. We improve the calculations of the spectrum of the disk by introducing a hardening factor, which is caused by a deviation of opacity from a blackbody. We find that the light curves and evolution of the spectra of the four QPEs and candidates can all be well reproduced by our model calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outflows are inevitably driven from the disk if the vertical component of the black hole (BH) gravity cannot resist the radiation force. We derive the mass-loss rate in the outflows by solving a dynamical equation for the vertical gas motion in the disk. The structure of a supercritical accretion disk is calculated with the radial energy advection included. We find that most inflowing gas is driven into outflows if the disk is accreting at a moderate Eddington-scaled rate (up to ∼100) at its outer edge, i.e., only a small fraction of gas is accreted by the BH, which is radiating at several Eddington luminosities, while it reaches around ten for extremely high accretion rate cases ( m ̇ ≡ M ̇ / M ̇ Edd ∼ 1000). Compared with a normal slim disk, the disk luminosity is substantially suppressed due to the mass loss in the outflows. We apply the model to the light curves of the tidal disruption events (TDEs) and find that the disk luminosity declines very slowly with time even if a typical accretion rate m ̇ ∝ t âˆ' 5 / 3 is assumed at the outer edge of the disk, which is qualitatively consistent with the observed light curves in some TDEs and helps us to understand the energy deficient phenomenon observed in the TDEs. Strong outflows from supercritical accretion disks surrounding supermassive BHs may play crucial roles in their host galaxies, which can be taken as an ingredient in the mechanical feedback models. The implications of the results on the growth of supermassive BHs are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large-scale magnetic field is crucial in launching and collimating jets/outflows. It is found that the magnetic flux can be efficiently transported inward by a fast-moving corona above a thin disk. In this work, we investigate the dynamical structure of the outflows driven by the large-scale magnetic field advected by a hot corona. With the derived large-scale magnetic field, the outflow solution along every field line is obtained by solving a set of magneto-hydrodynamic equations self-consistently with boundary conditions at the upper surface of the corona. We find that the terminal speeds of the outflows driven from the inner region of the disk are ∼0.01â€"0.1 c. The temperatures of the outflows at a large distance from the black hole are still as high as several ten keV. The properties of the magnetic outflows derived in this work are roughly consistent with the fast outflows detected in some luminous quasars and X-ray binaries (XRBs). The total mass-loss rate in the outflows from the corona is about 7%â€"12% of the mass-accretion rate of the disk. The three-dimensional field geometry, the velocity, temperature, and density of the outflows derived in this work can be used for calculating the emergent spectra and their polarization of the accretion disk/corona/outflow systems. Our results may help understand the features of the observed spectra of XRBs and active galactic nuclei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timescales of the variabilities in changing look (CL) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are usually on the order of years to tens of years (some of them are even shorter than one year), which is much shorter than the viscous timescale of a standard thin accretion disk. This implies that the variabilities of CL AGNs cannot be reproduced by varying the mass accretion rate of the thin disk. In this work, we employ a magnetic accretion disk-outflow model to calculate the inflow time of the disk predominantly driven by magnetic outflows. In this model, most angular momentum of the gas in the disk is carried away by the outflows, and therefore its radial velocity can be substantially higher than that of a conventional viscous disk. Our calculations show that the inflow time of such a disk with outflows can be around several years to tens of years. The calculated spectra of the disk with outflows can fit the observed spectra of a CL AGN Mrk 1018 quite well both in the low and high states. The derived inflow time of such a disk with outflows is around 5 yr in the high state, while it becomes ∼20 yr in the low state, which is roughly consistent with the observations of the variabilities in Mrk 1018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic outbursts are observed in several changing-look (CL) active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Sniegowska et al. suggested a model to explain the repeating CL in these AGNs, where the periodic outbursts are triggered in a narrow unstable zone between an inner advection-dominated accretion flow and outer thin disk. In this work, we intend to investigate the effects of large-scale magnetic fields on the limit cycle behaviors of CL AGNs. The winds driven by magnetic fields can significantly change the structure of thin disk by taking away the angular momentum and energy of the disk. It is found that the period of outburst in repeating CL AGNs can be substantially reduced by the magnetic fields. Conversely, if we keep the period unchanged, the outburst intensity can be raised by several times. These results can help to explain the observational properties of multiple CL AGNs. Besides the magnetic fields, the effects of transition radius , the width of the transition zone ΔR, and the Shakura–Sunyaev parameter α are also explored in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inner region of a luminous accretion disk is radiation-pressure-dominated. We estimate the surface temperature of a radiation-pressure-dominated accretion disk, , which is significantly lower than that of a gas-pressure-dominated disk, Θ ∼ (H/r)2. This means that the outflow can be launched magnetically from the photosphere of the radiation-pressure-dominated disk only if the effective potential barrier along the magnetic field line is extremely shallow or no potential barrier is present. For the latter case, the slow sonic point in the outflow will probably be in the disk, which leads to a slow circular dense flow above the disk. This implies that hot gas (probably in the corona) is necessary for launching an outflow from the radiation-pressure-dominated disk, which provides a natural explanation for the observational evidence that the relativistic jets are related to hot plasma in some X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. We investigate the outflows accelerated from the hot corona above the disk by the magnetic field and radiation force of the accretion disk. We find that with the help of the radiation force, the mass loss rate in the outflow is high, which leads to a slow outflow. This may be why the jets in radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert galaxies are in general mildly relativistic compared with those in blazars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate the advection/diffusion of the large-scale magnetic field threading an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) and find that the magnetic field can be dragged inward by the accretion flow efficiently if the magnetic Prandtl number Pm = η/v ~ 1. This is due to the large radial velocity of the ADAF. It is found that the magnetic pressure can be as high as ~50% of the gas pressure in the inner region of the ADAF close to the black hole horizon, even if the external imposed homogeneous vertical field strength is ≲5% of the gas pressure at the outer radius of the ADAF, which is caused by the gas in the ADAF plunging rapidly to the black hole within the marginal stable circular orbit. In the inner region of the ADAF, the accretion flow is significantly pressured in the vertical direction by the magnetic fields, and therefore its gas pressure can be two orders of magnitude higher than that in the ADAF without magnetic fields. This means that the magnetic field strength near the black hole is underestimated by assuming equipartition between magnetic and gas pressure with the conventional ADAF model. Our results show that the magnetic field strength of the flow near the black hole horizon can be more than one order of magnitude higher than that in the ADAF at ~3Rg (Rg = 2GM/c²), which implies that the Blandford-Znajek mechanism could be more important than the Blandford-Payne mechanism for ADAFs. We find that the accretion flow is decelerated near the black hole by the magnetic field when the external imposed field is strong enough or the gas pressure of the flow is low at the outer radius, or both. This corresponds to a critical accretion rate, below which the accretion flow will be arrested by the magnetic field near the black hole for a given external imposed field. In this case, the gas may accrete as magnetically confined blobs diffusing through field lines in the region very close to the black hole horizon, similar to those in compact stars. Our calculations are also valid for the case that the inner ADAF connects to the outer cold thin disk at a certain radius. In this case, the advection of the external fields is quite inefficient in the outer thin disk due to its low radial velocity, and the field lines thread the disk almost vertically, while these field lines can be efficiently dragged inward by the radial motion of the inner ADAF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was suggested that the relativistic jets in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powered via the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism or the annihilation of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos from a neutrino cooling-dominated accretion flow (NDAF). The advection and diffusion of the large-scale magnetic field of an NDAF is calculated, and the external magnetic field is found to be dragged inward efficiently by the accretion flow for a typical magnetic Prandtl number . The maximal BZ jet power can be ∼1053-1054 erg s–1 for an extreme Kerr black hole, if an external magnetic field with 1014 Gauss is advected by the NDAF. This is roughly consistent with the field strength of the disk formed after a tidal disrupted magnetar. The accretion flow near the black hole horizon is arrested by the magnetic field if the accretion rate is below than a critical value for a given external field. The arrested accretion flow fails to drag the field inward and the field strength decays, and then the accretion re-starts, which leads to oscillating accretion. The typical timescale of such episodic accretion is of an order of one second. This can qualitatively explain the observed oscillation in the soft extended emission of short-type GRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate the structure of a standard accretion disk with a corona surrounding a massive Kerr black hole in the general relativistic frame, in which the corona is assumed to be heated by the reconnection of the strongly buoyant magnetic fields generated in the cold accretion disk. The emergent spectra of accretion disk-corona systems are calculated by using the relativistic ray-tracing method. We propose a new method to calculate the emergent Comptonized spectra from the coronae. The spectra of disk-corona systems with a modified α-magnetic stress show that both the hard X-ray spectral index and the hard X-ray bolometric correction factor Lbol/LX, 2-10 keV increase with the dimensionless mass accretion rate, which is qualitatively consistent with the observations of active galactic nuclei. The fraction of the power dissipated in the corona decreases with increasing black hole spin parameter a, which leads to lower electron temperatures of the coronae for rapidly spinning black holes. The X-ray emission from the coronae surrounding rapidly spinning black holes becomes weak and soft. The ratio of the X-ray luminosity to the optical/UV luminosity increases with the viewing angle, while the spectral shape in the X-ray band is insensitive to the viewing angle. We find that the spectral index in the infrared waveband depends on the mass accretion rate and the black hole spin a, which deviates from the fν∝ν1/3 relation expected by the standard thin disk model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a sample of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with measured black hole masses to explore the jet formation mechanisms in these sources. Based on Königl's inhomogeneous jet model, the jet parameters, such as the bulk motion Lorentz factor, magnetic field strength, and electron density in the jet, can be estimated with the very long baseline interferometry and X-ray data.. We find a significant correlation between black hole mass and the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet components for this sample, while no significant correlation is present between the bulk Lorentz factor and the Eddington ratio. The massive black holes will be spun up through accretion, as the black holes acquire mass and angular momentum simultaneously through accretion. Recent investigation indeed suggested that most supermassive black holes in elliptical galaxies have on average higher spins than the black holes in spiral galaxies, where random, small accretion episodes (e.g., tidally disrupted stars, accretion of molecular clouds) might have played a more important role. If this is true, then the correlation between black hole mass and the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet components found in this work implies that the motion velocity of the jet components is probably governed by the black hole spin. No correlation is found between the magnetic field strength at 10RS (RS = 2GM/c2 is the Schwarzschild radius) in the jets and the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet components for this sample. This is consistent with the black hole spin scenario, i.e., the faster moving jets are magnetically accelerated by the magnetic fields threading the horizon of more rapidly rotating black holes. The results imply that the Blandford-Znajek mechanism may dominate over the Blandford-Payne mechanism for the jet acceleration, at least in these radio-loud AGNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giant X-ray cavities lie in some active galactic nuclei (AGNs) locating in central galaxies of clusters, which are estimated to have stored 1055-1062 erg of energy. Most of these cavities are thought to be inflated by jets of AGNs on a timescale of ≳ 107 years. The jets can be either powered by rotating black holes or the accretion disks surrounding black holes, or both. The observations of giant X-ray cavities can therefore be used to constrain jet formation mechanisms. In this work, we choose the most energetic cavity, MS 0735+7421, with stored energy ∼1062 erg, to constrain the jet formation mechanisms and the evolution of the central massive black hole in this source. The bolometric luminosity of the AGN in this cavity is ∼10–5LEdd, however, the mean power of the jet required to inflate the cavity is estimated as ∼0.02LEdd, which implies that the source has previously experienced strong outbursts. During outbursts, the jet power and the mass accretion rate should be significantly higher than its present values. We construct an accretion disk model in which the angular momentum and energy carried away by jets are properly included to calculate the spin and mass evolution of the massive black hole. In our calculations, different jet formation mechanisms are employed, and we find that the jets generated with the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism are unable to produce the giant cavity with ∼1062 erg in this source. Only the jets accelerated with a combination of the Blandford-Payne and BZ mechanisms can successfully inflate such a giant cavity if the magnetic pressure is close to equipartition with the total (radiation+gas) pressure of the accretion disk. For a dynamo-generated magnetic field in the disk, such an energetic giant cavity can be inflated by the magnetically driven jets only if the initial black hole spin parameter a0 ≳ 0.95. Our calculations show that the final spin parameter a of the black hole is always ∼0.9-0.998 for all the computational examples that can provide sufficient energy for the cavity of MS 0735+7421. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]