JET FORMATION IN MICROQUASARS AND ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI: MAGNETIC FIELD LIMITS
Kaufman-Bernado, M. and Massi, M.
International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD)
Vol. 17, Issue 10, pgs. 1931 - 1937 (2008)
Abstract
We introduce the use of a well-known parameter, the Alfvén Radius, RA, as a new tool to discern whether an X-ray binary system may undergo a microquasar phase, i.e. ejecting relativistic particles orthogonal to the
accretion disk. We study what we call the basic condition, RA/R* = 1 in its dependency on the magnetic field strength and the mass accretion rate. With this basic condition we establish under which combination of
parameters any class of accreting neutron stars could become a microquasar instead of confining disk-material down to the magnetic poles and creating the two emitting caps typical for an X-ray pulsar. In the case of
black-hole accreting binaries we equate the magnetic field pressure to the plasma pressure in the last stable orbit (i.e. RA/RLSO = 1) and we get upper limits for the magnetic field strength as a function of the mass
accretion rate and the black hole mass.
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