961 research outputs found
General Relativistic Simulations of Jet Formation in a Rapidly Rotating Black Hole Magnetosphere
To investigate the formation mechanism of relativistic jets in active
galactic nuclei and micro-quasars, we have developed a new general relativistic
magnetohydrodynamic code in Kerr geometry. Here we report on the first
numerical simulation of jet formation in a rapidly-rotating (a=0.95) Kerr black
hole magnetosphere. We study cases in which the Keplerian accretion disk is
both co-rotating and counter-rotating with respect to the black hole rotation.
In the co-rotating disk case, our results are almost the same as those in
Schwarzschild black hole cases: a gas pressure-driven jet is formed by a shock
in the disk, and a weaker magnetically-driven jet is also generated outside the
gas pressure-driven jet. On the other hand, in the counter-rotating disk case,
a new powerful magnetically-driven jet is formed inside the gas pressure-driven
jet. The newly found magnetically-driven jet in the latter case is accelerated
by a strong magnetic field created by frame dragging in the ergosphere. Through
this process, the magnetic field extracts the energy of the black hole
rotation.Comment: Co-rotating and counter-rotating disks; 8 pages; submitted to ApJ
letter
Magnetorotational Instability around a Rotating Black Hole
The magnetorotational instability(MRI) in the Kerr spacetime is studied on a
3+1 viewpoint. The Maxwell's equations are expressed in a circularly orbiting
observer's frame that co-rotates with matter in Keplerian orbits. There exist
large proper growth rates in MRI around a rapidly rotating black hole. The
large "centrifugal force" and the rapid variations of magnetic fields are
caused by the rotation of spacetime geometry. As the result, in the extreme
Kerr case the maximum proper growth rate at becomes about twelve
times as large as that in Schwartzshield case.Comment: 18pages, 9figure
WhiskyMHD: a new numerical code for general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics
The accurate modelling of astrophysical scenarios involving compact objects
and magnetic fields, such as the collapse of rotating magnetized stars to black
holes or the phenomenology of gamma-ray bursts, requires the solution of the
Einstein equations together with those of general-relativistic
magnetohydrodynamics. We present a new numerical code developed to solve the
full set of general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics equations in a dynamical
and arbitrary spacetime with high-resolution shock-capturing techniques on
domains with adaptive mesh refinements. After a discussion of the equations
solved and of the techniques employed, we present a series of testbeds carried
out to validate the code and assess its accuracy. Such tests range from the
solution of relativistic Riemann problems in flat spacetime, over to the
stationary accretion onto a Schwarzschild black hole and up to the evolution of
oscillating magnetized stars in equilibrium and constructed as consistent
solutions of the coupled Einstein-Maxwell equations.Comment: minor changes to match the published versio
Magnetized Accretion Inside the Marginally Stable Orbit around a Black Hole
Qualitative arguments are presented to demonstrate that the energy density of
magnetic fields in matter accreting onto a black hole inside the marginally
stable orbit is automatically comparable to the rest-mass energy density of the
accretion flow. Several consequences follow: magnetic effects must be
dynamically significant, but cannot be so strong as to dominate; outward energy
transport in Alfven waves may alter the effective efficiency of energy
liberation; and vertical magnetic stresses in this region may contribute to
"coronal" activity.Comment: to appear in Ap. J. Letter
Regulation of HTLV-1 Gag budding by Vps4A, Vps4B, and AIP1/Alix
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HTLV-1 Gag protein is a matrix protein that contains the PTAP and PPPY sequences as L-domain motifs and which can be released from mammalian cells in the form of virus-like particles (VLPs). The cellular factors Tsg101 and Nedd4.1 interact with PTAP and PPPY, respectively, within the HTLV-1 Gag polyprotein. Tsg101 forms a complex with Vps28 and Vps37 (ESCRT-I complex) and plays an important role in the class E Vps pathway, which mediates protein sorting and invagination of vesicles into multivesicular bodies. Nedd4.1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that binds to the PPPY motif through its WW motif, but its function is still unknown. In the present study, to investigate the mechanism of HTLV-1 budding in detail, we analyzed HTLV-1 budding using dominant negative (DN) forms of the class E proteins.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we report that DN forms of Vps4A, Vps4B, and AIP1 inhibit HTLV-1 budding.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that HTLV-1 budding utilizes the MVB pathway and that these class E proteins may be targets for prevention of mother-to-infant vertical transmission of the virus.</p
HARM: A Numerical Scheme for General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics
We describe a conservative, shock-capturing scheme for evolving the equations
of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics. The fluxes are calculated using
the Harten, Lax, and van Leer scheme. A variant of constrained transport,
proposed earlier by T\'oth, is used to maintain a divergence free magnetic
field. Only the covariant form of the metric in a coordinate basis is required
to specify the geometry. We describe code performance on a full suite of test
problems in both special and general relativity. On smooth flows we show that
it converges at second order. We conclude by showing some results from the
evolution of a magnetized torus near a rotating black hole.Comment: 38 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Ap
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