The luminosity of particle beams from thick accretion discs

Abstract

The interaction of the radiation produced in the funnels of thick, highly luminous accretion disks with the walls of these funnels is investigated. The turbulent mixing of the surface layer with deeper regions acts to reduce the luminosity associated with outflowing matter. The modification of the radiation field by the moving walls is also important. It is found, for the specific funnel geometry studied, corresponding to a radiation luminosity of 8.5 times the Eddington limit LE, that up to 1.5 LE can be carried away as a particle beam, even for an optically thin funnel. This particle luminosity is sensitive to the sound velocity and the mixing efficiency in the walls. The implications for modeling of thick accretion disks are briefly discussed.