Hybrid magnetic structures around spinning black holes connected to a surrounding accretion disk

The hot accretion flow around Kerr black holes is strongly magnetized. Magnetic field loops sustained by a surrounding accretion disk can close within the event horizon. We performed particle-in-cell simulations in Kerr metric to capture the dynamics of the electromagnetic field and of the ambient c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2023-01, Vol.16 (S362), p.184-189
Main Authors: El Mellah, I., Cerutti, B., Crinquand, B., Parfrey, K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accretion disks
Astronomy
Black holes
Charged particles
Collisionless plasmas
Contributed Paper
Current sheets
Electromagnetic fields
Electromagnetism
Event horizon
Magnetic fields
Magnetism
Magnetospheres
Plasma
Plasmas (physics)
Relativistic particles
Simulation
Synchrotrons
Topology
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Summary:The hot accretion flow around Kerr black holes is strongly magnetized. Magnetic field loops sustained by a surrounding accretion disk can close within the event horizon. We performed particle-in-cell simulations in Kerr metric to capture the dynamics of the electromagnetic field and of the ambient collisionless plasma in this coupled configuration. We find that a hybrid magnetic topology develops with a closed magnetosphere co-existing with open field lines threading the horizon reminiscent of the Blandford-Znajek solution. Further in the disk, highly inclined open magnetic field lines can launch a magnetically-driven wind. While the plasma is essentially force-free, a current sheet forms above the disk where magnetic reconnection produces macroscopic plasmoids and accelerates particles up to relativistic Lorentz factors. A highly dynamic Y-point forms on the furthest closed magnetic field line, with episodic reconnection events responsible for transient synchrotron emission and coronal heating.
ISSN:1743-9213
1743-9221
1743-9221
DOI:10.1017/S1743921322001715