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The role of the ergosphere in the Blandford-Znajek process

Milton RuizDepartament de Física, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Crta. Valldemossa km 7.5, E-07122 Palma, SpainCarlos PalenzuelaCanadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H8, CanadaFilippo GaleazziMax-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, GermanyCarles BonaDepartamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Universitat de València, 46100 Burjassot (Valencia), Spain
2012en
ABI

Abstract

The Blandford–Znajek process, one of the most promising models for powering relativistic jets from black holes, was initially introduced as a mechanism in which the magnetic fields extract energy from a rotating black hole. We study the evolution of force-free electromagnetic fields, which are generated by rapidly rotating stars, on regular space–times with an ergosphere. Our conclusive results confirm previous works, claiming that the Blandford–Znajek mechanism is not directly related to the horizon of the black hole. We also show that the radiated energy depends exponentially on the compactness of the star.

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