accretion disk

noun

Astronomy.

1. the rapidly spinning disk of gas that forms around the more compact component of a close binary star system as mass is transferred to the compact companion from the primary star.

accretion disk

1. A spinning disk of gas and dust surrounding a celestial object with an intense gravitational field, such as a star or a black hole. In binary star systems, the gravitational attraction of the denser star can pull matter from the other star into an accretion disk in its own orbit. The material in the accretion disk eventually spirals into the attracting star and adds to its mass. The gas in accretion disks that surround black holes becomes condensed and heated as it is sucked into the hole, emitting x-rays and other radiation that provide evidence for the presence of the black hole.

Word History and Origins

Origin of accretion disk¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Most of the emitted light, for example visible light and X-ray, get blocked by thick layers of cosmic dust and can’t pass through the accretion disk around them.

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The researchers led by Northwestern University's Nick Kaaz, a graduate student in astronomy, used computer simulations to determine that the black hole causes rotations which warp the accretion disk in such a way that the gas actually starts caving in on itself.

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Eventually the entire accretion disk is torn in half, with the black hole first consuming the inner disc and then the outer one.

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As the star is disrupted by the black hole's immense tidal forces, half of the star is blown away, while the other half is flung around the black hole, generating an intensely hot accretion disk of rotating stellar material.

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The MIT-led team has shown that the wobble of the newly created accretion disk is key to working out the central black hole's inherent spin.

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