Accretion Disk Model of Short-Timescale Intermittent Activity in Young Radio Sources

Abstract

We associate the existence of short-lived compact radio sources with the intermittent activity of the central engine caused by a radiation pressure instability within an accretion disk. Such objects may constitute a numerous sub-class of Giga-Hertz Peaked Spectrum sources, in accordance with the population studies of radio-loud active galaxies, as well as detailed investigations of their radio morphologies. We perform the model computations assuming the viscosity parametrization as proportional to a geometrical mean of the total and gas pressure. The implied timescales are consistent with the observed ages of the sources. The duration of an active phase for a moderate accretion rate is short enough (< 10^3-10^4 years) that the ejecta are confined within the host galaxy and thus these sources cannot evolve into large size radio galaxies unless they are close to the Eddington limit.