Gas Dynamical Friction on Accreting Objects

Abstract

The drag force experienced by astronomical objects moving through gaseous media (gas dynamical friction) plays a crucial role in their orbital evolution. Ostriker derived a formula for gas dynamical friction by linear analysis, and its validity has been confirmed through subsequent numerical simulations. However, the effect of gas accretion onto the objects on the dynamical friction is yet to be understood. In this study, we investigate the Mach number dependence of dynamical friction considering gas accretion through three-dimensional nested-grid simulations. We find that the net frictional force, determined by the sum of the gravitational force exerted by surrounding gas and momentum flux transferred by accreting gas, is independent of the resolution of simulations. Only the gas outside the Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton radius contributes to dynamical friction, because the gas inside this radius is eventually absorbed by the central object and returns the momentum obtained through the gravitational interaction with it. In the subsonic case, the front–back asymmetry induced by gas accretion leads to larger dynamical friction than predicted by the linear theory. Conversely, in the slightly supersonic case with a Mach number between 1 and 1.5, the nonlinear effect leads to a modification of the density distribution in a way that reduces the dynamical friction, compared with the linear theory. At a higher Mach number, the modification becomes insignificant and the dynamical friction can be estimated with the linear theory. We also provide a fitting formula for dynamical friction based on our simulations, which can be used in a variety of applications.

Keywords

• Dynamical friction
• Hydrodynamics
• Black holes