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We investigate accretion onto an isolated black hole from uniform winds. If the winds are directed toward the black hole, then the accretion process can be well described by the classical Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton or BHL accretion. If the wind is not directed toward the black hole and flows past it, then a smaller fraction of the flow can be attracted by the black hole, and this type of accretion cannot be described by the classical BHL, and we coin the second kind as the lateral BHL. We show that the classical BHL cannot form an accretion disk, while lateral BHL can form transient accretion disks. To describe the thermodynamics of the flow, we have used a variable adiabatic index equation of state which depends on the temperature of the flow as well as the composition of the gas. We show that the electron-proton gas forms an accretion disk, which disappears and forms a shock cone, only to form the disk again at a later time, while for flows with fewer protons, the accretion disk, once lost, does not reappear again. Only when the flow is pair-dominated does it form a persistent accretion disk. We also show that a shock cone is less luminous than the accretion disk.

We perform the numerical simulations of axisymmetric, relativistic, optically thin jets under the influence of the radiation field of an accretion disk. We show that starting from a very low injection velocity at the base, jets can be accelerated to relativistic terminal speeds when traveling through the radiation field. The jet gains momentum through the interaction with the radiation field. We use a relativistic equation of state for multispecies plasma, which self-consistently calculates the adiabatic index for the jet material. All the jet solutions obtained are transonic in nature. In addition to the acceleration of the jet to relativistic speeds, our results show that the radiation field also acts as a collimating agent. The jets remain well collimated under the effect of radiation pressure. We also show that if the jet starts with a rotational velocity, the radiation field will reduce the angular momentum of the jet beam.

We study the effect of plasma composition on the dynamics and morphology of relativistic astrophysical jets. Our work is based on a relativistic total variation diminishing simulation code. We use a relativistic equation of state in the simulation code that accounts for the thermodynamics of a multispecies plasma, which is a mixture of electrons, positrons, and protons. To study the effect of plasma composition, we consider various jet models. These models are characterized by the same injection parameters, same jet kinetic luminosity, and the same Mach numbers. The evolution of these models shows that the plasma composition affects the propagation speed of the jet head, the structure of the jet head, and the morphology, despite fixing the initial parameters. We conclude that electron-positron jets are the slowest and show more pronounced turbulent structures in comparison to other plasma compositions. The area and locations of the hot-spots also depend on the composition of the jet plasma. Our results also show that boosting mechanisms are an important aspect of multi-dimensional simulations, which are also influenced by the change in composition.

We simulate shock-free and shocked viscous accretion flows onto a black hole in a two-dimensional cylindrical geometry, where initial conditions were chosen from analytical solutions. The simulation code used the Lagrangian total variation diminishing plus remap routine, which enabled us to attain high accuracy in capturing shocks and to handle the angular momentum distribution correctly. The inviscid shock-free accretion disk solution produced a thick disk structure, while the viscous shock-free solution attained a Bondi-like structure, but in either case, no jet activity nor any quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO)-like activity developed. The steady-state shocked solution in the inviscid as well as in the viscous regime matched theoretical predictions well. However, increasing viscosity renders the accretion shock unstable. Large-amplitude shock oscillation is accompanied by intermittent, transient inner multiple shocks. This oscillation of the inner part of the disk is interpreted as the source of QPO in hard X-rays observed in micro-quasars. Strong shock oscillation induces strong episodic jet emission. The jets also show the existence of shocks, which are produced as one shell hits the preceding one. The periodicities of the jets and shock oscillation are similar; the jets for the higher viscosity parameter appear to be stronger and faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]