Lecture notes on accretion disk physics

Abstract

These notes introduce and review some of the physical principles underlying the theory of astrophysical accretion, emphasizing the central roles of angular momentum transport, angular momentum loss, and radiative cooling in determining the structure and evolution of accretion flows. Additional topics covered include the effective viscous theory of thin disks, classical instabilities of disk structure, the evolution of warped or eccentric disks, and the basic properties of waves within disks.