Gravitating Disks Around Black Holes

Abstract

Fluid disks and tori around black holes are discussed within different approaches and with the emphasis on the role of disk gravity. We first review the prospects for investigating the gravitational field of a black hole–disk system by analytical solutions of stationary, axially symmetric Einstein equations. More detailed considerations are focused on the middle and outer parts of extended disk-like configurations where relativistic effects are small and the Newtonian description is adequate. As an example, we investigate the case of a torus near a massive black hole that is a member of the black-hole binary system.