Radiation GRMHD Models of Accretion onto Stellar-Mass Black Holes: III. Near-Eddington Accretion

Abstract

We present a comprehensive analysis of four near-Eddington black hole accretion models from GRMHD simulations with full radiation transport. This study investigates the dynamical effects of magnetic field topology and black hole spin using two representative choices of each. Two stable near-Eddington solutions emerge in these models: a thin thermal disk embedded within a magnetic envelope when sufficient net vertical magnetic flux is present (e.g., vertical field $\gtrsim 5\times 10^5$ G at $20r_g$), and a magnetically elevated disk when the net vertical flux is weak or absent. One model initialized without net vertical flux evolves into the thin disk solution, as strong, anisotropic radiation feedback at high accretion rates promotes the accumulation of vertical magnetic flux in the inner disk. In the thin thermal disk, accretion is driven primarily by mean-field Maxwell stress and proceeds largely within the magnetic envelope, while heat dissipation is spatially decoupled and concentrated near the midplane. However, in the magnetically elevated disk, accretion occurs throughout the disk body and is comparably driven by mean-field and turbulent stresses; heat dissipation therefore occurs locally through turbulence. Radiation transport is diffusion-dominated, enabling efficient radiative cooling ($\sim$4-10%). An optically thin wind is launched from the disk surface by combined radiative and magnetic forces, with stronger winds found in models with larger vertical magnetic flux and higher spin. Both strong and weak jets are produced: strong jets are persistent, highly relativistic, and magnetically driven, while weak jets are intermittent, mildly relativistic, and powered by a combination of magnetic and radiative forces.

29 pages, 24 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ