Open AccessOn the stability of viscous accretion tori
Author(s) -
Kleiber R.,
Glatzel W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02189.x
Subject(s) - reynolds number , physics , wavenumber , hydrodynamic stability , mach number , turbulence , magnetic reynolds number , reynolds decomposition , linear stability , reynolds equation , angular momentum , mechanics , classical mechanics , instability , optics
With respect to the stability of accretion tori, the linear stability of viscous compressible cylindrical annuli rotating in an external potential and having constant specific angular momentum distribution is investigated. A global stability analysis is performed, and the critical Reynolds numbers as a function of the Mach number of the flow and the wavenumber of the perturbation are determined. Small‐scale instabilities are stabilized below Reynolds numbers of the order of 10 2 ‐‐10 3 , while critical Reynolds numbers of instabilities with azimuthal wavenumbers m=1,2 are at most of the order of 10. We emphasize the relevance of critical Reynolds numbers for turbulent Reynolds numbers in the configurations considered.