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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2017
Differentially rotating accretion disks threaded by a uniform magnetic field have been numerically simulated. Fast reconnection followed by coalescence allows the magnetic field to drive small amplitude radial oscillations in the disk. These oscillations may be observable as the viscous stresses cause the disk to brighten and fade as the disk expands and contracts. Episodes of reconnection may also be observable as hot spots produced locally at the sites of coalescence. Cataclysmic variables, and in particular dwarf novae, provide a natural interpretation for these calculations.