Jet Formation in 3D GRMHD Simulations of Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion

Understand

A black hole (BH) travelling through a uniform, gaseous medium is described by Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton (BHL) accretion.

• If the medium is magnetized, then the black hole can produce relativistic outflows.
• We performed the first 3D, general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics simulations of BHL accretion onto rapidly rotating black holes using the code H-AMR, where we mainly varied the strength of a background magnetic field that threads the medium.
• We found that the ensuing accretion continuously drags to the BH the magnetic flux, which accumulates near the event horizon until it becomes dynamically important.