On the Viability of Two-temperature Accretion Flows

Abstract

Binney (2003) has argued that two-temperature radiatively inefficient accretion flow models are unphysical because the electron-ion equipartition time is much shorter than the accretion time. I show that this conclusion is incorrect because it relies on a misidentification of the electron-ion equipartition time. I also clarify what requirements must, in fact, be satisfied to maintain a two-temperature accretion flow.