Prospect of the Theory of Black Hole Accretion Disks

The theory of black hole accretion disks is one of the most important basic theories and advanced topics in astrophysics. There are four known models of black hole accretion disks: standard thin disk (SSD), Shapiro-Lightman-Eardley (SLE) disk, optically thick advection dominated accretion flows (ADAF) theory (slim disk) and optically thin ADAF theory. During the past decades, they have made great contributions to the development of astrophysics. Despite their great successes in both theory and application, there are still many open questions. First of all, this paper will briefly introduce these four models. Then it will discuss several limitations of these models and review present possible solutions to address these problems. Our review work will contribute to further research of black hole accretion disks to a certain extent.