Viscous boundary layers of radiation-dominated, relativistic jets. I. The two-stream model

TL;DR

This paper models the boundary layers of radiation-dominated, relativistic jets using relativistic radiation hydrodynamics, providing self-similar solutions for the two-stream interaction between jets and their environments.

Contribution

It presents a self-similar, 2-D solution for the boundary layer in radiation-dominated jets, extending previous models and comparing with past results.

Findings

Boundary layer creates low-density region between jet and environment.

Model applicable to super-Eddington tidal disruption events.

Results consistent with previous studies.

Abstract

Using the relativistic equations of radiation hydrodynamics in the viscous limit, we analyze the boundary layers that develop between radiation-dominated jets and their environments. In this paper we present the solution for the self-similar, 2-D, plane-parallel two-stream problem, wherein the jet and the ambient medium are considered to be separate, interacting fluids, and we compare our results to those of previous authors. (In a companion paper we investigate an alternative scenario, known as the free-streaming jet model.) Consistent with past findings, we show that the boundary layer that develops between the jet and its surroundings creates a region of low-density material. These models may be applicable to sources such as super-Eddington tidal disruption events and long gamma-ray bursts.