A Numerical Study of Nonspherical Black Hole Accretion

We have developed a 2D axisymmetric, general relativistic code to study inviscid hydrodynamic accretion flows in a fixed Kerr black hole gravitational field. In this first of several papers documenting our methods and results, we describe and discuss the hydrodynamic equations in the form used in the code. Certain analytic solutions for shock tubes and special accretion flows are derived; these solution will form the basis for code testing and calibration.