General Relativistic Simulations of Early Jet Formation in a Rapidly Rotating Black Hole Magnetosphere
Abstract
To investigate the formation mechanism of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei and microquasars, we have developed a new general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic code in Kerr geometry. Here we report on the first numerical simulations of jet formation in a rapidly rotating (a=0.95) Kerr black hole magnetosphere. We study cases in which the Keplerian accretion disk is both corotating and counter-rotating with respect to the black hole rotation, and investigate the first ~50 light-crossing times. In the corotating disk case, our results are almost the same as those in Schwarzschild black hole cases: a gas pressure-driven jet is formed by a shock in the disk, and a weaker magnetically driven jet is also generated outside the gas pressure-driven jet. On the other hand, in the counter-rotating disk case, a new powerful magnetically driven jet is formed inside the gas pressure-driven jet. The newly found magnetically driven jet in the latter case is accelerated by a strong magnetic field created by frame dragging in the ergosphere. Through this process, the magnetic field extracts the energy of the black hole rotation.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 2000
- DOI:
- 10.1086/308986
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/9907435
- Bibcode:
- 2000ApJ...536..668K
- Keywords:
-
- Accretion;
- Accretion Disks;
- Black Hole Physics;
- Galaxies: Jets;
- Magnetic Fields;
- Methods: Numerical;
- Magnetohydrodynamics: MHD;
- Relativity;
- Astrophysics;
- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
- E-Print:
- Co-rotating and counter-rotating disks