Line-driven disc wind models with an improved line force

Daniel Proga, James M. Stone, Janet E. Drew

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

We describe an efficient method of calculating the radiation pressure resulting from spectral lines, including all the terms in the velocity gradient tensor. We apply this method to calculate the two-dimensional, time-dependent structure of winds from luminous discs. Qualitative features of our new models are very similar to those we calculated including only the dominant terms in the tensor. In particular, we find that models which displayed unsteady behaviour in our earlier paper are also unsteady with the new method, and gross properties of the winds, such as mass-loss rate and characteristic velocity, are not changed by the more accurate approach. The largest change caused by the new method is in the disc-wind opening angle: winds driven only by the disc radiation are more polar with the new method, whilst winds driven by the disc and central object radiation are typically more equatorial. In the closing discussion, we provide further insight into the way the geometry of the radiation field and consequent flow determine the time properties of the flow.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)476-482
Number of pages7
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume310
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 1999
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Keywords

  • Accretion, accretion discs
  • Galaxies: nuclei
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Methods: numerical
  • Stars: early-type
  • Stars: mass-loss

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