2015MNRAS.450.2459N

Observations of warped discs can give insight into the nature of angular momentum transport in accretion discs. Only a few objects are known to show strong periodicity on long time-scales, but when such periodicity is present it is often attributed to precession of the accretion disc. The X-ray binary Hercules X-1/HZ Herculis (Her X-1) is one of the best examples of such periodicity and has been linked to disc precession since it was first observed. By using the current best-fitting models to Her X-1, which invoke precession driven by radiation warping, I place a constraint on the effective viscosities that act in a warped disc. These effective viscosities almost certainly arise due to turbulence induced by the magnetorotational instability. The constraints derived here are in agreement with analytical and numerical investigations into the nature of magnetohydrodynamic disc turbulence, but at odds with some recent global simulations.