Extremal limits and Ba\~nados-Silk-West effect

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the extremal Kerr black hole's ability to act as a particle accelerator with infinite energy, emphasizing that this phenomenon is due to the singular nature of the extremal limit and differs from non-extremal cases.

Contribution

It clarifies that infinite energy at the horizon arises solely from the extremal limit's singularity and distinguishes extremal from non-extremal Kerr black holes.

Findings

Infinite CM energy occurs only in the extremal limit due to singularity.

Non-extremal Kerr black holes cannot become extremal via the BSW mechanism.

Diverging energy can occur at multiple horizons and orbits, not just the event horizon.

Abstract

A fascinating property of extremal Kerr black hole (BH) is that it could be act as a particle accelerator with infinite high center-of-mass (CM) energy \cite{bsw}. In this note, we would like to discuss about such fascinating result and to point out that this infinite energy at the event horizon comes solely due \emph{to the singular nature of the extremal limit}. We also show that a non-extremal Kerr BH can \emph{not} transform into extremal Kerr BH by the Ba\~{n}ados-Silk-West mechanism. Moreover, we discuss about three possible geometries (near extremal, purely extremal and near horizon of extremal Kerr) of this mechanism. We further prove that near extremal geometry and near horizon geometry, precisely extremal geometry of extremal Kerr BHs are qualitatively different. Near extremal geometry and near horizon geometry gives the CM energy is finite, whereas precisely extremal geometry gives the diverging energy. Thus, we can argue that extremal Kerr BH and non-extremal Kerr BH are quite distinct objects. Finally, we show that the CM energy of collisions of particles not only diverges at infinite red-shift surface ($r_{+}$) but it could also diverges at the ISCO ($r_{isco}$) or at the circular photon orbit ($r_{cpo}$) or at the marginally bound circular orbit ($r_{mbco}$) or at the Cauchy horizon i.e. at $r \equiv r_{isco}=r_{cpo}=r_{mbco}=r_{+}=r_{-}=M$.