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Outer parts of the accretion disks around supermassive black holes in galaxy nuclei and quasars

Journal Article · · Sov. Astron. Lett. (Engl. Transl.); (United States)
OSTI ID:6537209

If an isolated black hole is massive enough and if it accretes matter at a fast enough rate, the outer parts of the accretion disk will become self-gravitating and may become unstable, disintegrating into fragments which could form separate stars. The fragmentation would produce around the black hole a ring of gas and stars which would survive even after accretion onto the hole has ceased. The stars in the ring would travel in near-Keplerian orbits, with little velocity dispersion. This torus could have a mass several percent of that of the black hole inside.

Research Organization:
Institute for Space Research, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow
OSTI ID:
6537209
Journal Information:
Sov. Astron. Lett. (Engl. Transl.); (United States), Journal Name: Sov. Astron. Lett. (Engl. Transl.); (United States) Vol. 6:6; ISSN SALED
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English