Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / iii / Paper 61 / 1

The first relation is vertical hydrostatic equilibrium. In a thin disc, the central object's gravity near the midplane is $g_z=-{\Omega }^{2}z$; the pressure gradient balances it. The second is an equation of state combining ideal gas pressure with isotropic radiation pressure. Write $\mathcal{R}=k/({\mu }_m{m}_p)$, so $p_g=\mathcal{R}\rho T$ and $p_r=4\sigma T^4/(3c)$; $\sigma$ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and ${\mu }_m$ the mean molecular weight in proton-mass units.

The third is local energy balance: the increase of upward radiative flux with height equals viscous dissipation. Here $\mu$ is dynamic viscosity, not mean molecular weight. A Keplerian disc has shear $rd\Omega /dr=-3\Omega /2$, so its heating rate is $\mu (r{\Omega }^{\prime }{)}^2=9\mu {\Omega }^2/4$. The fourth is optically thick radiative diffusion, with opacity per unit mass $\kappa$ and diffusion directed down the temperature gradient. Midplane symmetry gives $F(0)=0$ and oppositely directed fluxes from the two faces. The four relations express vertical force balance, gas–radiation thermodynamics, local heating, and diffusive cooling.

Take the positive constant ratio $\lambda =p_r/p_g$. The equation of state impliesThis is a polytropic equation of state of index three. Differentiating the pressure and using vertical hydrostatic equilibrium gives $4(1+\lambda )\mathcal{R}\rho T_z=-\rho {\Omega }^{2}z$. HenceDefine the semi-thickness $H$ by $T(H)=0$ and put $s=1-z^2/H^2$. Then the constant gas-radiation ratio vertical disc structure iswithThe surface density is the integral across both faces. The supplied polynomial integral gives ${\int }_0^1(1-x^2{)}^{3}dx=16/35$, so $\Sigma =(32/35){\rho }_{0}H$. Substitution yieldsAll coefficients here are local in radial position; the derivation fixes the vertical profile rather than a global accretion rate. The zero-temperature surface is a formal boundary of this bulk model; optically thick diffusion ultimately fails in a thin photospheric layer.

For constant opacity, the ratio $T^3/\rho =3c\lambda \mathcal{R}/(4\sigma )$ cancels the height dependence in the radiative diffusion coefficient. Since $T_z=-{\Omega }^{2}z/[4(1+\lambda )\mathcal{R}]$, the radiative flux isConsequently $F_z=c\lambda {\Omega }^2/[\kappa (1+\lambda )]$. Equating this to the viscous heating rate givesThus the dynamic viscosity is uniform in height even though pressure and mass density decrease. Its units are mass per length per time, since $c/\kappa$ has those units. A pointwise pressure-proportional alpha prescription would be incompatible with this exact profile, which is why the subsequent alpha relation is vertically averaged.

The required pressure integral uses ${\int }_0^1(1-x^2{)}^{4}dx=128/315$. With $\Sigma =(32/35){\rho }_{0}H$ and $p_0/{\rho }_0={\Omega }^2{H}^2/8$,The vertically averaged alpha closure for a mixed-pressure layer therefore givesThe height-integrated dynamic viscosity is $2H\mu =8cH\lambda /[9\kappa (1+\lambda )]$. Equate it to $\bar{\nu }\Sigma$ to obtainThese are integrated equalities, not an imposed pointwise relation $\mu (z)\propto p(z)$.

Now keep $\alpha$, the opacity and molecular constants independent of radius, and use Keplerian rotation $\Omega \propto r^{-3/2}$. In the gas-dominated limit, $\lambda \ll 1$ but positive, the last equality gives $\lambda \propto H\Omega \Sigma$. The column-density relation gives $\lambda \Sigma \propto H^7{\Omega }^6$. Eliminating $\lambda$ yields $H^6\propto {\Sigma }^2{\Omega }^{-5}$, whenceThis is the gas-pressure branch of a mixed-pressure alpha disk. In the radiation-dominated limit, $\lambda /(1+\lambda )\to 1$, so $H\propto (\Omega \Sigma {)}^{-1}$ andFor viscous stability of an accretion disk, linearize the Keplerian viscous diffusion equation at fixed radius: a local mass density perturbation has diffusion coefficient $3{\partial }_{\Sigma }(\bar{\nu }\Sigma )$. The gas branch has $\bar{\nu }\Sigma \propto {\Sigma }^{5/3}$ and a positive derivative, so it smooths perturbations. The radiation branch has $\bar{\nu }\Sigma \propto {\Sigma }^{-1}$ and a negative derivative, giving radiation-pressure viscous instability. The gas-pressure branch is viscously stable; the radiation-pressure branch is viscously unstable in this closure. This concerns radial mass-transport stability on wavelengths where the vertically averaged thin-disc model applies.