Chaotic magnetic disconnections trigger flux eruptions in accretion flows channeled onto magnetically saturated Kerr black holes

Abstract

Magnetized accretion flow onto a black hole (BH) may lead to accumulation of poloidal magnetic flux across its horizon, which for high BH spin can power far-reaching relativistic jets. The BH magnetic flux is subject to a saturation mechanism by means of magnetic flux eruptions involving relativistic magnetic reconnection. Such accretion flows have been described as magnetically arrested (MAD) or choked (MCAF). The main goal of this work is to describe the onset of relativistic reconnection and initial development of magnetic flux eruption in accretion flow onto magnetically saturated BH. We analyze the results of 3D ideal GRMHD numerical simulations in the Kerr metric, starting from weakly magnetized geometrically thick tori rotating either prograde or retrograde. We integrate large samples of magnetic field lines in order to probe magnetic connectivity with the BH horizon. The boundary between magnetically connected and disconnected domains coincides roughly with enthalpy equipartition. The geometrically constricted innermost part of the disconnected domain develops a rigid structure of magnetic field lines - rotating slowly and insensitive to the BH spin orientation. The typical shape of innermost disconnected lines is a double spiral converging to a sharp inner tip anchored at the single equatorial current layer. The footpoints of magnetic flux eruptions are found to zip around the BH along with other azimuthal patterns. Magnetic flux eruptions from magnetically saturated accreting BHs can be triggered by minor density gaps in the disconnected domain, resulting from chaotic disconnection of plasma-depleted magnetospheric lines. Accretion flow is effectively channeled along the disconnected lines towards the current layer, and further towards the BH by turbulent cross-field diffusion. Rotation of flux eruption footpoints may contribute to the variability of BH crescent images.

A&A accepted, 9 MB, 17 pages, 14 figures, 2 animations at https://users.camk.edu.pl/knalew/aa50490-24/

References in corpus (31)

• First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole
• First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
• First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VI. The Shadow and Mass of the Central Black Hole
• First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole
• First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. V. Physical Origin of the Asymmetric Ring
• Mayavi: a package for 3D visualization of scientific data
• The Athena++ Adaptive Mesh Refinement Framework: Design and Magnetohydrodynamic Solvers
• The power of relativistic jets is larger than the luminosity of their accretion disks
• Black hole flares: ejection of accreted magnetic flux through 3D plasmoid-mediated reconnection
• A tera-electronvolt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst 221009A
• The Origin of the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background and Implications for Dark-Matter Annihilation
• Accretion to Magnetized Stars through the Rayleigh-Taylor Instability: Global Three-Dimensional Simulations
• Magnetically Arrested Disks and Origin of Poynting Jets: Numerical Study
• The Magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor Instability in Three Dimensions
• A fundamental mechanism of solar eruption initiation
• A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet
• "Meissner effect" and Blandford-Znajek mechanism in conductive black hole magnetospheres
• Sgr A* near-infrared flares from reconnection events in a magnetically arrested disc
• Formation of Magnetically Truncated Accretion Disks in 3D Radiation-Transport Two-Temperature GRMHD Simulations
• First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IX. Detection of Near-horizon Circular Polarization
• Flux eruption events drive angular momentum transport in magnetically arrested accretion flows
• Radiative reconnection-powered TeV flares from the black hole magnetosphere in M87
• A Resolution Study of Magnetically Arrested Disks
• Blandford--Znajek monopole expansion revisited: novel non-analytic contributions to the power emission
• Testing Self-Organized Criticality Across the Main Sequence using Stellar Flares from TESS
• Particle acceleration by magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability: mechanism for flares in black-hole accretion flows
• Rotation in Event Horizon Telescope Movies
• Winds and Disk Turbulence Exert Equal Torques on Thick Magnetically Arrested Disks
• Can MAD accretion disks launching structured jets explain both GRB and AGN engines? Magnetically arrested accretion disks launching structured jets in application to GRB and AGN engines
• Did the Event Horizon Telescope Detect the Base of the Sub-Milliarsecond Tubular Jet in M\,87?
• Black hole outflows initiated by a large-scale magnetic field

Cited by in corpus (4)

• A magnetic avalanche as the central engine powering a solar flare
• Exploring Jet Structure and Dynamics in Short Gamma Ray Bursts: A Case Study on GRB 090510
• Three-dimensional GRMHD simulations of jet formation and propagation in self-gravitating collapsing stars
• Tension of toroidal magnetic field in reconnection plasmoids and relativistic jets