Accretion Disks (2) ...
Accretion in binary systems can also take the form of a wind from the surface of
one star, as opposed to a thin
accretion stream flowing through the inner Lagrange point. Then the second star
accumulates matter from the first star as it moves on its orbit through this wind.
Example of Wind-Driven Accretion
In complex situations, both winds and tidal accretion streams may play a role. The
adjacent computer simulation by Professor John Blondin and collaborators at
North Carolina State University
illustrates very complex accretion in a binary system.
The neutron star onto which matter is accreting is but a tiny dot at this
scale. Hold the mouse over the animation to locate it.
Simulation of Accretion Disks
Although accretion disks play very important roles in many areas of astronomy,
their details are not well understood. This is partially because modeling them
requires large computer simulations that must incorporate details that are only
incompletely known.
This
animation
by Professor John Blondin of North Carolina State University illustrates some
supercomputer simulations of instabilities that develop in binary star
accretion disks.
The adjacent figure is an image of an accretion disk taken from this simulation.
