Particle orbits around black holes

• Grant number: 16/16883-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2016
• End date: October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Physics of Fluids, Plasma Physics and Electrical Discharge
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Nemmen da Silva
• Grantee: Artur Vemado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Black hole accretion is the engine of the most energetic and extreme phenomena in the universe (e.g. AGNs, GRBs). Radio and X-ray telescopes are allowing us to observationally probe the strong gravity near the event horizon and test general relativistic models of accretion and outflows. In order to understand such observations, it is imperative to properly understand the dynamics of gas around black holes. In this project, we will model the orbits of test particles around Kerr black holes. We will adopt simple, pseudo-Newtonian approximations which will later be incorporated into MHD numerical simulations of black hole accretion. We will also compare the differences between purely Newtonian orbits and orbits calculated with the pseudo-Newtonian formalism and full general relativity for both Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes.