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Paper: Ab initio simulations of accretion disc boundary layers
Volume: 261, The Physics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects
Page: 425
Authors: Armitage, P. J.
Abstract: I discuss the results of simplified three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the boundary layer between a disc and a non-rotating, unmagnetized star. Strong magnetic fields, possibly approaching equipartition with the thermal energy, occur in the boundary layer due to the shearing of disc-generated fields. The mean boundary layer magnetic field, which is highly variable on an orbital timescale, is estimated to exceed ~50 kG for a CV with an accretion rate of 10-9 Modot yr-1. However, these fields do not drive efficient angular momentum transport within the boundary layer. As a consequence the radial velocity in the boundary layer is low, and the density high.
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