The formation of a tidal stream via Roche-Lobe Overflow and the interaction of such a stream with a quiescent accretion disk around a compact companion is studied with a three-dimensional time-dependent hydrodynamical model that includes both the donor star (with a fixed gravitational potential) and the accretion disk in a co-rotating system. The mass ratio of this system is 0.67.
The image on the right shows a close-up of the disk.
The image is made up of multiple iso-density surfaces, with the lower
density surfaces rendered semi-transparent.
A time animation from this
fixed view is available in either MPEG-4 or QuickTime format.
disk2ta.mp4 (6.5 MB)
disk2ta.mov (9.9 MB)
The next image, on the left, shows more of the binary system. This time animation
includes the orbital motion of the system.
The animation starts out at a large distance and slowly zooms in over 1.25 orbits.
disk3t.mov (QuickTime 79 MB)