Description
Accretion disks are flattened, differentially rotating gaseous
structures that can be found surrounding young stars, white dwarfs,
neutron starts, and black holes. Understanding the physical processes
that determine the rate at which matter accretes and energy is
radiated in these disks is vital for unraveling the formation,
evolution, and fate of almost every type of object in the Universe.
These processes are regulated by the rate at which angular momentum
can be transported outwards. It is currently thought that the
transport of angular momentum is mediated by magnetohydrodynamic
turbulence. In this talk, I will give an overview of some of the basic
ideas that have been around for the last few decades and will discuss
the state-of-the-art in our understanding of angular momentum
transport in turbulent, magnetized accretion disks. (host: Stephan Rosswog)