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Title: Computational general relativistic force-free electrodynamics: I. Multi-coordinate implementation and testing

Abstract

General relativistic force-free electrodynamics is one possible plasma-limit employed to analyze energetic outflows in which strong magnetic fields are dominant over all inertial phenomena. The amazing images of black hole (BH) shadows from the Galactic Center and the M87 galaxy provide a first direct glimpse into the physics of accretion flows in the most extreme environments of the universe. The efficient extraction of energy in the form of collimated outflows or jets from a rotating BH is directly linked to the topology of the surrounding magnetic field. We aim at providing a tool to numerically model the dynamics of such fields in magnetospheres around compact objects, such as BHs and neutron stars. To do so, we probe their role in the formation of high energy phenomena such as magnetar flares and the highly variable teraelectronvolt emission of some active galactic nuclei. In this work, we present numerical strategies capable of modeling fully dynamical force-free magnetospheres of compact astrophysical objects. Here, we provide implementation details and extensive testing of our implementation of general relativistic force-free electrodynamics in Cartesian and spherical coordinates using the infrastructure of the EINSTEIN TOOLKIT. The employed hyperbolic/parabolic cleaning of numerical errors with full general relativistic compatibility allowsmore » for fast advection of numerical errors in dynamical spacetimes. Such fast advection of divergence errors significantly improves the stability of the general relativistic force-free electrodynamics modeling of BH magnetospheres.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. de Valencia (Spain)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1771866
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725; OAC-1550436; AST-1516150; PHY-1607520; PHY-1305730; PHY-1707946; PHY-1726215
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 647; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-6361
Publisher:
EDP Sciences
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; magnetic fields; methods: numerical; plasmas

Citation Formats

Mahlmann, Jens F., Aloy, Miguel A., Mewes, Vassilios, and Cerdá-Durán, Pablo. Computational general relativistic force-free electrodynamics: I. Multi-coordinate implementation and testing. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038907.
Mahlmann, Jens F., Aloy, Miguel A., Mewes, Vassilios, & Cerdá-Durán, Pablo. Computational general relativistic force-free electrodynamics: I. Multi-coordinate implementation and testing. United States. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038907
Mahlmann, Jens F., Aloy, Miguel A., Mewes, Vassilios, and Cerdá-Durán, Pablo. Mon . "Computational general relativistic force-free electrodynamics: I. Multi-coordinate implementation and testing". United States. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038907. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1771866.
@article{osti_1771866,
title = {Computational general relativistic force-free electrodynamics: I. Multi-coordinate implementation and testing},
author = {Mahlmann, Jens F. and Aloy, Miguel A. and Mewes, Vassilios and Cerdá-Durán, Pablo},
abstractNote = {General relativistic force-free electrodynamics is one possible plasma-limit employed to analyze energetic outflows in which strong magnetic fields are dominant over all inertial phenomena. The amazing images of black hole (BH) shadows from the Galactic Center and the M87 galaxy provide a first direct glimpse into the physics of accretion flows in the most extreme environments of the universe. The efficient extraction of energy in the form of collimated outflows or jets from a rotating BH is directly linked to the topology of the surrounding magnetic field. We aim at providing a tool to numerically model the dynamics of such fields in magnetospheres around compact objects, such as BHs and neutron stars. To do so, we probe their role in the formation of high energy phenomena such as magnetar flares and the highly variable teraelectronvolt emission of some active galactic nuclei. In this work, we present numerical strategies capable of modeling fully dynamical force-free magnetospheres of compact astrophysical objects. Here, we provide implementation details and extensive testing of our implementation of general relativistic force-free electrodynamics in Cartesian and spherical coordinates using the infrastructure of the EINSTEIN TOOLKIT. The employed hyperbolic/parabolic cleaning of numerical errors with full general relativistic compatibility allows for fast advection of numerical errors in dynamical spacetimes. Such fast advection of divergence errors significantly improves the stability of the general relativistic force-free electrodynamics modeling of BH magnetospheres.},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202038907},
journal = {Astronomy and Astrophysics},
number = 1,
volume = 647,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 08 00:00:00 EST 2021},
month = {Mon Mar 08 00:00:00 EST 2021}
}

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