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Abstract A spinning black hole (BH) accreting from a disk of strongly magnetized plasma via a magnetically arrested disk is known to produce an efficient electromagnetic jet powered by the BH’s spin energy. We present general relativistic radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of magnetically arrested systems covering a range of sub- to super-Eddington accretion rates. Using the numerical results from these simulations, we develop formulae to describe the magnetization, jet efficiency, and spin evolution of an accreting BH as a function of its spin and accretion rate. A BH with near-Eddington accretion experiences a mild degree of spin-down because of angular momentum loss through the jet, leading to an equilibrium spin of 0.8 rather than 1.0 at the Eddington limit. As the accretion rate increases above Eddington, the spin-down effect becomes progressively stronger, ultimately converging on previous predictions based on nonradiative simulations. In particular, spin evolution drives highly super-Eddington systems toward a BH spin near zero. The formulae developed in this letter may be applied to galaxy- and cosmological-scale simulations that include BHs. If magnetically arrested disk accretion is common among supermassive BHs, the present results have broad implications for active galactic nucleus feedback and cosmological spin evolution.
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Long-term evolution of supercritical black hole accretion with outflows: a subgrid feedback model for cosmological simulations
We study the long-term evolution of the global structure of axisymmetric accretion flows onto a black hole (BH) at rates substantially higher than the Eddington value (Mdot,Edd)performing two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with and without radiative diffusion. In the high-accretion optically-thick limit, where the radiation energy is efficiently trapped within the inflow, the accretion flow becomes adiabatic and comprises of turbulent gas in the equatorial region and strong bipolar outflows. As a result, the mass inflow rate decreases toward the center as Mdot,in∝r_p with p∼0.5−0.7 and a small fraction of the inflowing gas feeds the nuclear BH. Thus, super-Eddington accretion is sustained only when a larger amount of gas is supplied from larger radii at >100−1000 Mdot, Edd. The global structure of the flow settles down to a quasi-steady state in millions of the orbital timescale at the BH event horizon, which is >10−100 times longer than that addressed in previous (magneto-)RHD simulation studies. Energy transport via radiative diffusion accelerates the outflow near the poles in the inner region but does not change the overall properties of the accretion flow compared to the cases without diffusion. Based on our simulation results, we provide a mechanical feedback model for super-Eddington accreting BHs. This can be applied as a sub-grid model in large-scale cosmological simulations that do not sufficiently resolve galactic nuclei, and to the formation of the heaviest gravitational-wave sources via accretion in dense environments.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2006176
- PAR ID:
- 10337900
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The astrophysical journal
- ISSN:
- 2041-8213
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac75d8
