The time variability of geometrically thin black hole accretion disks. I. the search for modes in simulated disks

Abstract

We present a detailed temporal analysis of a set of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of geometrically thin (h/r ∼ 0.05) black hole accretion disks. The black hole potential is approximated by the Paczynski-Wiita pseudo-Newtonian potential. In particular, we use our simulations to critically assess two widely discussed models for high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), global oscillation modes (diskoseismology), and parametric resonance instabilities. We find that initially disturbed hydrodynamic disks clearly display the trapped global g-mode oscillation predicted by linear perturbation theory. In contrast, the sustained turbulence produced in the simulated MHD disks by the magnetorotational instability does not excite these trapped g-modes. We cannot say at present whether the MHD turbulence actively damps the hydrodynamic g-mode. Our simulated MHD disks also fail to display any indications of a parametric resonance instability between the vertical and radial epicyclic frequencies. However, we do see characteristic frequencies at any given radius in the disk corresponding to local acoustic waves. We also conduct a blind search for any QPO in a proxy light curve based on the instantaneous mass accretion rate of the black hole, and place an upper limit of 2% on the total power in any such feature. We highlight the importance of correcting for secular changes in the simulated accretion disk when performing temporal analyses. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.