The Astrophysics of Spinning Black Holes

AST 0205990黑洞是造成当前宇宙中一些最引人注目的现象的原因。 此外，黑洞周围的环境是一个自然发生的实验室，许多奇异的物理过程将在其中发生，并可以进行研究。一些最有趣的现象与由于黑洞旋转而引起的空间和时间的“扭曲”和“拖曳”有关。 该项目将对旋转黑洞对其天体物理环境的影响进行理论探索。 这是一项非常及时的研究，因为现代X射线望远镜已经开始观察到这种效应。理论表明，磁场对与黑洞旋转相关的现象至关重要。 在过去工作的指导下，雷诺兹博士和他的合作者将把调查分为三个部分。 1)对黑洞附近的气流（包括磁场）进行计算机模拟。2)利用简化的假设和近似方法研究了非常接近黑洞区域中磁环的复杂行为。 3)计算预测，可以直接通过XMM-牛顿X射线天文台的当前和未来观测进行检验。

AST 0205990ReynoldsBlack holes are responsible for some of the most dramatic phenomena seen in the current universe. Furthermore, the environment immediately around a black hole is a naturally occurring laboratory in which many exotic physical processes will occur and can be studied. Some of the most interesting phenomena are associated with the "twisting" and "dragging" of space and time due to the rotation of the black hole. This project will conduct a theoretical exploration of the effect that a spinning black hole will have on its astrophysical surroundings. This is an extremely timely study since modern X-ray telescopes are already starting to observe such effects.Theory suggests that magnetic fields will be crucial for the phenomena associated with black hole spin. Guided by past work, Dr. Reynolds and his collaborators will split the investigation into three parts. 1) Conducting computer simulations of the gaseous flows (including the magnetic fields) in the vicinity of a black hole. 2) Employing simplifying assumptions and approximations to study the complex behavior of magnetic loops in the region very close to the black hole. 3) Computing predictions that can be directly tested by current and future observations with the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory.***