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Wind Accretion by Compact Objects: The “Flip-Flop” Instability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

Mario Livio*
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, MD 21218 Dept. of Physics, Technion Haifa 32000 Israel

Abstract

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The problem of the stability of wind accretion onto compact objects is examined. Recent analytical and numerical calculations show that in two dimensions, Bondi-Hoyle accretion flows are unstable to a “flip-flop” instability. The instability can manifest itself as bursts in the accretion rate and as a random walk-type spin-up, spin-down behaviour of the accreting compact object. The nature of the flow in three dimensions needs further clarification. Possible observational implications are reviewed.

Type
Invited Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1992 

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