# Gravitational stability and fragmentation condition for discs around accreting supermassive stars

## TL;DR

This study investigates the gravitational stability of accretion discs around supermassive stars, identifying conditions under which disc fragmentation occurs, which impacts the formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the fragmentation conditions for accretion discs around supermassive stars using a steady thin disc model considering chemical and thermal processes.

## Key findings

- Atomic flows require accretion rates above 10^{-1} M_sun/yr for fragmentation.
- Molecular flows have a critical radius beyond which discs become unstable.
- Disc fragmentation is likely during supermassive star formation.

## Abstract

Supermassive stars (SMSs) with mass $\sim10^{5}~\rm{M}_{\odot}$ are promising candidates for the origin of supermassive black holes observed at redshift $\gtrsim6$. They are supposed to form as a result of rapid accretion of primordial gas, although it can be obstructed by the time variation caused by circum-stellar disc fragmentation due to gravitational instability. To assess the occurrence of fragmentation, we study the structure of marginally gravitationally unstable accretion discs, by using a steady one-dimensional thin disc model with detailed treatment of chemical and thermal processes. Motivated by two SMS formation scenarios, i.e., those with strong ultraviolet radiation background or with large velocity difference between the baryon and the dark matter, we consider two types of flows, i.e., atomic and molecular flows, respectively, for a wide range of the central stellar mass $10-10^5~\rm{M}_{\odot}$ and the accretion rate $10^{-3}-1~\rm{M}_{\odot}~\rm{yr}^{-1}$. In the case of a mostly atomic gas flowing to the disc outer boundary, the fragmentation condition is expressed as the accretion rate being higher than the critical value of $10^{-1}~\rm{M}_{\odot}~\rm{yr}^{-1}$ regardless of the central stellar mass. On the other hand, in the case of molecular flows, there is a critical disc radius outside of which the disc becomes unstable. Those conditions appears to be marginally satisfied according to numerical simulations, suggesting that disc fragmentation can be common during SMS formation.