Abstract
The critical accretion flow of gas onto compact stars with mass of 0.6M ⊙ is investigated by numerical integrations of the time-dependent hydrodynamic equations in the sphericallysymmetric and optically thick case. For the compact stars surrounded by such a dense cloud of gas, the radiation pressure force decelerates the infall gas significantly and free fall regime of the gas is not at all attained. This results in incident low velocities at the standing shock front close to the stellar surface, low temperatures of the gas around the compact stars, and no X-ray in white dwarfs but soft X-rays in neutron stars, respectively. Some applications of the results to the X-ray sources are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aizu, K.: 1973,Prog. Theor. Phys. (Kyoto) 49, 1184.
Blumenthal, G. R.: 1974,Astrophys. J. 188, 121.
Christy, R. F.: 1964,Rev. Mod. Phys. 36, 555.
Clark, D. H. and Parkinson, J. H.: 1975,Nature 258, 408.
DeGregoria, A. J.: 1974,Astrophys. J. 189, 555.
Elvis, M., Page, C. G., Pounds, K. A., Ricketts, M. J., and Turner, M. J. L.: 1975,Nature,257, 656.
Endal, A. S., Devinney, E. J., and Sofia, S.: 1976,Astrophys. Letters 17, 131.
Hōshi, R.: 1973,prog. Theor. Phys. (Kyoto) 49, 776.
Hōshi, R.: 1976,Prog. Theor. Phys. (Kyoto) 56, 542.
Kestenbaum, H. L., Cohen, G. G., Long, K. S., Novick, R., Silver, E. H., Wisskopf, M. C., and Wolff, R. S.: 1976,Astrophys. J. Letters 208, L27.
Lucke, R., Yentis, D., Friedman, H., Fritz, G., and Shulman, S.: 1976,Astrophys. J. Letters 206, L25.
Okuda, T. and Sakashita, S.: 1977,Astrophys. Space Sci. 47 385.
Osmer, P. S. and Hiltner, W. A.: 1974,Astrophys. J. Letters,184, L5.
Pacini, F. and Shapiro, S. L.: 1975,Nature,255, 618.
Petro, L., Feldmann, F., and Hiltner, W. A.: 1973,Astrophys. J. Letters 184, L123.
Price, R. E., Groves, D. J., Rodrigues, R. M., Seward, F. D., Swift, C. D., and Toor, A.: 1971,Astrophys. J. Letters,168, L7.
Ricketts, M. J., Pounds, K. A., and Turner, M. J. L.: 1975,Nature 257, 657.
Shakura, N. I.: 1974,Soviet Astron. AJ 18, 259.
Shapiro, S. L. and Salpeter, E. E.: 1975,Astrophys. J.,198, 671.
Tananbaum, H. and Tucker, W. H.: 1974, in R. Giacconi and H. Gursky (eds.)X-Ray Astronomy, D. Reidel Publ. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, p. 207.
Wu, C.-C., Aalders, J. W. G., van, Duinen, R. J., Kester, D., and Wesselius P. R.: 1976,Astron. Astrophys. 50, 445.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Okuda, T., Sakashita, S. Critical accretion flow of gas onto compact stars. Astrophys Space Sci 52, 35–49 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00647157
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00647157