H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions
Quasars are powered by supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion disks, yet standard thin disk models are inconsistent with many observations. Recently, P. F. Hopkins et al. simulated the formation of a quasar disk feeding an SMBH of mass M = 1.3 × 10 ^7 M _⊙ in a galaxy. The disk had surprisingly st...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Nicholas Kaaz Matthew Liska Alexander Tchekhovskoy Philip F. Hopkins Jonatan Jacquemin-Ide |
| author_facet | Nicholas Kaaz Matthew Liska Alexander Tchekhovskoy Philip F. Hopkins Jonatan Jacquemin-Ide |
| author_sort | Nicholas Kaaz |
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| description | Quasars are powered by supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion disks, yet standard thin disk models are inconsistent with many observations. Recently, P. F. Hopkins et al. simulated the formation of a quasar disk feeding an SMBH of mass M = 1.3 × 10 ^7 M _⊙ in a galaxy. The disk had surprisingly strong toroidal magnetic fields that supported it vertically from gravity and powered rapid accretion. What feedback can such a system produce? To answer this, we must follow the gas to the event horizon. For this, we interpolated the quasar into the general-relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics code H-AMR and performed 3D simulations with BH spins a = 0 and a = 0.9375. This remapping generates magnetic monopoles, which we erase using a novel divergence cleaning approach. Despite the toroidal magnetic field's dominance at large radii, vertical magnetic flux builds up near the event horizon, leading to a magnetic state transition within the inner 200 gravitational radii of the disk. This powers strong winds and, for spinning BHs, relativistic jets that can spin down the BH within 5−10 Myr. Sometimes, vertical magnetic fields of opposite polarity reach the BH, causing a polarity inversion event that briefly destroys the jets and, possibly, the X-ray corona. These strong fields power accretion at rates 5× the Eddington limit, which can double the BH mass in 5–10 Myr. When a = 0.9375 ( a = 0), the energy in mechanical outflows and radiation equals about 60% (10%) and 100% (3%) of the accreted rest mass energy, respectively. Much of the light escapes in cool, ≳1300 au photospheres, consistent with quasar microlensing and spectral energy distributions. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-f01c9f8b4e784421aa9c3ab49e6b62e52025-01-29T10:19:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01979224810.3847/1538-4357/ad9a86H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial ConditionsNicholas Kaaz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5375-8232Matthew Liska1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4475-9345Alexander Tchekhovskoy2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9182-2047Philip F. Hopkins3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3729-1684Jonatan Jacquemin-Ide4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2982-0005Department of Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60202, USA ; nkaaz@u.northwestern.edu; Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) , Evanston, IL 60202, USACenter for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology , Howey Physics Building, 837 State Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60202, USA ; nkaaz@u.northwestern.edu; Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) , Evanston, IL 60202, USATAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) , Evanston, IL 60202, USAQuasars are powered by supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion disks, yet standard thin disk models are inconsistent with many observations. Recently, P. F. Hopkins et al. simulated the formation of a quasar disk feeding an SMBH of mass M = 1.3 × 10 ^7 M _⊙ in a galaxy. The disk had surprisingly strong toroidal magnetic fields that supported it vertically from gravity and powered rapid accretion. What feedback can such a system produce? To answer this, we must follow the gas to the event horizon. For this, we interpolated the quasar into the general-relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics code H-AMR and performed 3D simulations with BH spins a = 0 and a = 0.9375. This remapping generates magnetic monopoles, which we erase using a novel divergence cleaning approach. Despite the toroidal magnetic field's dominance at large radii, vertical magnetic flux builds up near the event horizon, leading to a magnetic state transition within the inner 200 gravitational radii of the disk. This powers strong winds and, for spinning BHs, relativistic jets that can spin down the BH within 5−10 Myr. Sometimes, vertical magnetic fields of opposite polarity reach the BH, causing a polarity inversion event that briefly destroys the jets and, possibly, the X-ray corona. These strong fields power accretion at rates 5× the Eddington limit, which can double the BH mass in 5–10 Myr. When a = 0.9375 ( a = 0), the energy in mechanical outflows and radiation equals about 60% (10%) and 100% (3%) of the accreted rest mass energy, respectively. Much of the light escapes in cool, ≳1300 au photospheres, consistent with quasar microlensing and spectral energy distributions.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9a86Active galactic nucleiGalaxy accretion disksRelativistic jetsMagnetohydrodynamical simulationsGeneral relativity |
| spellingShingle | Nicholas Kaaz Matthew Liska Alexander Tchekhovskoy Philip F. Hopkins Jonatan Jacquemin-Ide H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions The Astrophysical Journal Active galactic nuclei Galaxy accretion disks Relativistic jets Magnetohydrodynamical simulations General relativity |
| title | H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions |
| title_full | H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions |
| title_fullStr | H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions |
| title_short | H-AMR FORGE’d in FIRE. I. Magnetic State Transitions, Jet Launching, and Radiative Emission in Super-Eddington, Highly Magnetized Quasar Disks Formed from Cosmological Initial Conditions |
| title_sort | h amr forge d in fire i magnetic state transitions jet launching and radiative emission in super eddington highly magnetized quasar disks formed from cosmological initial conditions |
| topic | Active galactic nuclei Galaxy accretion disks Relativistic jets Magnetohydrodynamical simulations General relativity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9a86 |
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