Radiation-Regulated Spherical Accretion with an Inner Accretion Disk

Abstract

We develop a theoretical model for radiation-regulated spherical accretion with an inner accretion disk. In our model, the outer accretion flow remains quasi-spherical and optically thick, while the luminosity generated by the inner disk is self-consistently coupled to the accretion rate and irradiates the inflowing gas. By solving the global transonic structure with radiative transfer treated in the diffusion approximation, we investigate how radiation regulates the flow structure and the accretion rate. We find that the luminosity is constrained by a generalized Eddington limit, leading to a saturated accretion rate typically lower than the classical Bondi prediction by orders of magnitude. At sufficiently low densities, the enthalpy flux of the spherical inflow contributes substantially to the emergent luminosity, in which case the inner disk luminosity is reduced and the accretion flow enters an unsaturated state. A criterion is derived to estimate whether the accretion flow is saturated. We further demonstrate the applicability of our model by considering fallback accretion in failed supernova systems. The predicted nearly constant emergent luminosity, constrained by the generalized Eddington limit, provides a possible explanation for the observed luminosity plateau in the failed supernova candidate M31-2014-DS1. The presence of an inner disk also provides sufficient radiation to avoid the under-luminous predictions of a purely spherical fallback model extending down to the central object. Our model provides a framework for studying radiation-regulated accretion flows in systems where low but finite angular momentum leads to the formation of an accretion disk within a larger-scale quasi-spherical inflow.