Collisions in black-hole ergospheres and the Penrose process
Abstract
The paper describes some of the collision processes which occur deep in the ergosphere of certain rapidly rotating black holes. Penrose (1969) was the first to note that particle disintegration will occasionally throw some of the outcoming particles into 'negative energy' orbits in which their complementary particles will have (at infinity) a total energy higher than that of the original particle. He suggested that, if these complementary particles could indeed be brought to infinity, net energy could be extracted from the rotating black hole by this process, which has become known as the 'Penrose process'. This paper demonstrates the theoretical efficiency of the four-body Penrose process and examines possible astrophysical situations in which it could be realized.
- Publication:
-
Physics and Astrophysics of Neutron Stars and Black Holes
- Pub Date:
- 1978
- Bibcode:
- 1978pans.proc..597P
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics;
- Black Holes (Astronomy);
- Collision Parameters;
- Energy Sources;
- Particle Collisions;
- Circular Orbits;
- Compton Effect;
- Orbit Calculation;
- Particle Production;
- Rotating Environments;
- Astrophysics