Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2005 / iii / Paper 73 / 1 / iv

Estimate characteristic bulk terms. Put $ϵ=H/r\ll 1$ and assume smooth radial variation on scale $r$, secular evolution, and $\alpha \lesssim 1$. Vertical support gives $c_s^2\sim p/\rho \sim {\Omega }^2{H}^2$, while the alpha disk prescription and slow accretion implyThese velocity estimates follow from the viscous radial evolution scale and mass conservation. They are estimates for a slowly evolving thin disc, not a claim that geometric thinness excludes independently forced rapid vertical motion.

For vertical balance, the exact central force expands asAt $z\sim H$, the neglected correction has magnitude $\rho {\Omega }^{2}H{ϵ}^2$, compared with the retained force $\rho {\Omega }^{2}H$. Radial pressure support similarly changes the rotation from its Keplerian value byVertical meridional inertia scales as $u_r{u}_z/r$ or $u_z^2/H$, both $O({\alpha }^2{ϵ}^4{\Omega }^{2}H)$. Meridional viscous accelerations can scale as $\nu u_z/H^2$ or $\nu u_r/(rH)$, both $O({\alpha }^2{ϵ}^2{\Omega }^{2}H)$. Thus the gravity correction and possible viscous correction giveSome omitted terms are smaller than this leading order.

For the heating equation, the retained dissipation is $q_0^{+}\sim \rho \nu {\Omega }^2\sim \alpha p\Omega$. Radial pressure support and the finite-height correction change the dominant shear by a relative $O({ϵ}^2)$. Smooth vertical variation of the rotation gives ${\partial }_z(r\Omega )=O(ϵ\Omega )$, whose additional squared shear contributes $O({ϵ}^2{q}_0^{+})$. Meridional shear of order $u_r/H$ gives an additional relative $O({\alpha }^2{ϵ}^2)$ contribution.

Thermal advection and compressional work are of order $\rho u_r{c}_s^2/r$ and $p{u}_r/r$, respectively. Relative to $\alpha p\Omega$ they are $O({ϵ}^2)$. Thermal storage on the viscous evolution timescale $t_{\nu }\sim r^2/\nu$ has the same order, since $p/t_{\nu }\sim \alpha p\Omega {ϵ}^2$. For radiative diffusion with the same local diffusivity in different directions, smooth gradients give $F_r/F_z\sim H/r$, soConsequentlyThis is the thin-accretion-disk truncation error for the secular, radially smooth approximation. Neglect of disc self-gravity and radiation pressure, optical thickness, the opacity model and the idealized zero surface boundary have their own validity conditions; their errors do not become small solely because $H/r$ does. Near a sharp radial boundary layer or during thermal evolution on the heating timescale, the above estimates need not apply.