Disc Winds Matter
Modelling Accretion and Outflows on All Scales
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Beschreibung
This thesis describes the application of a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to accretion disc winds in two types of systems spanning 9 orders of magnitude in mass and size. In both cases, the results provide important new insights. On small scales, the presence of disc winds in accreting white dwarf binary systems has long been inferred from the presence of ultraviolet absorption lines. Here, the thesis shows that the same winds can also produce optical emission lines and a recombination continuum. On large scales, the thesis constructs a simple model of disc winds in quasars that is capable of explaining both the observed absorption and emission signatures – a crucial advance that supports a disc-wind based unification scenario for quasars. Lastly, the thesis also includes a theoretical investigation into the equivalent width distribution of the emission lines in quasars, which reveals a major challenge to all unification scenarios.
This thesis describes the application of a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to accretion disc winds in two types of systems spanning 9 orders of magnitude in mass and size. In both cases, the results provide important new insights. On small scales, the presence of disc winds in accreting white dwarf binary systems has long been inferred from the presence of ultraviolet absorption lines. Here, the thesis shows that the same winds can also produce optical emission lines and a recombination continuum. On large scales, the thesis constructs a simple model of disc winds in quasars that is capable of explaining both the observed absorption and emission signatures – a crucial advance that supports a disc-wind based unification scenario for quasars. Lastly, the thesis also includes a theoretical investigation into the equivalent width distribution of the emission lines in quasars, which reveals a major challenge to all unification scenarios.
Nominated as an outstanding PhD thesis by the University of Southampton, Southampton, UK Includes a broad introduction to accretion and outflow in astrophysical systems Features a detailed description of Monte Carlo radiative transfer methods Covers both theoretical and observational approaches to understanding accreting systems Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Autor*in
James Matthews
Themen in »Disc Winds Matter«
Astrophysical Outflows Accretion Disc Winds Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei Radiative Transfer in Accretions Disks and Winds Accreting White Dwarfs Cataclysmic Variables Computational Astrophysics