Global transient dynamics of three-dimensional hydrodynamical disturbances in a thin viscous accretion disk

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates the transient dynamics of non-axisymmetric hydrodynamical disturbances in thin viscous accretion disks, revealing significant transient growth that could trigger secondary instabilities and turbulence.

Contribution

It develops an analytical framework for understanding transient growth of disturbances in 3D accretion disks, highlighting the role of non-separable solutions and pattern evolution.

Findings

Transient growth in density and vertical velocity due to radial velocity disturbances.

Pattern evolution governed by a similarity variable combining radius and time.

Potential for secondary instabilities leading to turbulence in non-magnetized disks.

Abstract

Thin viscous Keplerian accretion disks are considered asymptotically stable, even though they can show significant dynamic activity on short timescales. In this paper the dynamics of non-axisymmetric hydrodynamical disturbances of disks are investigated analytically building upon the steady state three-dimensional structure and evolution of axisymmetric perturbations explored in previous work. Assuming a polytropic equation of state solutions are found by means of an asymptotic expansion in the small parameter measuring the ratio of the disk thickness to characteristic radius. In-depth analysis shows that every perturbation that disturbs the radial velocity induces significant transient growth in the (acoustic) energy of the evolving disturbance. This effect is most evident in the density and vertical velocity. The transient growth observed is tied to the non-separable nature of the solutions where, in particular, pattern evolution is controlled by a similarity variable composed of the radial coordinate and time. This leads to growing winding perturbations that display successive radial peaks and troughs. We argue that these transient non-axisymmetric structures may precipitate secondary instabilities which, consequently, may be a critical element for a new alternative picture of turbulence arousal in non-magnetized astrophysical disks.