Anders Johansen
Professor
Magnetically-levitating disks around supermassive black holes
Author
Summary, in English
In this paper, we report on the formation of magnetically levitating accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The structure of these disks is calculated by numerically modeling tidal disruption of magnetized interstellar gas clouds. We find that the resulting disks are entirely supported by the pressure of the magnetic fields against the component of gravitational force directed perpendicular to the disks. The magnetic field shows ordered large-scale geometry that remains stable for the duration of our numerical experiments extending over 10% of the disk lifetime. Strong magnetic pressure allows high accretion rate and inhibits disk fragmentation. This in combination with the repeated feeding of magnetized molecular clouds to an SMBH yields a possible solution to the long-standing puzzle of black hole growth in the centers of galaxies.
Department/s
- Lund Observatory - Has been reorganised
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Publication/Series
Astrophysical Journal
Volume
758
Issue
2
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Topic
- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Keywords
- fields
- magnetic
- ISM: clouds
- accretion disks
- accretion
- Galaxy: nucleus
- magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
- methods: numerical
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0004-637X