2025MNRAS.544.2024J

Stellar-mass compact objects (COs) embedded in active galactic nucleus (AGN) discs are commonly assumed to accrete via Bondi or Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton (BHL) prescriptions, neglecting gas angular momentum. We show that differential rotation in AGN discs can impart non-negligible angular momentum, in which case accretion proceeds through a viscous disc rather than Bondi/BHL flow. Our model provides a new framework estimating the CO accretion rate as $\dot{M}_\mathrm{CO} = \min \lbrace \dot{M}_\mathrm{vis}, \dot{M}_\mathrm{BHL}\rbrace$, where the viscous rate $\dot{M}_\mathrm{vis}$ accounts for gas-CO relative motion decomposed into a local gradient term (due to differential rotation) and bulk motion (from differing orbital parameters). This rate can be expressed as $\dot{M}_\mathrm{vis} = \alpha \xi (r_\mathrm{H}/r_\mathrm{BHL})^3\dot{M}_\mathrm{BHL}$, where $\xi$ is a coefficient of the order of unity. It can also be approximately scaled to the global AGN accretion rate as $\dot{M}_\mathrm{vis} \propto \dot{M}_1$, with the scaling coefficients in both forms determined by the specific dynamical configuration. The accretion is viscosity-limited when $q > [\alpha \xi (1 + \mathcal {M}^2)^{3}/3]^{1/2} h^3$, where q is the mass ratio between the CO and the supermassive black hole, $\alpha$ the viscosity parameter, $\mathcal {M}$ the Mach number of the bulk relative motion, and h the aspect ratio of the AGN disc. In thin AGN discs this condition is satisfied for most stellar-mass or more massive COs. Our framework also naturally allows for the inclusion of established outflow corrections, thereby enabling a more realistic treatment of super-Eddington flows. Our formulation thus improves upon Bondi/BHL prescriptions and offers a more physically motivated basis for studying CO evolution in AGN environments.