HFQPOs and discoseismic mode excitation in eccentric, relativistic discs. II. Magnetohydrodynamic simulations

TL;DR

This study uses MHD simulations to show that eccentric distortions in relativistic accretion discs can excite trapped inertial waves, supporting a discoseismic origin for high-frequency QPOs despite turbulence damping.

Contribution

It demonstrates that eccentricity-driven excitation of inertial waves occurs in relativistic discs, even with MRI turbulence, highlighting a robust mechanism for HFQPOs.

Findings

Eccentricities above ~0.03 excite trapped inertial waves.

Eccentric structures can suppress MRI turbulence.

Trapped inertial waves persist despite turbulence damping.

Abstract

Trapped inertial oscillations (r-modes) provide a promising explanation for high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HFQPOs) observed in the emission from black hole X-ray binary systems. An eccentricity (or warp) can excite r-modes to large amplitudes, but concurrently the oscillations are likely damped by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI). We force eccentricity in global, unstratified, zero-net flux MHD simulations of relativistic accretion discs, and find that a sufficiently strong disc distortion generates trapped inertial waves despite this damping. In our simulations, eccentricities above ~ 0.03 in the inner disc excite trapped waves. In addition to the competition between r-mode damping and driving, we observe that larger amplitude eccentric structures modify and in some cases suppress MRI turbulence. Given the variety of distortions (warps as well as eccentricities) capable of amplifying r-modes, the robustness of trapped inertial wave excitation in the face of MRI turbulence in our simulations provides support for a discoseismic explanation for HFQPOs.