Penrose process in magnetized non-Kerr rotating spacetime with anomalous quadrupole moment

Abstract

We investigate the magnetic Penrose process in the Quevedo-Mashhoon spacetime, immersed in a uniform magnetic field $B$. This metric is a stationary, axisymmetric, asymptotically flat vacuum solution to Einstein's equations with an arbitrary anomalous quadrupole moment ${\cal Q}$. A non-vanishing ${\cal Q}$ significantly modifies the near-horizon geometry, creating a multi-lobe ergoregion. Both ${\cal Q}$ and $B$ strongly influence the negative-energy region, which can extend well beyond the ergoregion, enabling the magnetic Penrose process to operate far from the ergoregion. Their combined effects allow energy extraction efficiency $\eta$ to far exceed that of the mechanical Penrose process. The maximum efficiency undergoes three distinct evolutionary stages as ${\cal Q}$ varies. In the absence of the magnetic field, efficiency is optimized for more negative ${\cal Q}$ (yielding a more oblate spacetime than Kerr). When electromagnetic interactions dominate, efficiency peaks when the infalling fragment's charge and $B$ share the same sign and ${\cal Q}$ is more positive (producing a more prolate spacetime than Kerr). These findings support the magnetic Penrose process as a theoretical framework for high-energy cosmic phenomena (e.g., extragalactic high-energy radiation) and as a tool to test the Kerr hypothesis.