Simulations of Gas Flow from a Galactic Disk Towards the Black-Hole Accretion Disk

Abstract

We report preliminary results of hydrodynamical modeling of gas flow in a galaxy potential towards a central massive black hole. We use a bar-like perturbation on the large scale in order to cause the initial inflow, and we concentrate our attention on the inner parts of the galaxy, where the potential becomes axisymmetric, or where it is dominated by an inner, secondary bar. Our high-resolution grid-based algorithm allows us to get a detailed picture of gas dynamics down to about 10 pc from the galaxy center, where the black hole becomes dominant. We find that inner bars may not increase the gas inflow, but for certain potential and gas parameters, gas flows to the center in a spiral shock.