Resonance in forced oscillations of an accretion disk and kHz QPOs

Feb, 2004
6 pages
Published in:
  • Astrophys.J.Lett. 603 (2004) L93-L96
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Abstract: (arXiv)
We have performed numerical simulations of a radially perturbed accretion torus around a black hole or neutron star and find that the torus performs radial and vertical motions at the appropriate epicyclic frequencies. We find clear evidence that vertical motions are excited in a non-linear resonance when the applied perturbation is periodic in time. The strongest resonant response occurs when the frequency difference of the two oscillations is equal to one-half the forcing frequency, precisely as recently observed in the accreting pulsar, SAX J1808.4-3658, where the observed kHz QPO peak separation is half the spin frequency of 401 Hz.