Spherically Symmetric Accretion Flows: Minimal Model with MHD Turbulence

TL;DR

This paper introduces a minimal MHD spherical accretion model that accounts for turbulence effects, revealing two types of radiatively inefficient flows with significantly reduced accretion rates compared to classical models.

Contribution

The model uniquely incorporates turbulence effects self-consistently without assuming equipartition or isotropy, advancing the understanding of magnetized accretion flows.

Findings

Non-rotating flow has an accretion rate several times smaller than Bondi rate.

Flow with angular momentum transport has an accretion rate 10-100 times smaller than Bondi rate.

Flows are convectively stable despite inward entropy increase.

Abstract

The first spherical accretion model was developed 55 years ago, but the theory is yet far from being complete. The real accretion flow was found to be time-dependent and turbulent. This paper presents the minimal MHD spherical accretion model that separately deals with turbulence. Treatment of turbulence is based on simulations of several regimes of collisional MHD. The effects of freezing-in amplification, dissipation, dynamo action, isotropization, and constant magnetic helicity are self-consistently included. The assumptions of equipartition and magnetic field isotropy are released. Correct dynamics of magnetized flow is calculated. Diffusion, convection, and radiation are not accounted for. Two different types of Radiatively Inefficient accretion flows are found: a transonic non-rotating flow (I), a flow with effective transport of angular momentum outward (II). Non-rotating flow has an accretion rate several times smaller than Bondi rate, because turbulence inhibits accretion. Flow with angular momentum transport has accretion rate about 10-100 times smaller than Bondi rate. The effects of highly helical turbulence, states of outer magnetization, and different equations of state are discussed. The flows were found to be convectively stable on average, despite gas entropy increases inward. The proposed model has a small number of free parameters and the following attractive property. Inner density in the non-rotating magnetized flow was found to be several times lower than density in a non-magnetized accretion. Still several times lower density is required to explain the observed low IR luminosity and low Faraday rotation measure of accretion onto Sgr A*.