Spin angular momentum of black hole

AI Thread Summary
Measuring the spin angular momentum of a black hole involves analyzing the proximity of the inner edge of the accretion disk to the event horizon, specifically the marginally stable orbit. For static black holes, this orbit is defined as 6Gm/c^2, while for rotating black holes, it varies based on the spin parameter, which ranges from 0 to 1. The angular momentum can be calculated using the formula J = jGm^2/c, where j represents the spin parameter. Additionally, the event horizon's radius is affected by rotation, complicating the measurement process. Other methods to determine spin include observing frame-dragging effects and the redshift/blueshift of surrounding matter.
spidey
Messages
213
Reaction score
0
how to measure the spin angular momentum of black hole..is there any specific formula for black hole Or the usual J=mvr is used...if so,what does r stand for? Is r the radius of black hole Or the distance from the center to the event horizon?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
As no-one has answered this question, I'll give it a go.

As you've realized, establishing angular momentum for a black hole is quite tricky. One way is to take a look at the proximity of the inner edge of the accretion disk (sometimes referred to as the marginally stable orbit) with the event horizon. For a static black hole, the MS orbit is quantified as 6Gm/c^2 (while the event horizon is 2Gm/c^2). For a rotating black hole the equation for the MS orbit is more complex but based on the spin parameter (a unitless quantity between 0 and 1, 0 being a static black hole and 1 being an extreme Kerr black hole), 0 would put the MS orbit at 6Gm/c^2 and 1 would put it at the event horizon. The mass of a black hole is relatively easy to establish, so if we have established the mass and we look at the proximity of the marginally stable orbit to the event horizon, based on where it should be if the black hole was static, we can make a reasonably accurate guess at the spin parameter (sometimes expressed as a, sometimes as j), if we say the spin parameter is 0.8, we can use the following equation to establish angular momentum-

j=\frac{Jc}{Gm^2}

which becomes

J=\frac{jGm^2}{c}

where j is the spin parameter between 0 and 1, J is the angular momentum in Nms, c is the speed of light in m/s, G is the gravitational constant and m is mass

Based on a 10 sol mass black hole with a spin parameter of 0.8, the angular momentum would be 7.0454x10^43 Nms.

It's also worth noting that the event horizon of a black hole also reduces due to rotation (though not to the same extent as the MS orbit) so it might be a process of trial and error before the correct spin parameter is established. The equation for the outer event horizon is-

R_+=M+\sqrt{M^2-a^2}

where R+ is the outer event horizon, M is the gravitational radius (M=Gm/c^2) and a is the spin parameter in metres (a=J/mc).

There are also be other ways of establishing spin, such as looking for frame-dragging effects and studying the redshift/blueshift of matter as it rotates around the black hole.
 
Last edited:
Is a homemade radio telescope realistic? There seems to be a confluence of multiple technologies that makes the situation better than when I was a wee lad: software-defined radio (SDR), the easy availability of satellite dishes, surveillance drives, and fast CPUs. Let's take a step back - it is trivial to see the sun in radio. An old analog TV, a set of "rabbit ears" antenna, and you're good to go. Point the antenna at the sun (i.e. the ears are perpendicular to it) and there is...
This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
Back
Top