On Spherically Symmetrical Accretion

Abstract

The special accretion problem is investigated in which the motion is steady and spherically symmetrical, the gas being at rest at infinity. The pressure is taken to be proportional to a power of the density. It is found that the accretion rate is proportional to the square of the mass of the star and to the density of the gas at infinity, and varies inversely with the cube of the velocity of sound in the gas at infinity. The factor of proportionality is not determined by the steady-state equations, though it is confined within certain limits. Arguments are given suggesting that the case physically most likely to occur is that with the maximum rate of accretion.