Magnetic Connection Model for Launching Relativistic Jets from a Kerr Black Hole

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model where relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei are powered by magnetic connections between a Kerr black hole and its accretion disc, utilizing the black hole's rotational energy within the ergosphere.

Contribution

The model demonstrates how magnetic coupling inside the ergosphere can efficiently transfer black hole rotational energy to launch jets, especially at low accretion rates, extending previous mechanisms like Blandford-Znajek.

Findings

Jet power increases with black hole spin.

Stationary black hole states are possible at low accretion rates.

AGN lifetime can exceed 10 million years with spin-down energy.

Abstract

We present a model for launching relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) from an accreting Kerr black hole (BH) as an effect of the rotation of the space-time, where the gravitational energy of the accretion disc inside the ergosphere, which can be increased by the BH rotational energy transferred to the disc via closed magnetic field lines that connect the BH to the disc (BH-disc magnetic connection), is converted into jet energy. The main role of the BH-disc magnetic connection is to provide the source of energy for the jets when the mass accretion rate is very low. We assume that the jets are launched from the disc inside the BH ergosphere, where the rotational effects of the space-time become much stronger, being further accelerated by magnetic processes. The rotation of the space-time channels a fraction of the disc energy (i.e., the gravitational energy of the disc plus the rotational energy of the BH which is deposited into the disc by magnetic connection) into a population of particles that escape from the disc surfaces, carrying away mass, energy and angular momentum in the form of jets, allowing the remaining disc gas to accrete. In the limit of the spin-down power regime, the model proposed here can be regarded as a variant of the Blandford-Znajek mechanism, where the BH rotational energy is transferred to the disc inside the ergosphere and then used to drive the jets. We use general-relativistic conservation laws to calculate the mass flow rate into the jets, the launching power of the jets and the angular momentum transported by the jets for BHs with a spin parameter $a_* \geqslant 0.95$. We found that a stationary state of the BH ($a_* = $ const) can be reached if the mass accretion rate is larger than $\dot{m} \sim 0.001$. In addition, the maximum AGN lifetime can be much longer than $\sim 10^{7}$ yr when using the BH spin-down power.