Jets in magnetically arrested hot accretion flows: geometry, power, and black hole spin-down

We present the results of nine simulations of radiatively inefficient magnetically arrested discs (MADs) across different values of the black hole spin parameter a(*): -0.9, -0.7, -0.5, -0.3, 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9. Each simulation was run up to t greater than or similar to 100 000 GM/c(3) to ensure disc inflow equilibrium out to large radii. We find that the saturated magnetic flux level, and consequently also jet power, of MAD discs depends strongly on the black hole spin, confirming previous results. Prograde discs saturate at a much higher relative magnetic flux and have more powerful jets than their retrograde counterparts. MADs with spinning black holes naturally launch jets with generalized parabolic profiles whose widths vary as a power of distance from the black hole. For distances up to 100GM/c(2), the power-law index is k approximate to 0.27-0.42. There is a strong correlation between the disc-jet geometry and the dimensionless magnetic flux, resulting in prograde systems displaying thinner equatorial accretion flows near the black hole and wider jets, compared to retrograde systems. Prograde and retrograde MADs also exhibit different trends in disc variability: accretion rate variability increases with increasing spin for a(*) > 0 and remains almost constant for a(*) less than or similar to 0, while magnetic flux variability shows the opposite trend. Jets in the MAD state remove more angular momentum from black holes than is accreted, effectively spinning down the black hole. If powerful jets from MAD systems in Nature are persistent, this loss of angular momentum will notably reduce the black hole spin over cosmic time.

Automated summary

We present the results of nine simulations of radiatively inefficient magnetically arrested discs (MADs) with different black hole spin parameters. Our study finds that the saturated magnetic flux level and jet power of MAD discs strongly depend on the black hole spin. Prograde discs have higher magnetic flux and more powerful jets compared to retrograde discs. Moreover, MADs with spinning black holes launch jets with generalized parabolic profiles, and the width of the jets varies with distance from the black hole according to a power-law function. We also observe a strong correlation between the disc-jet geometry and the dimensionless magnetic flux, with prograde systems displaying thinner equatorial accretion flows near the black hole and wider jets compared to retrograde systems. Additionally, we find different trends in disc variability between prograde and retrograde MADs.