Spherical Accretion

Re'em Sari; Peter Goldreich

doi:10.1086/504152

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arXiv · astro-ph/0603293

Spherical Accretion

Re'em Sari·Peter Goldreich

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Abstract

We compare different examples of spherical accretion onto a gravitating mass. Limiting cases include the accretion of a collisionally dominated fluid and the accretion of collisionless particles. We derive expressions for the accretion rate and density profile for semi-collisional accretion which bridges the gap between these limiting cases. Particle crossing of the Hill sphere during the formation of the outer planets is likely to have taken place in the semi-collisional regime.

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Re'em Sari, Peter Goldreich. 2006-03-12. Spherical Accretion. https://doi.org/10.1086/504152

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