Rocking shadows in broken circumbinary discs
Rebecca Nealon, Daniel J. Price, C. Pinte
Abstract
ABSTRACT We use three-dimensional simulations with coupled hydrodynamics and Monte Carlo radiative transfer to show that shadows cast by the inner disc in broken circumbinary discs move within a confined range of position angles on the outer disc. Over time, shadows appear to rock back and forth in azimuth as the inner disc precesses. The effect occurs because the inner disc precesses around a vector that is not the angular momentum vector of the outer disc. We relate our findings to recent observations of shadows in discs.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsCircumbinary planetAstrophysicsAzimuthAngular momentumPosition (finance)Radiative transferStarsAstronomyOpticsClassical mechanicsFinanceEconomicsAstrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsAstrophysics and Star Formation StudiesStellar, planetary, and galactic studies