Schwarzschild black holes as unipolar inductors: expected electromagnetic power of a merger

Abstract

(Abridged) The motion of a Schwarzschild black hole with velocity $v_0 = \beta_0 c$ through a constant magnetic field $B_0$ in vacuum induces a component of the electric field along the magnetic field, generating a non-zero second Poincare electromagnetic invariant $ ^* F \cdot F \neq 0$. This will produce (e.g., via radiative effects and vacuum breakdown) an electric charge density of the order of $\rho_{\rm ind}= B_0 \beta_0 /(2 \pi e R_G)$, where $R_G = 2 G M/c^2$ is the Schwarzschild radius and $M$ is the mass of the black hole; the charge density $\rho_{\rm ind}$ is similar to the Goldreich-Julian density. The magnetospheres of moving black holes resemble in many respects the magnetospheres of rotationally-powered pulsars, with pair formation fronts and outer gaps, where the sign of the induced charge changes. As a result, the black hole will generate bipolar electromagnetic jets each consisting of two counter-aligned current flows (four current flows total), each carrying an electric current of the order $I \approx e B_0 R_G \beta_0$. The electromagnetic power of the jets is $L \approx (G M)^2 B_0^2 \beta_0^2/c^3$; for a particular case of merging black holes the resulting Poynting power is $ L \approx {(G M)^3 B_0^2 /(c^5 R)}$, where $R$ is the radius of the orbit. In addition, in limited regions near the horizon the first electromagnetic invariant changes sign, so that the induced electric field becomes larger than the magnetic field, $E>B$. The total energy loss from a system of merging BHs is a sum of two components with similar powers, one due to the rotation of space-time within the orbit, driven by the non-zero angular momentum in the system, and the other due to the linear motion of the BHs through the magnetic field.