The effects of thermal conduction on the hot accretion flows

Abstract

Thermal conduction has been suggested as a possible mechanism by which sufficient extra heating is provided in radiation-dominated accretion flows. We consider the extreme case in which the generated energy due to the viscosity and the energy transported by a saturated form of thermal conduction are balanced by the advection cooling. For the steady-state structure of such accretion flows a set of self-similar solution are presented. Based on these solutions while the radial and the rotational velocities are both sub-Keplerian, increasing the level of thermal conduction has the effects of decreasing the rotational velocity, but increasing the radial velocity. Conduction provides extra heating and the temperature of the gas increases with thermal conduction.