Circumbinary disk, an efficient medium extracting orbital angular momentum in close binaries

Chen, Wencong; Zeng, Qingxuan

doi:10.1007/s11434-009-0034-5

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that this circumbinary disk is not stable: we see no evidence for substantial equatorial material in the 2016 GRAVITY observation, where the asymmetric double-peaked Brγ line is instead mostly aligned in the jet direction. We suggest that the equatorial structure we detected in optical interferometry traces the inner part of a centrifugally ejected disk, which implies there must be an efficient transfer of specific angular momentum from the binary to the disk, making it super-Keplerian by a factor of 10, probably through tidal torques (e.g., Chen & Zeng 2009). It is then tempting to associate the enigmatic equatorial outflows sometimes detected in radio images to similar episodes of centrifugal ejection of the circumbinary disk.…”

Section: Model Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Super-Keplerian equatorial outflows in SS 433

Waisberg

Dexter

Petrucci

et al. 2019

A&A

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Context. The microquasar SS 433 is the only known steady supercritical accretor in the Galaxy. It is well-known for its relativistic baryonic jets, but the system also drives equatorial outflows. These have been routinely detected in radio images, and components associated with a circumbinary disk have also been suggested in optical emission lines. Aims. We aim to spatially resolve the regions producing the stationary emission lines of SS 433 to shed light on its circumbinary structure and outflows. With an estimated binary orbit size of ≲0.1 mas, this requires optical interferometry. Methods. We use the optical interferometer VLTI+GRAVITY to spatially resolve SS 433 in the near-infrared K band at high spectral resolution (R ≈ 4000) on three nights in July 2017. This is the second such observation, after the first one in July 2016. Results. The stationary Brγ line in the 2017 observation is clearly dominated by an extended ∼1 mas ∼ 5 AU circumbinary structure perpendicular to the jets with a strong rotation component. The rotation direction is retrograde relative to the jet precession, in accordance with the slaved disk precession model. The structure has a very high specific angular momentum and is too extended to be a stable circumbinary disk in Keplerian rotation; interpreting it as such leads to a very high enclosed mass M ≳ 400 M⊙. We instead interpret it as the centrifugal ejection of the circumbinary disk, with the implication that there must be an efficient transfer of specific angular momentum from the binary to the disk. We suggest that the equatorial outflows sometimes seen in radio images result from similar episodes of circumbinary disk centrifugal ejection. In addition to the equatorial structure, we find a very extended ∼6 mas ∼ 30 AU spherical wind component to the Brγ line: the entire binary is engulfed in an optically thin spherical line emission envelope.

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Section: Model Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%