Magnetic Penrose Process and Blanford-Zanejk mechanism: A clarification

TL;DR

This paper clarifies the differences between the magnetic Penrose process (MPP) and the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism, highlighting their distinct physical principles in extracting rotational energy from black holes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of MPP and BZ mechanisms, emphasizing their different underlying physics and clarifying misconceptions about their similarities.

Findings

MPP can exceed 100% efficiency in energy extraction.

MPP relies on spacetime geometry for energy transfer.

BZ mechanism is driven by electromagnetic potential differences.

Abstract

The Penrose process (PP) is an ingenious mechanism of extracting rotational energy from a rotating black hole, however it was soon realized that it was not very efficient for its astrophysical applications for powering the central engine of quasars and AGNs. The situation however changed dramatically in the presence of magnetic field produced by the accretion disk surrounding the hole in the equatorial plane. In 1985, Wagh, Dhurandhar and Dadhich had for the first time considered the magnetic Penrose process (MPP) in which the magnetic field could now provide the energy required for a fragment to ride on negative energy orbit thereby overcoming the stringent velocity constraint of the original PP. Thus MPP turned very efficient and so much so that efficiency could now even exceed 100 percent. They had in principle established revival of PP for astrophysical applications in powering the high energy sources. MPP is however similar to the earlier discovered and well known Blandford-Znajeck (BZ) mechanism in which the rotational energy of the hole is extracted out through a purely electromagnetic process. Though both the processes use magnetic field as a device to extract rotational energy from the hole, yet their kernel is quite different in spirit. For the former magnetic field provides the threshold energy for particle to get onto negative energy orbit so that the other fragment goes out with enhanced energy while for the latter it generates an electric potential difference between the equatorial plane and the polar region, and it is the discharge of which that drives the energy flux out of the hole. In other words, MPP is still rooted in the spacetime geometry while BZ is essentially driven by electromagnetic interaction.