Jean-Pierre LASOTA (IAP)

Relativistic Astrophysics

7 lectures: 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 October 2006

 

The draft lecture notes of Lectures 2 – 6 will be soon avalaible

on this page

1. Relativistic Astrophysics: general overview

2. Generalities
  1. Matter & radiation
  2. Accretion
  3. Emitted spectra

3.   The Kerr spacetime

1.        General structure, Boyer-Lindquist coordinates

1.1.           Privileged observers

1.2.           The ergosphere

  1. The equatorial plane

1.3.           Orbits

1.4.           “Negative energy” orbits

1.5.           The Penrose process

1.6.           Epicyclic frequencies

 

4 & 5. Accretion flows in the Kerr spacetime

1.1                  Kinematic relations

1.2                  Description of matter

1.      Slim disc equations in Kerr geometry

1.1.   Mass conservation equation

1.2.   Equation of angular momentum conservation

1.3.   Equation of momentum conservation

1.4.   Equation of energy conservation

1.5.   Equation of vertical balance of forces

1.6.   Viscosity prescription

1.7.   Thermodynamical relations

2.      Thin disc structure

2.1.   Radiative structure

2.2.   The thermal instability

3.      Black holes and advection of energy

3.1.   Simple ``local" ADAF  solutions

4.      The sonic point and the boundary conditions

4.1.   The ``no-torque condition"

4.2.   Critical points

4.3.   Numerical solutions

6. Disc oscillations

1)     The inspiration: asteroseismology (non-radial stellar pulsations)

2)     Relativistic discoseismology

a.      Disc pulsations

b.      Mode classification

3)     Orbital resonances in a strong gravitational field

a.      The 3:2 parametric resonance

b.      The forced 3:1 and 2:1 resonances

c.      Keplerian resonances

 

 

7. Spin and Jets