Accretion Disks in AGNs

We revisit theoretical and observational constraints on geometrically-thin disk accretion in Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). We show that the combined effects of mass outflows and electron energization in the hot part of the accretion flow can deflate the inflowing gas from a geometrically-thick structure. This allows the gas to cool and even thermalize on an inflow timescale. As a result, a compact, relatively cool disk may form at small radii. We show that magnetic coupling betwee...

I present a brief review of theory of winds in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Magnetic, radiation, and thermal driving likely operate in AGN. In many cases, it is difficult to distinguish, both from observational and theoretical point of view, which of these wind driving mechanisms dominates in producing winds. Therefore, I focus on specific theoretical predictions which could help to improve our understanding of the physics of AGN winds.

The properties of slim accretion disks, while crucial for our understanding of black hole growth, have yet to be studied extensively observationally. We analyze the multi-epoch broad-band spectral energy distribution of the changing-look active galactic nucleus 1ES 1927+654 to derive the properties of its complex, time-dependent accretion flow. The accretion rate decays as $\dot{M} \propto t^{-1.53}$, consistent with the tidal disruption of a $1.1\, M_\odot$ star. Three compo...

I review the main results from recent 2-D, time-dependent hydrodynamic models of radiation-driven winds from accretion disks in AGN. I also discuss the physical conditions needed for a disk wind to be shielded from the strong X-rays and to be accelerated to hypersonic velocities. I conclude with a few remarks on winds in hot stars, low mass young stellar objects, cataclysmic variables, low mass X-ray binaries, and galactic black holes and future work.

We briefly review recent developments in black hole accretion disk theory, placing new emphasis on the vital role played by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stresses in transporting angular momentum. The apparent universality of accretion-related outflow phenomena is a strong indicator that vertical transport of angular momentum by large-scale MHD torques is important and may even dominate radial transport by small-scale MHD turbulence. This leads to an enhanced overall rate of angu...

We show how accretion rate governs the physical properties of a sample of unobscured broad-line, narrow-line, and lineless active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We avoid the systematic errors plaguing previous studies of AGN accretion rate by using accurate accretion luminosities (L_int) from well-sampled multiwavelength SEDs from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), and accurate black hole masses derived from virial scaling relations (for broad-line AGNs) or host-AGN relations (fo...

An accretion disk in an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) harbors and shields dust from external illumination: at the mid-plane of the disk around a $M_{{\rm BH}}=10^{7}M_{\odot}$ black hole, dust can exist at $0.1$pc from the black hole, compared to 0.5pc outside of the disk. We construct a physical model of a disk region approximately located between the radius of dust sublimation at the disk mid-plane and the radius at which dust sublimes at the disk surface. Our main conclusi...

Observations have shown that the Eddington ratios (the ratio of the bolometric luminosity to the Eddington luminosity) in QSOs/active galactic nuclei (AGNs) cover a wide range. In this paper we connect the demography of AGNs obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with the accretion physics around massive black holes and propose that the diversity in the Eddington ratios is a natural result of the long-term evolution of accretion disks in AGNs. The observed accretion rate di...

Changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs) challenges the standard accretion theory owing to its rapid variability. Recent numerical simulations have shown that, for the sub-Eddington accretion case, the disk is magnetic pressure-dominated, thermally stable, and geometrically thicker than the standard disk. In addition, outflows were found in the simulations. Observationally, high blueshifted velocities absorption lines indicate that outflows exist in AGNs. In this work, ...

A new mechanism to form a magnetic pressure supported, high temperature corona above the photosphere of an accretion disk is explored using three dimensional radiation magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. The thermal properties of the disk are calculated self-consistently by balancing radiative cooling through the surfaces of the disk with heating due to dissipation of turbulence driven by magneto-rotational instability (MRI). As has been noted in previous work, we find th...