Magnetized orbits around a Schwarzschild black hole

Abstract

We study the motion of a magnetized particle orbiting around a supermassive Schwarzschild black hole, surrounded by a strong (asymptotically uniform) magnetic field. Using the Hamilton–Jacobi formalism, we solve in a fully analytical way the problem of finding the innermost circular orbits. We show that, for suitable values of the parameters controlling the magnetic interaction, these orbits may become stable near r = 3M, hence giving rise to a possible mechanism for particle confinement and energy storage. We argue that any sudden change in the above parameters could allow for abrupt release of large amounts of energy from such innermost orbits.