Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Simulations of Accretion Tori in Kerr Spacetimes

Abstract

This paper presents results of three-dimensional simulations of global hydrodynamic instabilities in black hole tori, extending earlier work by Hawley to Kerr spacetimes. This study probes a three-dimensional parameter space of torus angular momentum, torus size, and black hole angular momentum. We have observed the growth of the Papaloizou-Pringle instability for a range of torus configurations and the resultant formation of m=1 planets. We have also observed the quenching of this instability in the presence of early accretion flows; however, in one simulation both early accretion and planet formation occurred. Though most of the conclusions reached in Hawley's earlier work on Schwarzschild black holes carry over to Kerr spacetime, the presence of frame dragging in the Kerr geometry adds an element of complexity to the simulations; we have seen especially clear examples of this phenomenon in the accretion flows that arise from retrograde tori.