In this lecture the basic theory of accretion disks is introduced, with emphasis on aspects relevant for X-ray binaries and Cataclysmic Variables.

PROSPECTS FOR DETECTING ACCRETION DISKS ASSOCIATED WITH MASSIVE STAR FORMATION Ed Churchwell University of Wisconsin Abstract It is argued that ALMA should be able to detect accretion disks associated with massive star formation during the rapid accretion phase via free-free emission from a shock-ionized envelope and via thermal dust emission after accretion ceases.

The stationary hydrodynamic equations for the transonic accretion disks and flows around rotating black holes are presented by using the Kerr-Schild coordinate where there is no coordinate singularity at the event horizon. We use two types of the causal viscosity prescription, and the boundary conditions for the transonic accretion flows are given at the sonic point. For one type of the causal ...

Context. The radial structure of accretion disks is a fundamental issue regarding star and planet formation. Many theoretical studies, focussing on different aspects such as e.g. disk emissivity or ionization, have been conducted in the context of the Standard Accretion Disk (SAD) model, where no jet is present. Aims. We wish to calculate the structure of YSO accretion disks in an approach that...

We show that when the gravitational force is correctly calculated in dealing with the vertical hydrostatic equilibrium of black hole accretion disks, the relationship that is valid for geometrically thin disks, i.e., c s /Ω K H = constant, where c s is the sound speed, Ω K is the Keplerian angular velocity, and H is the half-thickness of the disk, does not hold for slim disks. More importantly,...

A fraction of neutrino emission from GRB accretion disks annihilates above the disk, creating e+plasma that can drive GRB explosions. We calculate the efficiency of this annihilation using the recent detailed model of hyper-accretion disks around Kerr black holes. Our calculation is fully relativistic and based on a geodesic-tracing method. We find that the efficiency is a well-defined function...

MHD turbulence is generally believed to have two important functions in accretion disks: it transports angular momentum outward, and the energy in its shortest wavelength modes is dissipated into the heat that the disks radiate. In this paper we examine a pair of mechanisms which may play an important role in regulating the amplitude and spectrum of this turbulence: photon diffusion and viscosi...