scholarly journals Extraction of Black Hole Rotational Energy by a Magnetic Field

2003 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 87-90
Author(s):  
Shinji Koide

We have developed a numerical method for general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations in Kerr space-time. The method is applied to the basic astrophysical problem of the Kerr black hole activity in the large-scale strong magnetic field. The numerical result shows that the magnetic field extracts the rotational energy of the black hole with negative energy-at-infinity and the torsional Alfven wave is induced from the ergosphere.

2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (4) ◽  
pp. 4811-4825 ◽  
Author(s):  
I M Christie ◽  
A Lalakos ◽  
A Tchekhovskoy ◽  
R Fernández ◽  
F Foucart ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Neutron star mergers are unique laboratories of accretion, ejection, and r-process nucleosynthesis. We used 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study the role of the post-merger magnetic geometry in the evolution of merger remnant discs around stationary Kerr black holes. Our simulations fully capture mass accretion, ejection, and jet production, owing to their exceptionally long duration exceeding 4 s. Poloidal post-merger magnetic field configurations produce jets with energies Ejet ∼ (4–30) × 1050 erg, isotropic equivalent energies Eiso ∼ (4–20) × 1052 erg, opening angles θjet ∼ 6–13°, and durations tj ≲ 1 s. Accompanying the production of jets is the ejection of $f_\mathrm{ej}\sim 30\!-\!40{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the post-merger disc mass, continuing out to times >1 s. We discover that a more natural, purely toroidal post-merger magnetic field geometry generates large-scale poloidal magnetic flux of alternating polarity and striped jets. The first stripe, of $E_\mathrm{jet}\simeq 2\times 10^{48}\, \mathrm{erg}$, Eiso ∼ 1051 erg, θjet ∼ 3.5–5°, and tj ∼ 0.1 s, is followed by ≳4 s of striped jet activity with $f_\mathrm{ej}\simeq 27{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. The dissipation of such stripes could power the short-duration gamma-ray burst (sGRB) prompt emission. Our simulated jet energies and durations span the range of sGRBs. We find that although the blue kilonova component is initially hidden from view by the red component, it expands faster, outruns the red component, and becomes visible to off-axis observers. In comparison to GW 170817/GRB 170817A, our simulations underpredict the mass of the blue relative to red component by a factor of few. Including the dynamical ejecta and neutrino absorption may reduce this tension.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S322) ◽  
pp. 43-49
Author(s):  
Monika Mościbrodzka

AbstractThe Galactic center is a perfect laboratory for testing various theoretical models of accretion flows onto a supermassive black hole. Here, I review general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that were used to model emission from the central object - Sgr A*. These models predict dynamical and radiative properties of hot, magnetized, thick accretion disks with jets around a Kerr black hole. Models are compared to radio-VLBI, mm-VLBI, NIR, and X-ray observations of Sgr A*. I present the recent constrains on the free parameters of the model such as accretion rate onto the black hole, the black hole angular momentum, and orientation of the system with respect to our line of sight.


2020 ◽  
Vol 492 (4) ◽  
pp. 5730-5742
Author(s):  
Alejandro Cruz-Osorio ◽  
Sergio Gimeno-Soler ◽  
José A Font

ABSTRACT We build equilibrium solutions of magnetized thick discs around a highly spinning Kerr black hole and evolve these initial data up to a final time of about 100 orbital periods. The numerical simulations reported in this paper solve the general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic equations using the bhac code and are performed in axisymmetry. Our study assumes non-self-gravitating, polytropic, constant angular momentum discs endowed with a purely toroidal magnetic field. In order to build the initial data, we consider three approaches, two of which incorporate the magnetic field in a self-consistent way and a third approach in which the magnetic field is included as a perturbation on to an otherwise purely hydrodynamical solution. To test the dependence of the evolution on the initial data, we explore four representative values of the magnetization parameter spanning from almost hydrodynamical discs to very strongly magnetized tori. The initial data are perturbed to allow for mass and angular momentum accretion on to the black hole. Notable differences are found in the long-term evolutions of the initial data. In particular, our study reveals that highly magnetized discs are unstable, and hence prone to be fully accreted and expelled, unless the magnetic field is incorporated into the initial data in a self-consistent way.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (03) ◽  
pp. 1850023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratik Tarafdar ◽  
Tapas K. Das

Linear perturbation of general relativistic accretion of low angular momentum hydrodynamic fluid onto a Kerr black hole leads to the formation of curved acoustic geometry embedded within the background flow. Characteristic features of such sonic geometry depend on the black hole spin. Such dependence can be probed by studying the correlation of the acoustic surface gravity [Formula: see text] with the Kerr parameter [Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] relationship further gets influenced by the geometric configuration of the accretion flow structure. In this work, such influence has been studied for multitransonic shocked accretion where linear perturbation of general relativistic flow profile leads to the formation of two analogue black hole-type horizons formed at the sonic points and one analogue white hole-type horizon which is formed at the shock location producing divergent acoustic surface gravity. Dependence of the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] relationship on the geometric configuration has also been studied for monotransonic accretion, over the entire span of the Kerr parameter including retrograde flow. For accreting astrophysical black holes, the present work thus investigates how the salient features of the embedded relativistic sonic geometry may be determined not only by the background spacetime, but also by the flow configuration of the embedding matter.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G. Howes ◽  
Sofiane Bourouaine

Plasma turbulence occurs ubiquitously in space and astrophysical plasmas, mediating the nonlinear transfer of energy from large-scale electromagnetic fields and plasma flows to small scales at which the energy may be ultimately converted to plasma heat. But plasma turbulence also generically leads to a tangling of the magnetic field that threads through the plasma. The resulting wander of the magnetic field lines may significantly impact a number of important physical processes, including the propagation of cosmic rays and energetic particles, confinement in magnetic fusion devices and the fundamental processes of turbulence, magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration. The various potential impacts of magnetic field line wander are reviewed in detail, and a number of important theoretical considerations are identified that may influence the development and saturation of magnetic field line wander in astrophysical plasma turbulence. The results of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence of sub-ion length scales are evaluated to understand the development and saturation of the turbulent magnetic energy spectrum and of the magnetic field line wander. It is found that turbulent space and astrophysical plasmas are generally expected to contain a stochastic magnetic field due to the tangling of the field by strong plasma turbulence. Future work will explore how the saturated magnetic field line wander varies as a function of the amplitude of the plasma turbulence and the ratio of the thermal to magnetic pressure, known as the plasma beta.


2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (3) ◽  
pp. 4563-4575
Author(s):  
A Jiménez-Rosales ◽  
J Dexter ◽  
S M Ressler ◽  
A Tchekhovskoy ◽  
M Bauböck ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accreting black holes, we show that a suitable subtraction of the linear polarization per pixel from total intensity images can enhance the photon ring feature. We find that the photon ring is typically a factor of ≃2 less polarized than the rest of the image. This is due to a combination of plasma and general relativistic effects, as well as magnetic turbulence. When there are no other persistently depolarized image features, adding the subtracted residuals over time results in a sharp image of the photon ring. We show that the method works well for sample, viable GRMHD models of Sgr A* and M87*, where measurements of the photon ring properties would provide new measurements of black hole mass and spin, and potentially allow for tests of the ‘no-hair’ theorem of general relativity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merav Opher ◽  
James Drake ◽  
Gary Zank ◽  
Gabor Toth ◽  
Erick Powell ◽  
...  

Abstract The heliosphere is the bubble formed by the solar wind as it interacts with the interstellar medium (ISM). Studies show that the solar magnetic field funnels the heliosheath solar wind (the shocked solar wind at the edge of the heliosphere) into two jet-like structures1-2. Magnetohydrodynamic simulations show that these heliospheric jets become unstable as they move down the heliotail1,3 and drive large-scale turbulence. However, the mechanism that produces of this turbulence had not been identified. Here we show that the driver of the turbulence is the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability caused by the interaction of neutral H atoms streaming from the ISM with the ionized matter in the heliosheath (HS). The drag between the neutral and ionized matter acts as an effective gravity which causes a RT instability to develop along the axis of the HS magnetic field. A density gradient exists perpendicular to this axis due to the confinement of the solar wind by the solar magnetic field. The characteristic time scale of the instability depends on the neutral H density in the ISM and for typical values the growth rate is ~ 3 years. The instability destroys the coherence of the heliospheric jets and magnetic reconnection ensues, allowing ISM material to penetrate the heliospheric tail. Signatures of this instability should be observable in Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) maps from future missions such as IMAP4. The turbulence driven by the instability is macroscopic and potentially has important implications for particle acceleration.


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