No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2016
We investigate the stability of shocked inviscid isothermal accretion flows onto a black hole. Of the two possible shock positions, the outer one is known to be stable to axisymmetric perturbations, while the inner one is unstable. Our recent work, however, shows that the outer shock is generally linearly unstable to non-axisymmetric perturbations. Eigenmodes and growth rates are obtained by numerical integration of the linearized equations. These results offer new perspectives to interpret the variability of X-ray binaries.