Torque transport of energy in a steady accretion disk

ID: torque-transport-of-energy-in-a-steady-accretion-disk

For a steady Keplerian accretion disk with inward accretion rate and vanishing inner torque, the outward angular-momentum torque is . It transports energy outward at rate . The binding-energy acquisition rate between radii and is . Integrating the vertical viscous dissipation and then the annulus gives
Since , subtraction proves the displayed energy balance. Far from the inner edge , whereas the boundary torque powers vanish for the complete disk and . Local dissipation is therefore not supplied solely by local changes in orbital binding energy.

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