Nordita Astrophysics Seminars

Vertically Global, Horizontally Local Models for Astrophysical Disks (INFORMAL PRESENTATION)

by Martin Pessah (Niels Bohr International Academy)

Europe/Stockholm
FB45

FB45

Description
The shearing box has been extensively used for studying local processes in accretion disks. This framework is appropriate for studying barotropic disks, for which the pressure is only a function of the density and the angular frequency is independent of height. I will introduce a more general framework by showing that, given a global disk model, it is possible to develop consistent models that are local in horizontal planes and global in height with shearing-periodic boundary conditions. These models can be non-axisymmetric for globally barotropic disks but should be axisymmetric for globally baroclinic disks. I will illustrate the potential of this new framework with two prominent applications, namely the vertical shear instability and the magnetorotational instability. I will discuss the prospects of using this new framework to study a wide variety of astrophysical phenomena.