Black Hole Magnetosphere Research Articles

Spacetime approach to force-free magnetospheres

Force-Free Electrodynamics (FFE) describes magnetically dominated relativistic plasma via non-linear equations for the electromagnetic field alone. Such plasma is thought to play a key role in the physics of pulsars and active black holes. Despite its simple covariant formulation, FFE has primarily been studied in 3+1 frameworks, where spacetime is split into space and time. In this article we systematically develop the theory of force-free magnetospheres taking a spacetime perspective. Using a suite of spacetime tools and techniques (notably exterior calculus) we cover 1) the basics of the theory, 2) exact solutions that demonstrate the extraction and transport of the rotational energy of a compact object (in the case of a black hole, the Blandford-Znajek mechanism), 3) the behavior of current sheets, 4) the general theory of stationary, axisymmetric magnetospheres and 5) general properties of pulsar and black hole magnetospheres. We thereby synthesize, clarify and generalize known aspects of the physics of force-free magnetospheres, while also introducing several new results.

Ultra high energy cosmic ray generation in black hole magnetosphere: testing by polarimetric observations

We develop the method that allows to estimate ultra high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) production in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We used the model developed by Neronov et al. (New J. Phys. 11:065015, 2009) and estimated the magnetic field strength near the innermost stable orbit in an accretion disk and at the horizon radius of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) using the data of polarimetric observations of broad lines emission. It allows to estimate the kinetic power of the relativistic jet at the base of Blandford–Znajek mechanism. In a result we estimated the cosmic ray power for a number of AGNs with known values of SMBH spins.

Electrically charged matter in rigid rotation around magnetized black hole

We study charged-fluid toroidal structures surrounding a non-rotating charged black hole immersed in a large-scale, asymptotically uniform magnetic field. In continuation of our former study on electrically charged matter in approximation of zero conductivity, we demonstrate existence of orbiting structures in permanent rigid rotation in the equatorial plane, and charged clouds hovering near the symmetry axis. We constrain the range of parameters that allow stable configurations and derive the geometrical shape of equi-pressure surfaces. Our simplified analytical study suggests that these regions of stability may be relevant for trapping electrically charged particles and dust grains in some areas of the black hole magnetosphere, being thus important in some astrophysical situations.

Electromotive force in the Blandford–Znajek process

One of the mechanisms widely considered for driving relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei, galactic microquasars, and gamma-ray bursts is the electromagnetic extraction of the rotational energy of a central black hole, i.e., the Blandford-Znajek process, although the origin of the electromotive force in this process is still under debate. We study this process as the steady unipolar induction in the Kerr black hole magnetosphere filled with a collisionless plasma screening the electric field (the D field) along the magnetic field (the B field), i.e., D dot B = 0. We extend the formulations and arguments made by Komissarov, and generally show that the origin of the electromotive force is ascribed to the ergosphere. It is explicitly shown that open magnetic field lines penetrating the ergosphere have a region where the D field is stronger than the B field in the ergosphere, and it keeps driving the poloidal currents and generating the electromotive force and the outward Poynting flux. The range of the possible value of the so-called angular velocity of the magnetic field line Omega_F is deduced for the field lines threading the equatorial plane in the ergosphere. We briefly discuss the relation between our conclusion and the ideal magnetohydrodynamic condition.

BLACK HOLE MAGNETOSPHERES

We investigate the structure of the steady-state force-free magnetosphere around a Kerr black hole in various astrophysical settings. The solution Psi(r,theta) depends on the distributions of the magnetic field line angular velocity omega(Psi) and the poloidal electric current I(Psi). These are obtained self-consistently as eigenfunctions that allow the solution to smoothly cross the two singular surfaces of the problem, the Inner Light Surface (ILS) inside the ergosphere, and the Outer Light Surface (OLS), which is the generalization of the pulsar light cylinder. Magnetic field configurations that cross both singular surfaces (e.g. monopole, paraboloidal) are uniquely determined. Configurations that cross only one light surface e.g. the artificial case of a rotating black hole embedded in a vertical magnetic field) are degenerate. We show that, similarly to pulsars, black hole magnetospheres naturally develop an electric current sheet that potentially plays a very important role in the dissipation of black hole rotational energy and in the emission of high-energy radiation.

VERY-HIGH ENERGY PROCESSES IN BLACK HOLE MAGNETOSPHERE: THE CASE OF M87

M87 is a nearby radio galaxy that is detected at energies ranging from radio to very high energy (VHE) γ-rays. Its proximity and its jet, misaligned from our line of sight, enable detailed morphological studies. The detection of rapidly variable TeV emissions on timescale of ~ 1 day implies a source of a few Schwarzschild radii R Sch . The γ-ray telescopes cannot provide images with a sufficient resolution to localize the sites of the γ-ray production. However, both X-ray and radio observations have shown evidence that charged particles are accelerated in the immediate vicinity of the black hole closer than 100 R Sch . We propose that the non-thermal particle acceleration and the VHE emission processes may occur in a pair-starved region of the black hole (BH) magnetosphere. We produce a broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of the resulting radiation and compare the model with the observed fluxes from the nucleus of M87 for the high γ-ray activities.

General-relativistic electromagnetic fields around a slowly rotating neutron star: stationary vacuum solutions

Pulsars are thought to be highly magnetized rotating neutron stars accelerating charged particles along magnetic field lines in their magnetosphere and visible as pulsed emission from the radio wavelength up to high energy X-rays and gamma-rays. Being highly compact objects with compactness close to $\Xi = R_s/R\approx0.5$, where $\Rs=2\,G\,M/c^2$ is the Schwarzschild radius and $\{M,R\}$ the mass and radius of the neutron star, general-relativistic effects become important close to their surface. This is especially true for the polar caps where radio emission is supposed to emanate from, leading to well defined signatures such as linear and circular polarization. In this paper, we derive a general formalism to extend to general relativity the Deutsch field solution valid in vacuum space. Thanks to a vector spherical harmonic expansion of the electromagnetic field, we are able to express the solution to any order in the spin parameter $\Omega$ of the compact object. We hope this analysis to serve as a benchmark to test numerical codes used to compute black hole and neutron star magnetospheres.

On the structure of the magnetic field near a black hole in active galactic nuclei

Using the Grad-Shafranov equation, we consider a new analytical model of the black hole magnetosphere based on the assumption that the magnetic field is radial near the horizon and uniform (cylindrical) in the jet region. Within this model, we have managed to show that the angular velocity of particles near the rotation axis of the black hole can be smaller than one half of the black hole angular velocity. This result is consistent with the latest numerical simulations.

Constraints on direct acceleration of UHECRs in astrophysical sources

A toy model of the population of numerous non-identical extragalactic sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is presented. In the model, the acceleration of cosmic-ray particles is direct (not diffusive) and takes place in magnetospheres of supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei, the key parameter of acceleration being the black-hole mass. We use astrophysical data to describe the population of these cosmic-ray accelerators and confront the model with cosmic-ray and gamma-ray data.

Towards a model of population of astrophysical sources of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

We construct and discuss a toy model of the population of numerous non-identical extragalactic sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. In the model, cosmic-ray particles are accelerated in magnetospheres of supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei, the key parameter of acceleration being the black-hole mass. We use astrophysical data on the redshift-dependent black-hole mass function to describe the population of these cosmic-ray accelerators, from weak to powerful, and confront the model with cosmic-ray data.

3+1 magnetodynamics

ABSTRACT The magnetodynamics, or force-free degenerate electrodynamics, is recognized as a very useful approximation in studies of magnetospheres of relativistic stars. In this Letter, we discuss various forms of the magnetodynamic equations which can be used to study magnetospheres of black holes. In particular, we focus on the 3+1 equations which allow for curved and dynamic space–time.

Evidence on the origin of ergospheric disc field line topology in simulations of black hole accretion

ABSTRACT This Letter investigates the origin of the asymmetric magnetic field line geometry in the ergospheric disc (and the corresponding asymmetric powerful jet) in 3D perfect magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations of a rapidly rotating black hole accretion system reported in Punsly, Igumenshchev & Hirose. Understanding why and how these unexpected asymmetric structures form is of practical interest because an ergospheric disc jet can boost the black hole driven jet power many fold, possibly resolving a fundamental disconnect between the energy flux estimates of powerful quasar jets and simulated jet power. The new 3D simulations of Beckwith, Hawley & Krolik that were run with basically the same code that was used in the simulation discussed in Punsly et al. describe the ‘coronal mechanism’ of accreting poloidal magnetic flux towards the event horizon. It was determined that reconnection in the inner accretion disc is a ‘necessary’ component for this process. The coronal mechanism seems to naturally explain the asymmetric ergospheric disc field lines that were seen in the simulations. Using examples from the literature, it is discussed how apparently small changes in the reconnection geometry and rates can make enormous changes in the magnetospheric flux distribution and the resultant black hole driven jet power in a numerical simulation. Unfortunately, reconnection is a consequence of numerical diffusion and not a detailed (yet to be fully understood) physical mechanism in the existing suite of perfect MHD-based numerical simulations. The implication is that there is presently great uncertainty in the flux distribution of astrophysical black hole magnetospheres and the resultant jet power.

Slowly balding black holes

The "no hair" theorem, a key result in General Relativity, states that an isolated black hole is defined by only three parameters: mass, angular momentum, and electric charge; this asymptotic state is reached on a light-crossing time scale. We find that the "no hair" theorem is not formally applicable for black holes formed from collapse of a rotating neutron star. Rotating neutron stars can self-produce particles via vacuum breakdown forming a highly conducting plasma magnetosphere such that magnetic field lines are effectively "frozen-in" the star both before and during collapse. In the limit of no resistivity, this introduces a topological constraint which prohibits the magnetic field from sliding off the newly-formed event horizon. As a result, during collapse of a neutron star into a black hole, the latter conserves the number of magnetic flux tubes $N_B = e \Phi_\infty /(\pi c \hbar)$, where $\Phi_\infty \approx 2 \pi^2 B_{NS} R_{NS}^3 /(P_{\rm NS} c)$ is the initial magnetic flux through the hemispheres of the progenitor and out to infinity. We test this theoretical result via three-dimensional general relativistic plasma simulations of rotating black holes that start with a neutron star dipole magnetic field with no currents initially present outside the event horizon. The black hole's magnetosphere subsequently relaxes to the split monopole magnetic field geometry with self-generated currents outside the event horizon. The dissipation of the resulting equatorial current sheet leads to a slow loss of the anchored flux tubes, a process that balds the black hole on long resistive time scales rather than the short light-crossing time scales expected from the vacuum "no-hair" theorem.

NONTHERMAL PROCESSES IN BLACK HOLE-JET MAGNETOSPHERES — INVITED REVIEW

The environs of supermassive black holes are among the universe's most extreme phenomena. Understanding the physical processes occurring in the vicinity of black holes may provide the key to answer a number of fundamental astrophysical questions including the detectability of strong gravity effects, the formation and propagation of relativistic jets, the origin of the highest energy gamma-rays and cosmic rays, and the nature and evolution of the central engine in active galactic nuclei (AGN). As a step towards this direction, this paper reviews some of the progress achieved in the field based on observations in the very high energy domain. It particularly focuses on nonthermal particle acceleration and emission processes that may occur in the rotating magnetospheres originating from accreting, supermassive black hole systems. Topics covered include direct electric field acceleration in the black hole's magnetosphere, ultra-high energy cosmic ray production, Blandford–Znajek mechanism, centrifugal acceleration and magnetic reconnection, along with the relevant efficiency constraints imposed by interactions with matter, radiation and fields. By way of application, a detailed discussion of well-known sources (Sgr A*; Cen A; M87; NGC1399) is presented.

Jet formation in the magnetospheres of supermassive black holes: analytic solutions describing energy loss through Blandford-Znajek processes

In this paper, we provide exact solutions for the extraction of energy from a rotating black hole via both the electromagnetic Poynting flux and matter currents. By appropriate choice of a radially independent poloidal function $\Lambda(\theta)$, we find solutions where the dominant outward energy flux is along the polar axis, consistent with a jet-like collimated outflow, but also with a weaker flux of energy along the equatorial plane. Unlike all the previously obtained solutions (Blandford & Znajek (1977), Menon & Dermer (2005)), the magnetosphere is free of magnetic monopoles everywhere.

CHARGE-STARVED, RELATIVISTIC JETS AND BLAZAR VARIABILITY

High energy emission from blazars is thought to arise in a relativistic jet launched by a supermassive black hole. The emission site must be far from the hole and the jet relativistic, in order to avoid absorption of the photons. In extreme cases, rapid variability of the emission suggests that structures of length-scale smaller than the gravitational radius of the central black hole are imprinted on the jet as it is launched, and modulate the radiation released after it has been accelerated to high Lorentz factor. We propose a mechanism which can account for the acceleration of the jet, and for the rapid variability of the radiation, based on the propagation characteristics of large-amplitude waves in charge-starved, polar jets. Using a two-fluid (electron-positron) description, we find the outflows exhibit a delayed acceleration phase, that starts at roughly 1pc, where the inertia associated with the wave currents becomes important. The time-structure imprinted on the jet at launch modulates photons produced by the accelerating jet provided the pair multiplicity in the black-hole magnetosphere is sufficiently small, suggesting that very rapid variability is confined to sources in which the electromagnetic cascade in the black-hole magnetosphere is not prolific.

Waves in Poynting-flux dominated jets

AbstractHigh-energy emission from blazars is thought to arise in a relativistic jet launched by a supermassive black hole. The rapid variability of the emission suggests that structure of length scale smaller than the gravitational radius of the central black hole is imprinted on the jet as it is launched, and modulates the radiation released after it has been accelerated to high Lorentz factor. We describe a mechanism which can account for the acceleration of the jet, and for the rapid variability of the radiation, based on the propagation characteristics of nonlinear waves in charge-starved, polar jets. These exhibit a delayed acceleration phase, that kicks-in when the inertia associated with the wave currents becomes important. The time structure imprinted on the jet at launch modulates the photons produced by the accelerating jet provided that the electromagnetic cascade in the black-hole magnetosphere is not prolific.

BLACK HOLE AURORA POWERED BY A ROTATING BLACK HOLE

We present a model for high-energy emission sources generated by a standing magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) shock in a black hole magnetosphere. The black hole magnetosphere would be constructed around a black hole with an accretion disk, where a global magnetic field could be originated by currents in the accretion disk and its corona. Such a black hole magnetosphere may be considered as a model for the central engine of active galactic nuclei, some compact X-ray sources and gamma-ray bursts. The energy sources of the emission from the magnetosphere are the gravitational and electromagnetic energies of magnetized accreting matters and the rotational energy of a rotating black hole. When the MHD shock generates in MHD accretion flows onto the black hole, the plasma's kinetic energy and hole's rotational energy can convert to radiative energy. In this letter, we demonstrate the huge energy output at the shock front by showing negative energy postshock accreting MHD flows for a rapidly rotating black hole. This means that the extracted energy from the black hole can convert to the radiative energy at the MHD shock front. When axisymmetric shock front is formed, we expect a ring-shaped region with very hot plasma near the black hole; the look would be like an "aurora". The high energy radiation generated from there would carry to us the information for the curved spacetime due to the strong gravity.

GENERALIZED GENERAL RELATIVISTIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC EQUATIONS AND DISTINCTIVE PLASMA DYNAMICS AROUND ROTATING BLACK HOLES

To study phenomena of plasmas around rotating black holes, we have derived a set of 3+1 formalism of generalized general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) equations. Especially, we investigated general relativistic phenomena with respect to the Ohm's law. We confirmed the electromotive force due to the gravitation, centrifugal force, and frame-dragging effect in plasmas near the black holes. These effects are significant only in the local small-scale phenomena compared to the scale of astrophysical objects. We discuss the possibility of magnetic reconnection, which is triggered by one of these effects in a small-scale region and influences the plasmas globally. We clarify the conditions of applicability of the generalized GRMHD, standard resistive GRMHD, and ideal GRMHD for plasmas in black hole magnetospheres.

Cold Plasma Gravitomagnetic Waves in a Kerr Planar Analogue

In this research, we investigated the wave properties of the Kerr black hole magnetosphere near the pair production region for a cold plasma. For this purpose, we obtain the general relativistic magnetohydrodynamical equations in the 3 + 1 formalism for the Kerr spacetime in a planar analogue. The Fourier analyzed form is considered for a rotating background fllled with a magnetized cold plasma. The dispersion relations are obtained and give the values of the components of the wave vector k. These are used to investigate the behavior of gravitomagnetic waves under the in∞uence of gravity and the magnetospheric wind. This is used to detect the response of the black hole magnetospheric plasma oscillations to gravitomagnetic perturbations near the pair-production region. We conclude that energy extraction is possible for the cold plasma case. Further, we check the existence of Veselago medium in the black hole region and recover the results of Mackay et al.