= Relativistic spherical accretion
= Michel accretion
{c}
{synonym}
Relativistic spherical accretion is steady radial gas inflow in <Schwarzschild spacetime>, with conserved rest-mass flux and relativistic <Bernoulli function>. A regular solution passes a finite <sonic point> outside the <event horizon>. For an isentropic gas with $\gamma=5/3$ and cold asymptotic <sound speed> $c_\infty\ll c$, the critical radius is approximately $3GM/(4cc_\infty)$ and the leading <mass accretion rate> is $\pi G^2M^2\rho_\infty/c_\infty^3$. Relativistic corrections resolve the zero-radius critical point of the Newtonian $\gamma=5/3$ model without eliminating accretion.
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