Paczynski–Wiita potential
E800553
The Paczynski–Wiita potential is a pseudo-Newtonian gravitational potential used in astrophysics to approximate the effects of general relativity near non-rotating black holes while retaining the simplicity of Newtonian mechanics.
Statements (43)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
astrophysical approximation
ⓘ
pseudo-Newtonian gravitational potential ⓘ |
| advantage | computational simplicity ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
Schwarzschild black holes
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
non-rotating black holes ⓘ |
| approximates |
Schwarzschild metric gravitational field in Newtonian form
ⓘ
effects of general relativity near non-rotating black holes ⓘ |
| assumes | spherical symmetry of the central mass ⓘ |
| basedOn | Newtonian gravitational potential form ⓘ |
| category |
black hole accretion theory
ⓘ
relativistic astrophysics tools ⓘ |
| comparedTo | full general relativistic treatment ⓘ |
| dependsOn |
gravitational constant G
ⓘ
mass M of the central object ⓘ radial coordinate r ⓘ |
| hasMathematicalForm | Φ(r) = -GM / (r - r_s) ⓘ |
| hasSingularityAt | r = r_s ⓘ |
| includesParameter | Schwarzschild radius r_s NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| introducedBy |
Bohdan Paczyński
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Paul Wiita NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| limitation |
not accurate for rapidly rotating black holes
ⓘ
not derived from an exact spacetime metric ⓘ |
| mimics | event horizon at the Schwarzschild radius ⓘ |
| neglects |
black hole spin
ⓘ
frame dragging effects ⓘ |
| publishedInYear | 1980 ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Schwarzschild potential
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
general relativistic effective potentials ⓘ |
| reproduces |
location of the innermost stable circular orbit of a Schwarzschild black hole
ⓘ
marginally bound orbit radius of a Schwarzschild black hole ⓘ |
| retains | simplicity of Newtonian mechanics ⓘ |
| simplifies | equations of motion to Newtonian form ⓘ |
| usedBy |
computational astrophysicists
ⓘ
theoretical astrophysicists ⓘ |
| usedFor |
accretion disk modeling
ⓘ
simulations of matter flow near black holes ⓘ studies of X-ray binaries ⓘ studies of active galactic nuclei accretion flows ⓘ |
| usedIn |
astrophysics
ⓘ
hydrodynamical simulations near black holes ⓘ magnetohydrodynamical simulations near black holes ⓘ |
| usesSymbol | Φ(r) ⓘ |
| validFor | test particle motion in the equatorial plane of a Schwarzschild black hole ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.