Open AccessQuasars: a supermassive rotating toroidal black hole interpretation
Author(s) -
Spivey R. J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03593.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , quasar , supermassive black hole , accretion (finance) , black hole (networking) , event horizon , active galactic nucleus , supernova , galaxy , angular momentum , astronomy , classical mechanics , computer network , routing protocol , routing (electronic design automation) , computer science , link state routing protocol , event (particle physics)
A supermassive rotating toroidal black hole (TBH) is proposed as the fundamental structure of quasars and other jet‐producing active galactic nuclei. Rotating protogalaxies gather matter from the central gaseous region leading to the birth of massive toroidal stars, the internal nuclear reactions of which proceed very rapidly. Once the nuclear fuel is spent, gravitational collapse produces a slender ring‐shaped TBH remnant. Transitory electron and neutron degeneracy stabilized collapse phases, although possible, are unlikely owing to the large masses involved thus these events are typically the first supernovae of the host galaxies. Given time, the TBH mass increases through continued accretion by several orders of magnitude, the event horizon swells whilst the central aperture shrinks. The difference in angular velocities between the accreting matter and the TBH induces a magnetic field that is strongest in the region of the central aperture and innermost ergoregion. Owing to the presence of negative energy states when such a gravitational vortex is immersed in an electromagnetic field, circumstances are near ideal for energy extraction via non‐thermal radiation including the Penrose process and superradiant scattering. This establishes a self‐sustaining mechanism whereby the transport of angular momentum away from the quasar by relativistic bi‐directional jets reinforces both the modulating magnetic field and the TBH/accretion disc angular velocity differential. Continued mass‐capture by the TBH results in contraction of the central aperture until the TBH topology transitions to being spheroidal, extinguishing quasar behaviour. Similar mechanisms may be operating in microquasars, supernovae and sources of repeating gamma‐ray bursts when neutron density or black hole tori arise. Long‐term TBH stability seems to require either a negative cosmological constant, a non‐stationary space–time resulting from the presence of accreting matter or the intervention of quantum gravitational effects.