Black Hole Spin Research Articles

The Impact of Astrophysical Priors on Parameter Inference for GW230529

Abstract We investigate the effects of prior selection on the inferred mass and spin parameters of the neutron star-black hole merger GW230529_181500. Specifically, we explore models motivated by astrophysical considerations, including massive binary and pulsar evolution. We examine mass and spin distributions of neutron stars constrained by radio pulsar observations, alongside black hole spin observations from previous gravitational wave detections. We show that the inferred mass distribution highly depends upon the spin prior. Specifically, under the most restrictive, binary stellar evolution models, we obtain narrower distributions of masses with a black hole mass of $4.3^{+0.1}_{-0.1}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$and neutron star mass of $1.3^{+0.03}_{-0.03}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ where, somewhat surprisingly, it is the prior on component spins which has the greatest impact on the inferred mass distributions. Re-weighting using neutron star mass and spin priors from observations of radio pulsars, with black hole spins from observations of gravitational waves, yields the black hole and the neutron star masses to be $3.8^{+0.5}_{-0.6} \, M_\odot$ and $1.4^{+0.2}_{-0.1} \, M_\odot$ respectively. The sequence of compact object formation — whether the neutron star or the black hole formed first — cannot be determined at the observed signal-to-noise ratio. However, there is no evidence that the black hole was tidally spun up.

Stationary scalar clouds around Kerr-Newman black holes

Abstract This study investigates scalar clouds around Kerr-Newman black holes within the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar model. Tachyonic instabilities are identified as the driving mechanism for scalar cloud formation. Employing the spectral method, we numerically compute wave functions and parameter space existence domains for both fundamental and excited scalar cloud modes. Our analysis demonstrates that black hole spin imposes an upper limit on the existence of scalar clouds, with excited modes requiring stronger tachyonic instabilities for their formation. These findings lay the groundwork for exploring the nonlinear dynamics and astrophysical implications of scalar clouds.

Jets, Accretion and Spin in Supermassive Black Holes

The theoretical model suggests that relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) rely on the black hole spin and/or accretion. We study the relationship between jet, accretion, and spin using supermassive black hole samples with reliable spin of black holes. Our results are as follows: (1) There is a weak correlation between radio luminosity and the spin of the black hole for our sample, which may imply that the jet of the supermassive black hole in our sample depends on the other physical parameters besides black hole spins, such as accretion disk luminosity. (2) The jet power of a supermassive black hole can be explained by the hybrid model with magnetic field of corona. (3) There is a significant correlation between radio-loudness and black hole spin for our sample. These sources with high radio-loudness tend to have high black hole spins. These results provide observational evidence that the black hole spin may explain the bimodal phenomena of radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs.

Measuring Black Hole Light Echoes with Very Long Baseline Interferometry

Light passing near a black hole can follow multiple paths from an emission source to an observer due to strong gravitational lensing. Photons following different paths take different amounts of time to reach the observer, which produces an echo signature in the image. The characteristic echo delay is determined primarily by the mass of the black hole, but it is also influenced by the black hole spin and inclination to the observer. In the Kerr geometry, echo images are demagnified, rotated, and sheared copies of the direct image and lie within a restricted region of the image. Echo images have exponentially suppressed flux, and temporal correlations within the flow make it challenging to directly detect light echoes from the total light curve. In this Letter, we propose a novel method to search for light echoes by correlating the total light curve with the interferometric signal at high spatial frequencies, which is a proxy for indirect emission. We explore the viability of our method using numerical general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a near-face-on accretion system scaled to M87-like parameters. We demonstrate that our method can be used to directly infer the echo delay period in simulated data. An echo detection would be clear evidence that we have captured photons that have circled the black hole, and a high-fidelity echo measurement would provide an independent measure of fundamental black hole parameters. Our results suggest that detecting echoes may be achievable through interferometric observations with a modest space-based very long baseline interferometry mission.

Resonant Friction on Disks in Galactic Nuclei

We argue that resonant friction has a dramatic effect on a disk whose rotation direction is misaligned with that of its host nuclear star cluster. The disk’s gravity causes gravitational perturbation of the cluster that in turn exerts a strong torque back onto the disk. We argue that this torque may be responsible for the observed disruption of the clockwise disk of young stars in the Galactic center, and show in numerical experiments that it produces the observed features in the distribution of the stars’ angular momenta. More generally, we speculate that the rotation of nuclear star clusters has a stabilizing effect on the orientation of transient massive accretion disks around the supermassive black holes residing in their centers, and thus on the directions and magnitudes of the black hole spins.

Estimating the possible QPOs of [formula omitted] from the parameters of a hairy Kerr black hole

In this paper, we study the dynamics of the shock cone formed around a hairy Kerr black hole due to Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton (BHL) accretion and investigate the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) behaviors resulting from the black hole-cone interaction, aiming to predict the QPO frequencies that may occur around the M87∗ black hole. To achieve this, we use the hairy Kerr black hole parameters consistent with the observed shadow parameters of M87∗ as initial conditions in numerical simulations, revealing the structure of the resulting shock cone and QPOs in a strong gravitational field. Numerical calculations show that the deviation of the hairy Kerr black hole from the Kerr metric and the hair parameters significantly influence the complex behavior of the resulting QPOs. It is found that the Lense-Thirring effect and the pressure modes trapped within the cone lead to the excitation of QPOs. The hair parameter has been observed to suppress the resulting QPO frequencies. The Lense-Thirring effect, in a strong gravitational field with a black hole spin parameter of a/M>0.7, also suppresses other modes and generates high-frequency QPOs. It is predicted that the QPO frequencies observed around the M87∗ black hole could span a wide range from nHz to mHz. Using both Kerr and hairy Kerr gravities, the QPO frequencies formed around the M87∗ black hole can be explained. Especially in cases where the black hole is spinning rapidly, power spectrum density (PSD) analyses have shown very distinct low-frequency QPOs and resonance conditions in both gravities. By comparing the results obtained from numerical calculations with observational and analytical results, we discuss the observability of the QPO frequencies that may occur around the M87∗ black hole.

Chaotic magnetic disconnections trigger flux eruptions in accretion flows channeled onto magnetically saturated Kerr black holes

Magnetized accretion flow onto a black hole (BH) may lead to the accumulation of poloidal magnetic flux across its horizon, which for high BH spin can power far-reaching relativistic jets. The BH magnetic flux is subject to a saturation mechanism by means of magnetic flux eruptions involving relativistic magnetic reconnection. Such accretion flows have been described as magnetically arrested disks (MAD) or magnetically choked accretion flows (MCAF). The main goal of this work is to describe the onset of relativistic reconnection and initial development of magnetic flux eruption in accretion flow onto magnetically saturated BHs. We analyzed the results of 3D general relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) numerical simulations in the Kerr metric, starting from weakly magnetized geometrically thick tori rotating either prograde or retrograde. We integrate d large samples of magnetic field lines in order to probe magnetic connectivity with the BH horizon. The boundary between magnetically connected and disconnected domains coincides roughly with enthalpy equipartition. The geometrically constricted innermost part of the disconnected domain develops a rigid structure of magnetic field lines -- rotating slowly and insensitive to the BH spin orientation. The typical shape of innermost disconnected lines is a double spiral converging to a sharp inner tip anchored at the single equatorial current layer. The foot points of magnetic flux eruptions are found to zip around the BH along with other azimuthal patterns. Magnetic flux eruptions from magnetically saturated accreting BHs can be triggered by minor density gaps in the disconnected domain, resulting from the chaotic disconnection of plasma-depleted magnetospheric lines. Accretion flow is effectively channeled along the disconnected lines toward the current layer, and further toward the BH by turbulent cross-field diffusion. Rotation of flux eruption foot points may contribute to the variability of BH crescent images.

Hot spots around Sagittarius A*. Joint fits to astrometry and polarimetry

Observations of Sagittarius A* ( in the near-infrared (NIR) show irregular flaring activity. Flares coincide with the astrometric rotation of the brightness centroid and with looping patterns in fractional linear polarization. These signatures can be explained with a model of a bright hot spot, transiently orbiting the black hole. We extend the capabilities of the existing algorithms to perform parameter estimation and model comparison in the Bayesian framework using NIR observations from the GRAVITY instrument, and simultaneously fitting the astrometric and polarimetric data. Using the numerical radiative transfer code we defined several geometric models describing a hot spot orbiting Sgr A*, threaded with a magnetic field, and emitting synchrotron radiation. We then explored the posterior space of our models with a nested sampling code We used Bayesian evidence to make comparisons between the models. We have used 11 models to sharpen our understanding of the importance of various aspects of the orbital model, such as non-Keplerian motion, hot-spot size, and off-equatorial orbit. All considered models converge to realizations that fit the data well, but the equatorial super-Keplerian model is favoured by the currently available NIR dataset. We have inferred an inclination of $ deg, which corroborates previous estimates, a preferred period of $ minutes, and an orbital radius of $ gravitational radii with the orbital velocity of $ times the Keplerian value. A hot spot with a diameter smaller than 5 gravitational radii is favoured. Black hole spin is not constrained well.

The Heavier the Faster: A Subpopulation of Heavy, Rapidly Spinning and Quickly Evolving Binary Black Holes

Abstract The spins of binary black holes (BBHs) measured from gravitational waves contain valuable information about their formation pathways. In this study, we propose a new quantity, the “dimensionless net spin” (χ N), which relates to the sum of the angular momenta of the component black holes (BHs) in the system, offering a novel perspective for exploring the origins of BBHs. Through hierarchical Bayesian inference on χ N, we find strong evidence that its distribution is better described by two Gaussian components rather than one, and their branching ratios vary with total mass and redshift: there is a narrow peak at χ N ∼ 0.15 and an extended peak at χ N ∼ 0.3–0.6. The rapidly spinning systems likely dominate the high-mass end of the population and evolve with redshift more quickly. These findings present new challenges to the field binary formation scenario and suggest that dynamical processes may play a key role in the formation of high total mass BBHs.

Black hole spectroscopy with ground-based atom interferometer and space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors

Gravitational wave (GW) detection allows us to test general relativity in entirely new regimes. A prominent role takes the detection of quasi-normal modes (QNMs), which are emitted after the merger of a binary black hole (BBH) when the highly distorted remnant emits GWs to become a regular Kerr black hole (BH). The BH uniqueness theorems of Kerr black hole solutions in general relativity imply that the frequencies and damping times of QNMs are determined solely by the mass and spin of the remnant BH. Therefore, detecting QNMs offers a unique way to probe the nature of the remnant BH and to test general relativity. We study the detection of a merging BBH in the intermediate-mass range, where the inspiral–merger phase is detected by space-based laser interferometer detectors TianQin and LISA, while the ringdown is detected by the ground-based atom interferometer (AI) observatory AION. The analysis of the ringdown is done using the regular broadband mode of AI detectors as well as the resonant mode optimizing it to the frequencies of the QNMs predicted from the inspiral–merger phase. We find that the regular broadband mode allows constraining the parameters of the BBH with relative errors of the order 10−1 and below from the ringdown. Moreover, for a variety of systems considered, the frequencies and the damping times of the QNMs can be determined with relative errors below 0.1 and 0.2, respectively. We further find that using the resonant mode can improve the parameter estimation for the BBH from the ringdown by a factor of up to three. Utilizing the resonant mode significantly limits the detection of the frequency of the QNMs but improves the detection error of the damping times by around two orders of magnitude.

An upper limit on the spins of merging binary black holes formed through isolated binary evolution

As the sensitivity of ground-based gravitational wave detectors progressively increases, observations of black hole mergers will provide us with the joint distribution of their masses and spins. This will be a critical benchmark to validate different formation scenarios. Merging binary black holes formed through the evolution of isolated binary systems require both components to be stripped of their hydrogen envelopes before core-collapse. The rotation rates of such stripped stars are constrained by the critical rotation limit at their surface, including its deviation from the Keplerian value owing to the outward force provided by radiation. This sets a restriction on their angular momentum content at core-collapse. We aim to determine if this restriction plays a role in the spins of binary black hole mergers. We used detailed calculations of stripped stars with the MESA code at low metallicities ($Z=Z_ $Z_ and $Z_ to determine the dimensionless spins of black holes produced by critically rotating stellar progenitors. To study how such progenitors can arise, we considered their formation through chemically homogeneous evolution (CHE) in binary stars. We used a semi-analytical model to study the physical processes that determine the final angular momentum of CHE binaries, and compared our results against available population synthesis models that rely on detailed binary evolution calculations. We find that above black hole masses of $ 25M_ the dimensionless spin parameter of critically rotating stripped stars ($a=Jc/(GM^2)$) is below unity. This results in an exclusion region at high chirp masses and effective spins that cannot be populated by isolated binary evolution. CHE can produce binaries where both black holes hit this limit, producing a pileup at the boundary of the excluded region. High-spin black holes arise from very low-metallicity CHE systems with short delay times, which merge at higher redshifts. On the other hand, the contribution of CHE to merging binary black holes detected in the third observing run of the LVK collaboration is expected to be dominated by systems with low spins ($ eff <0.5$) that merge near redshift zero. Owing to its higher projected sensitivity and runtime, the fourth observing run of the LVK collaboration can potentially place constraints on the high-spin population and the existence of a limit set by critical rotation.

Inter-disks inversion surfaces

We consider a counter-rotating torus orbiting a central Kerr black hole (BH) with dimensionless spin a, and its accretion flow into the BH, in an agglomerate of an outer counter-rotating torus and an inner co-rotating torus. This work focus is the analysis of the inter-disks inversion surfaces. Inversion surfaces are spacetime surfaces, defined by the condition uϕ=0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$u^{\\phi }=0$$\\end{document} on the flow torodial velocity, located out of the BH ergoregion, and totally embedding the BH. They emerge as a necessary condition, related to the spacetime frame-dragging, for the counter-rotating flows into the central Kerr BH. In our analysis we study the inversion surfaces of the Kerr spacetimes for the counter-rotating flow from the outer torus, impacting on the inner co-rotating disk. Being totally or partially embedded in (internal to) the inversion surfaces, the inner co-rotating torus (or jet) could be totally or in part “shielded”, respectively, from the impact with flow with auϕ<0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$a u^{\\phi }<0$$\\end{document}. We prove that, in general, in the spacetimes with a<0.551\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$a<0.551$$\\end{document} the co-rotating toroids are always external to the accretion flows inversion surfaces. For 0.551<a<0.886\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$0.551<a<0.886$$\\end{document}, co-rotating toroids could be partially internal (with the disk inner region, including the inner edge) in the flow inversion surface. For BHs with a>0.886\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$a>0.886$$\\end{document}, a co-rotating torus could be entirely embedded in the inversion surface and, for larger spins, it is internal to the inversion surfaces. Tori orbiting in the BH outer ergoregion are a particular case. Further constraints on the BHs spins are discussed in the article.

X-ray reverberation modelling of the continuum, optical/UV time-lags in quasars

Extensive, multi-wavelength monitoring campaigns of nearby and higher redshift active galactic nuclei (AGN) have shown that the UV/optical variations are well correlated with time delays which increase with increasing wavelength. Such behaviour is expected in the context of the X-ray thermal reverberation of the accretion disc in AGN. Our main objective is to use time-lag measurements of luminous AGN and fit them with sophisticated X-ray reverberation time-lags models. In this way we can investigate whether X-ray reverberation can indeed explain the observed continuum time lags, and whether time-lag measurements can be used to measure physical parameters such as the X-ray corona height and the spin of the black hole (BH) in these systems. We use archival time-lag measurements for quasars from different surveys, and we compute their rest frame, mean time-lags spectrum. We fit the data with analytical X-ray reverberation models, using $ statistics, and fitting for both maximal and non spinning BHs, for various colour correction values and X-ray corona heights. We found that X-ray reverberation can explain very well the observed time lags, assuming the measured BH mass, accretion rate and X-ray luminosity of the quasars in the sample. The model agrees well with the data both for non-rotating and maximally rotating BHs, as long as the corona height is larger than $ 40$ gravitational radii. This is in agreement with previous results which showed that X-ray reverberation can also explain the disc radius in micro-lensed quasars, for the same corona heights. The corona height we measure depends on the model assumption of a perfectly flat disc. More realistic disc models may result in lower heights for the X-ray corona.

Horizon fluxes of binary black holes in eccentric orbits

We compute the rate of change of mass and angular momentum of a black hole, namely tidal heating, in an eccentric orbit. The change is caused due to the tidal field of the orbiting companion. We compute the result for both the spinning and non-spinning black holes in the leading order of the mean motion, namely ξ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\xi $$\\end{document}. We demonstrate that the rates get enhanced significantly for nonzero eccentricity. Since eccentricity in a binary evolves with time we also express the results in terms of an initial eccentricity and azimuthal frequency ξϕ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\xi _{\\phi }$$\\end{document}. In the process, we developed a prescription that can be used to compute all physical quantities in a series expansion of initial eccentricity, e0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$e_0$$\\end{document}. These results are computed taking account of the spin of the binary components. The prescription can be used to compute very high-order corrections of initial eccentricity. We use it to find the contribution to eccentricity up to O(e05)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {O}}(e_0^5)$$\\end{document} in the spinning binary. Using the computed expression of eccentricity, we derived the rate of change of mass and angular momentum of a black hole, both rotating and non-rotating, in terms of initial eccentricity and azimuthal frequency up to O(e06)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {O}}(e_0^6)$$\\end{document}. With the computed fluxes we also compute for the first time the leading order dephasing in both cases analytically up to O(e06)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {O}}(e_0^6)$$\\end{document} and study its impact. We argue that for high signal-to-noise ratio sources, these contributions require inclusion in the waveform modeling.

Ultra-high-energy gamma-ray bubble around microquasar V4641 Sgr.

Microquasars are laboratories for the study of jets of relativistic particles produced by accretion onto a spinning black hole. Microquasars are near enough to allow detailed imaging of spatial features across the multiwavelength spectrum. The recent extension measurement of the spatial morphology of a microquasar, SS 433, to TeV gamma rays1 localizes the acceleration of electrons at shocks in the jet far from the black hole2. V4641 Sagittarii (V4641 Sgr) is a similar binary system with a black hole and B-type main-sequence companion star and has an orbit period of 2.8 days (refs. 3,4). It stands out for its super-Eddington accretion5 and for its radio jet, which is one of the fastest superluminal jets in the Milky Way. Previous observations of V4641 Sgr did not report gamma-ray emission6. Here we report TeV gamma-ray emission from V4641 Sgr that reveals particle acceleration at similar distances from the black hole as SS 433. Furthermore, the gamma-ray spectrum of V4641 Sgr is among the hardest TeV spectra observed from any known gamma-ray source and is detected above 200 TeV. Gamma rays are produced by particles, either electrons or protons, of higher energies. Because energetic electrons lose energy more quickly the higher their energy, such a spectrum either very strongly constrains the electron-production mechanism or points to the acceleration of high-energy protons. This suggests that large-scale jets from microquasars could be more common than previously expected and that they could be a notable source of galactic cosmic rays7-9.

Nonlinear effect of absorption on the ringdown of a spinning black hole

Nonlinear effect of absorption on the ringdown of a spinning black hole

Black flowers and real forms of higher spin symmetries

Using Chern-Simons formulation, we investigate higher spin (HS) black holes in AdS3 with soft Heisenberg hair and establish linkage with the real forms of the underlying complexified gauge symmetries taken here as SL(N, ℂ)L × SL(N, ℂ)R. We study the various conserved currents characterizing the HS black flowers (HS-BF) and show that they can be formed of layers indexed by the elements of the centre of the gauge symmetry. This feature follows from requiring the holonomy of the asymptotic gauge connection around the thermal cycle to sit in the centre ℤN of the symmetry group. With regard to the compact subgroups of the real forms of the complexified gauge symmetry, we calculate the entropies of the HS-BF and verify that, unless we are considering trivial holonomies, there are no continuous paths joining the HS-BF to the core spin 2 black holes. As explicit illustrations, we give quantum field realisations of the soft Heisenberg hair in terms of bosonic and fermionic primary conformal fields and compute the HS-BF entropy as a function of the number of fermions occupying the ground state of the Heisenberg soft hair.

Black hole—neutron star binary mergers: the impact of stellar compactness

Abstract Recent gravitational wave (GW) observations include possible detections of black hole—neutron star binary mergers. As with binary black hole mergers, numerical simulations help characterize the sources. For binary systems with neutron star components, the simulations help to predict the imprint of tidal deformations and disruptions on the GW signals. In a previous study, we investigated how the mass of the black hole has an impact on the disruption of the neutron star and, as a consequence, on the shape of the GWs emitted. We extend these results to study the effects of varying the compactness of the neutron star. We consider neutron star compactness in the 0.113–0.2 range for binaries with mass ratios of 3 and 5. As the compactness and the mass ratio increase, the binary system behaves during the late inspiral and merger more like a black hole binary. For the cases with the least compact neutron star, the GWs emitted, in terms of mismatches, are the most distinguishable from those by a binary black hole. The disruption of the star significantly suppresses the kicks on the final black hole. The disruption also affects, although not dramatically, the spin of the final black hole. Lastly, for neutron stars with low compactness, the quasi-normal ringing of the black hole after the merger does not show a clean quasi-normal ringing because of the late accretion of debris from the neutron star.

Revised spin for the black hole in GRS 1716-249 given a new distance determination

GRS 1716--249 is a stellar-mass black hole in a low-mass X-ray binary that underwent a giant outburst in 2016-17. In this paper, we use simultaneous observations from the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array ( NuSTAR ) to determine its basic parameters. The observations were performed during the softest part of the outburst and the spectra show clear thermal disk emission and reflection features. We fit the X-ray energy spectra using the joint fitting method of the continuum and reflection components with the kerrbb2 relxill model. Since there is a possibility that the distance to this source was previously underestimated, we used the latest distance parameter of 6.9\,kpc in our study, in contrast to previous works, where the distance was set at 2.4\,kpc. Through a spectral fitting of the black hole mass at odot $, we observe a strong dependence of the derived spin on the distance: $a_ $ at an assumed distance of 2.4\,kpc and $ at an assumed distance of 6.9\,kpc, at a confidence level of 90&lt;!PCT!&gt;. When considering the uncertainties in the distance and black hole mass, there will be a wider range of spin with $ &lt; 0.78. The fitting results with the new distance indicate that GRS 1716--249 harbors a moderate spin black hole with an inclined ($i circ $) accretion disk around it. Additionally, we have also found that solely using the method of reflection component fitting, while ignoring the constraints on the spin from the accretion disk component will result in an extremely high spin.

Shock-induced Partial Alignment in Geometrically Thick Tilted Accretion Disks Around Black Holes

We carry out idealized three-dimensional general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of prograde, weakly magnetized, and geometrically thick accretion flows where the gas distribution is misaligned from the black hole (BH) spin axis. We evolve the disk for three BH spins: a = 0.5, 0.75, and 0.9375, and we contrast them with a standard aligned disk simulation with a = 0.9375. The tilted disks achieve a warped and twisted steady-state structure, with the outer disk misaligning further away from the BH and surpassing the initial 24° misalignment. However, closer to the BH, there is evidence of partial alignment, as the inclination angle decreases with radius in this regime. Standing shocks also emerged in proximity to the BH, roughly at ∼6 gravitational radii. We show that these shocks act to partially align the inner disk with the BH spin. The rate of alignment increases with increasing BH spin magnitude, but in all cases is insufficient to fully align the gas before it accretes. Additionally, we present a toy model of orbit crowding that can predict the location of the shocks in moderate-to-fast rotating BHs, illustrating a potential physical origin for the behavior seen in simulations—with possible applications in determining the positions of shocks in real misaligned astrophysical systems.