# Extracting energy from black holes: the relative importance of the Blandford-Znajek mechanism

## 1. Introduction

Blandford & Znajek (1977) demonstrated an interesting process by which the spin energy of a black hole might be extracted by magnetic fields supported by a surrounding accretion disk. Over the last twenty years this process has assumed prime importance as being widely believed to be the major mechanism that powers radio jets in active galactic nuclei (e.g. Begelman, Blandford, & Rees 1984; Rees, Begelman, Blandford, & Phinney 1982; Blandford 1991, 1993; Rawlings & Saunders 1991, Wilson & Colbert 1995; Moderski & Sikora 1996a), and elsewhere (Paczyński 1998). Recently, however, Ghosh & Abramowicz (1997) have called into question the concept that the Blandford-Znajek process can provide the primary power output from an accretion disk-fed black hole, and have argued that the strength of the magnetic field threading the black-hole horizon has been widely overestimated. In this paper, we take the critical assessment of Ghosh & Abramowicz (1997) a step further. We put forward the case that (a) even if the Blandford-Znajek mechanism is operating, its power output is, in general, dominated by the electromagnetic power output of the inner regions of the disk, and (b) for a standard, thin accretion disk the dominant power output is that due to viscous heating in the disk itself.

## 2. Electromagnetic/wind and disk power outputs

We here consider the mechanisms by which a poloidal magnetic field threading the disk or the hole can manage to extract energy from the disk or hole. This energy can be extracted in the form of Poynting flux (i.e. purely electromagnetic energy) or in the form of a magnetically driven material wind. With this in mind, we keep the discussion fairly general.

### 2.1. Output from the hole: the Blandford-Znajek mechanism

Blandford & Znajek (1977) showed that if a spinning black hole is threaded by an externally generated magnetic field, then spin energy can be extracted from the hole. The mechanism can be understood in terms of a simple electromagnetic analogy (e.g. Thorne, Price, & MacDonald 1986), according to which the black hole acts as if it has a magnetic diffusivity, $`\eta _\mathrm{h}`$, which is such that the decay time-scale for a field on the scale $`R_\mathrm{h}`$ of the hole, $`t_{\mathrm{decay}}R_\mathrm{h}^2/\eta _\mathrm{h}`$, is approximately equal to the light crossing time $`R_\mathrm{h}/c`$. This implies that the black hole acts as if it has an effective diffusivity given by

$$\eta _\mathrm{h}R_\mathrm{h}c.$$
(1)   
Then, if the hole is threaded by a poloidal field of magnitude $`B_{\mathrm{ph}}`$, and the hole is spinning with angular velocity $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}`$, the maximum toroidal field that can be generated at the horizon is

$$B_{\varphi \mathrm{h}}(\mathrm{max})\left(\frac{R_\mathrm{h}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}}{c}\right)B_{\mathrm{ph}}.$$
(2)   
The rate at which work is done by the hole on the external medium is given by

$$L_{\mathrm{BZ}}\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{ph}}B_{\varphi \mathrm{h}}}{4\pi }\right)(R_\mathrm{h}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h})\pi R_\mathrm{h}^2.$$
(3)   
Thus the maximal rate at which energy can be generated, which is usually taken to be the Blandford-Znajek luminosity, is the rate corresponding to when $`B_{\varphi \mathrm{h}}`$ is maximal, and is given by

$$L_{\mathrm{BZ}}(\mathrm{max})\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{ph}}^2}{4\pi }\right)\pi R_\mathrm{h}^2\left(\frac{R_\mathrm{h}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}}{c}\right)^2c.$$
(4)   
Whether or not such a maximal rate can be achieved in reality depends crucially on how the field lines are loaded with material, that is in effect on how much inertia they have. This is often discussed in terms of ‘impedance matching’ between the resistance of the hole and the material surrounding the hole (e.g. MacDonald & Thorne 1982; Thorne, Price, & MacDonald 1986).

The above analysis was carried out under the assumption (Blandford & Znajek 1977) that the far ends of the field lines threading the hole are tethered somewhere at large distance in a medium with zero angular velocity. If, instead, the field lines were tethered in the disk, with angular velocity $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}`$, then the above formula for $`L_{\mathrm{BZ}}(\mathrm{max})`$ would still be valid provided that $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}^2`$ is replaced by $`4\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}(\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d})`$ (MacDonald & Thorne 1982; Ghosh & Abramowicz 1997). In this case the energy cannot be going into a jet, but is, if $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}>\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}`$, being used to spin up the material in the disk at the other end of the field line. Conversely, if $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}<\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}`$, the hole is being spun up by the disk (Moderski & Sikora 1996b). It may be that in reality the hole is threaded by a mixture of open field lines, which give rise to a wind or jet, and closed field lines, which are attached to the inner disk and which transfer rotational kinetic energy of the hole to rotational kinetic energy of the disk in a process exactly analogous to that occurring in the magnetosphere of a rapid rotator (Ghosh & Lamb 1978; Livio & Pringle 1992).

### 2.2. Electromagnetic output from the disk

By similar considerations to those presented in the previous section it is evident that the electromagnetic/wind output from the disk can be written in the form

$$L_\mathrm{d}\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{pd}}B_{\varphi \mathrm{d}}}{4\pi }\right)(\pi R_\mathrm{d}^2)R_\mathrm{d}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}.$$
(5)   
Here $`B_{\mathrm{pd}}`$ and $`B_{\varphi \mathrm{d}}`$ are the poloidal and toroidal components, respectively, of the field at the disk surface, and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}`$ is the angular velocity in the disk at a relevant radius, $`R_\mathrm{d}`$. Since we are interested in the radii where most of the disk energy is available we shall take $`R_\mathrm{d}`$ to be a radius close to the inner disk edge, within which, say, half of the accretion luminosity is emitted. Thus we may take $`R_\mathrm{d}`$ to be a factor of a few times larger than $`R_\mathrm{h}`$.

Because the disk has a much higher conductivity than the hole, the maximal value of $`B_{\varphi \mathrm{d}}`$ is of the same order of magnitude as $`B_{\mathrm{pd}}`$ (cf. Livio & Pringle 1992). In fact $`B_{\varphi \mathrm{d}}`$ would reach a much higher value if it were limited only by the magnetic diffusivity (e.g. Campbell 1987); the limit here arises from the instability (or reconnection) of a predominantly toroidal field (e.g. Biskamp 1993). As above, whether or not such a value of $`B_{\varphi \mathrm{d}}`$ can be achieved depends on how mass is loaded on to the poloidal field lines. Thus the maximal disk wind luminosity is

$$L_\mathrm{d}(\mathrm{max})\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{pd}}^2}{4\pi }\right)\pi R_\mathrm{d}^2\left(\frac{R_\mathrm{d}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}}{c}\right)c.$$
(6)   
### 2.3. Comparison of electromagnetic disk and hole outputs

From the above analysis we may now compare the relative outputs from the disk and the hole. From equations (4) and (6), we see that

$$\frac{L_{\mathrm{BZ}}(\mathrm{max})}{L_\mathrm{d}(\mathrm{max})}\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{ph}}}{B_{\mathrm{pd}}}\right)^2\left(\frac{R_\mathrm{h}}{R_\mathrm{d}}\right)^2\left(\frac{c}{R_\mathrm{d}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}}\right)a^2,$$
(7)   
where $`aR_\mathrm{h}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{h}/c`$ is the dimensionless spin parameter of the hole ($`0<a<1`$). Writing approximately that $`(R_\mathrm{d}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}/c)(R_\mathrm{h}/R_\mathrm{d})^{1/2}`$ , we find that

$$\frac{L_{\mathrm{BZ}}(\mathrm{max})}{L_\mathrm{d}(\mathrm{max})}\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{ph}}}{B_{\mathrm{pd}}}\right)^2\left(\frac{R_\mathrm{h}}{R_\mathrm{d}}\right)^{3/2}a^2.$$
(8)   
Since $`a^2<1`$ and $`R_\mathrm{d}`$ is a factor of a few times $`R_\mathrm{h}`$, it is evident that unless $`B_{\mathrm{ph}}`$ is significantly larger than $`B_{\mathrm{pd}}`$ the electromagnetic/wind luminosity extracted from the hole by the Blandford-Znajek mechanism is less than, or at best comparable to, the electromagnetic/wind luminosity extracted by similar electromagnetic considerations from the disk.

## 3. The poloidal magnetic field

In the original paper by Blandford & Znajek (1977), it was acknowledged that if the poloidal fields threading the inner disk and the hole were comparable then the Poynting flux from even a maximally spinning black hole would be only a fraction of the comparable flux from the disk. Since then, however, the concept of a ‘fiducial’ field accumulated steadily on the hole by a net influx of magnetic field dragged inwards by the accretion flow has been introduced (e.g. Begelman, Blandford, & Rees 1984; Thorne, Price, & MacDonald 1986; Blandford 1993). The ‘fiducial’ field is estimated by assuming that the hole is accreting at the Eddington limit, that matter is falling freely radially inwards, and that the resulting kinetic energy density of the material is equal to the local magnetic energy density. This ‘fiducial’ field should be regarded as a severe upper limit to the field threading the hole, since a field of such magnitude would be able to terminate, or significantly restrict, the radial accretion. Nevertheless, on the basis of the fiducial field, large luminosities have been claimed for the Blandford-Znajek mechanism to the extent that it is now widely regarded as a sine qua non for jet formation in active galactic nuclei. The history of the various estimates of the poloidal field threading the hole has been recently documented by Ghosh & Abramowicz (1997), and we do not intend to repeat all the arguments here. We shall however need to touch upon some of the salient points.

In order to build up a poloidal field on the hole that substantially exceeds the poloidal field threading the inner disk two physical processes must be able to occur. First, the disk must be able to transport poloidal field radially inwards. And second, such a field through the hole must be maintainable at the inner edge of the disk. The second process has been addressed at length by Ghosh & Abramowicz (1997). They argue simply that, because any poloidal field threading the hole acts back to repel any poloidal field being inwardly advected by the disk, the strength of the field threading the hole cannot be much higher than the strength of the field threading the inner disk. This argument is strengthened by the realization that the currents that generate the field threading the hole must be situated in the disk rather than in the hole, and thus that the field through the hole is just a continuation of the field through the disk (see also Ghosh & Abramowicz 1997).

In the remainder of this section, we discuss whether these two processes can occur in a standard, thin accretion disk.

### 3.1. Advection of poloidal field: standard accretion disk

There is a considerable literature on the launching of electromagnetically driven jets/winds from the surface of an accretion disk, under the assumption that the disk is threaded by a suitably configured poloidal field (e.g. Blandford & Payne 1982; Königl 1989; Pelletier & Pudritz 1992), but little discussion of how the field configuration was set up in the first place. The hope appears to be that a general external poloidal field will be advected inwards by the accretion flow in the disk. However, it has been demonstrated that in a standard viscously driven accretion disk, unless the ratio of magnetic diffusivity to viscosity (the inverse magnetic Prandtl number) in the disk is very small (comparable to $`H/R`$), such inward advection of field does not take place (Lubow, Papaloizou, & Pringle 1994a; Reyes-Ruiz & Stepinski 1996; Heyvaerts, Priest, & Bardou 1996). It is important to note, however, that in a disk in which the angular momentum transport is mainly due to the effects of self-sustaining hydromagnetic turbulence (Balbus & Hawley 1991; Hawley, Gammie, & Balbus 1995, 1996; Stone, Hawley, Gammie & Balbus 1996; Brandenburg, Nordlund, Stein, & Torkelsson 1995), the magnetic Prandtl number is likely to be of order unity (Parker 1971; Pouquet, Frisch & Léorat 1976; Zel’dovich, Ruzmaikin, & Sokoloff 1983; Canuto & Battaglia 1988). Thus, if the disk surrounding the black hole is at any radius a standard accretion disk in which the dominant mode of angular momentum loss is by viscous transport within the disk, poloidal magnetic flux cannot be simply advected inwards from infinity.

### 3.2. Strength of the poloidal field: standard accretion disk

Under the assumption that the inflow of material to the black hole is from a standard Shakura & Sunyaev (1973) accretion disk, we now consider the likely strength of the poloidal field in the inner regions. Ghosh & Abramowicz (1997), while noting that the usual assumption is that the field strength is given by equating the magnetic pressure $`P_{\mathrm{mag}}`$ to the maximum pressure in the disk, $`P_\mathrm{d}`$ (e.g. Moderski & Sikora 1996b), draw attention to the fact that the relevant field is the one produced by dynamo processes in the disk, and that current numerical simulations indicate that the limiting value of this field $`B_{\mathrm{dynamo}}`$ is such the the magnetic pressure $`P_{\mathrm{mag}}`$ is only a small fraction of the gas pressure in the disk. Using this estimate for the field strength, coupled with the argument that the field threading the hole cannot greatly exceed this, enables them to conclude that the power of the Blandford-Znajek process has been seriously overestimated. However, it should also be noted that a magnetic dynamo mechanism in an accretion disk will tend to produce magnetic field primarily on scales of the order of the disk thickness, $`H`$, whereas in the computations in the Ghosh & Abramowicz paper they make the assumption (inspired by the fact that in the boxes used in magnetic dynamo simulations $`H/R1`$; see their Figure 1) that the fields so produced have typical length-scales of order $`R_\mathrm{d}`$. Indeed, in the solution they present for computing the field threading the hole, they make the assumption that the field threading the disk has a configuration such that $`B_R/B_z=7/3`$. However, if, as they assume, this is indeed an accretion disk with magnetic Prandtl number of order unity, then $`B_R/B_z`$ should not exceed a value of order $`H/R`$ (Lubow et al. 1994a). We emphasize that it is important to make the distinction between the mean (large-scale) field and the rms (small-scale) fields.

In reality, it seems likely that a dynamo mechanism in an accretion disk might be able to give rise to more global fields with typical length-scales larger than $`H`$, but the processes by which it can do so are as yet largely unexplored in numerical simulations (see, however, Armitage 1998). The reason for this is that the simulations have so far been limited to a small element of the disk, and are incapable of considering the disk as a global entity. Tout & Pringle (1996) have suggested that outside the main body of the disk, the internal dynamo might be able to produce magnetic loops mainly on scales of order $`H`$, which could then interact by differential rotation and reconnection to produce an inverse cascade to larger length-scales (see also Romanova et al. 1998). For the particular idealized case which they considered, they found that $`B(\lambda )\lambda ^1`$, where $`B(\lambda )`$ is the flux density at scales of $`\lambda `$ or greater. A similar scaling might be expected from any dynamo process operating through an inverse cascade. In this case, we would expect the size of the large-scale field threading the disk, $`B_{\mathrm{pd}}`$, to be given approximately by

$$B_{\mathrm{pd}}\left(\frac{H}{R_\mathrm{d}}\right)B_{\mathrm{dynamo}}.$$
(9)   
Noting that the energy dissipated in the disk by the dynamo mechanism is given approximately by

$$L_{\mathrm{acc}}\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{dynamo}}^2}{4\pi }\right)(2\pi R_\mathrm{d}2H)(R_\mathrm{d}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}),$$
(10)   
where the first term in parentheses represents the magnetic stress in the disk, we see that the ratio of the maximal electromagnetic flux from the disk (eq. ) to the energy generated in the disk is approximately

$$\frac{L_\mathrm{d}(\mathrm{max})}{L_{\mathrm{acc}}}\left(\frac{R_\mathrm{d}}{H}\right)\left(\frac{B_{\mathrm{pd}}}{B_{\mathrm{dynamo}}}\right)^2,$$
(11)   
which, using the above estimate, gives

$$\frac{L_\mathrm{d}(\mathrm{max})}{L_{\mathrm{acc}}}\frac{H}{R_\mathrm{d}}.$$
(12)   
This estimate is consistent with the observations of jets and winds produced from a variety of objects (e.g. Pringle 1993; Livio 1997). Equation (9) therefore indicates that in the case of a standard disk even the calculation of Ghosh & Abramowicz (1997) overestimates the power of the Blandford-Znajek process.

## 4. Discussion

We have seen from the above that in order for the Blandford-Znajek mechanism to dominate the power output it is necessary for the magnetic flux on open field lines threading the black hole to greatly exceed the magnetic flux on open field lines threading the inner regions of the disk. We have also seen that, if the flow surrounding the black hole is that of a standard accretion disk, this does not come about. We now consider two cases of accretion flow, which are not standard thin accretion disks, in which inward advection of poloidal field is more likely to occur.

### 4.1. Advection-dominated accretion flows

In an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF), the basic idea is that energy released in the accretion process is not radiated locally but is, rather, retained by the fluid as internal energy and advected into the hole (see, for example, Narayan & Yi 1995; and the review by Svensson 1998). As far as the present discussion is concerned, the major difference between this kind of accretion flow and the standard disk is that the disk is geometrically thick in the sense that $`HR`$. The accretion is driven by viscous processes with $`\alpha 1`$, and hence with $`v_Rv_\varphi `$. What this implies (see Section 3.2) is that the inward flow velocity is comparable in magnitude to the outward diffusion velocity for a poloidal field threading the disk. This means that there could in principle be some non-negligible radial advection of poloidal flux. While it might be possible to set up a steady configuration in which inward advection of poloidal flux is balanced at each radius by outward diffusion, there is no reason to expect that the field threading the hole (which is in any case generated by currents in the disk) can significantly exceed the field threading the inner disk.

### 4.2. Non-standard angular momentum loss

It is evident that if we wish to produce significant advection of poloidal flux to the inner disk regions it is necessary to ensure that the radial inflow velocity in the disk exceeds the radial diffusive outflow rate of poloidal field. Since this cannot be done using a standard disk in which the inflow is due to outward diffusion of angular momentum through the disk, it follows that we need to look for other mechanisms for outward transport of angular momentum.

#### 4.2.1 Gravitational torques

It the disk is self-gravitating, as is thought to occur in the early stages of protostellar disks, and in the outer regions of disks around galactic nuclei, then non-axisymmetric instabilities can give rise to significant outward transport of angular momentum (Paczyński 1978; Boss 1984; Anthony & Carlberg 1988; Lin & Pringle 1987, 1990; Sellwood & Lin 1989; Laughlin, Korchagin, & Adams 1997). Since such a process is not driven by hydromagnetic instabilities it is conceivable that the magnetic Prandtl number might be quite different from unity, and that significant inward transport of poloidal field might be able to take place. Although the inner regions of disks around black holes either in AGN or in Galactic binaries are not usually considered to be self-gravitating, there might be an interesting exception here if one considers the disk generated in the dynamical disruption of a neutron star by a black hole, which occurs in some models for $`\gamma `$-ray bursts (Rasio 1996; Mészáros & Rees 1997; Paczyński 1998).

#### 4.2.2 Inflow driven by magnetic winds

It has been argued by a number of authors (e.g. Blandford & Payne 1982; Pudritz & Norman 1986; Königl 1989; Pelletier & Pudritz 1992; Lovelace, Romanova, & Contopolous 1993) that a magnetically driven disk wind might be the main mechanism by which excess angular momentum is removed from disk material, and so might be the main mechanism that drives an accretion disk. Here again the inflow velocity can in principle significantly exceed any outward diffusion rate for poloidal field, especially if the poloidal field is strong enough to suppress the Balbus-Hawley instability. If such a mechanism were able to give rise to a steady state, it would be necessary to appeal to some process (such as the interchange instability; Spruit & Taam 1990; Lubow & Spruit 1995; Spruit, Stehle, & Papaloizou 1995) that counterbalances the steady inward dragging of poloidal field and allows outward diffusion of field to occur. Thus, as in Section 4.2.1, it is envisaged that a steady poloidal field configuration is set up, with inward advection and outward diffusion producing a balance and a steady gradient in the poloidal field. However, for the reasons discussed above, there is no reason to expect such physical processes to give rise to a poloidal field threading the hole that is significantly enhanced over the poloidal field threading the inner disk.

In addition, the idea that such a steady balance can be set up at all has been brought into question (Lovelace, Romanova, & Newman 1994; Lubow, Papaloizou, & Pringle 1994b; Agapitou & Papaloizou 1998). The main point here is that the process of wind removal of angular momentum occurs locally and directly at each radius in the disk. An annulus in the disk which succeeds in getting rid of angular momentum to a wind does not require the presence of neighbouring annuli to do so. Thus different annuli which manage to dispose of their angular momentum in this way are to some extent independent dynamical entities. Furthermore, efficient removal of angular momentum from a particular annulus leads to inward movement, outward bending of poloidal field lines, and consequently enhanced wind outflow, enhanced removal of angular momentum, and further inflow (Lubow, Papaloizou, & Pringle 1994b). (This instability may be tempered by the fact that strong bending of field lines impedes an outflow by making the disk sub-Keplerian; Ogilvie & Livio 1998.) However, even if such unstable wind driven accretion occurs (and at least in the disks in cataclysmic variables there is evidence that it does not, Livio 1997), there is no particular reason to suppose that at any stage the strength of the poloidal field threading the hole is significantly greater that the strength of the poloidal field threading the inner disk, except possibly for brief dynamical interludes. Thus, here again, it seems difficult to set up a credible picture in which electromagnetic extraction of spin energy from the hole dominates in a steady, or even a time-averaged sense, over electromagnetic extraction of spin energy from the disk material.

## 5. Conclusions

Blandford & Znajek (1977) noted that if the poloidal magnetic field threading the black hole is comparable in strength to the poloidal field threading the inner parts of the accretion disk, then the black hole’s contribution to the electromagnetic output (that is, the output due to the Blandford-Znajek effect) is likely to be ignorable. We have argued here that it is hard to conceive of a situation in which the magnetic field threading the hole is significantly stronger than the field threading the inner disk. This comes about for two main reasons. First, the currents which generate the field must, of necessity, be in the disk, and not in the hole; and second, the hole is (in effect) a very poor conductor, compared to the surrounding disk material. We conclude, therefore, that independent of the spin of the black hole, the electromagnetic output of the disk (in the form of Poynting flux or magnetically driven wind) dominates that from the hole.

In addition, we have argued that the poloidal field strengths in the centers of standard accretion disks (e.g. Moderski & Sikora 1996b; Ghosh & Abramowicz 1997) have been overestimated in the literature. We have pointed, however, to some accretion scenarios in which the poloidal field strength could be significantly enhanced with respect to the standard disk picture.

## Acknowledgments

This work was started at the programme on ‘The Dynamics of Astrophysical Discs’ held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge. We thank Ralph Pudritz, Pranab Ghosh and Martin Rees for useful discussions. GIO and JEP thank the Space Telescope Science Institute for hospitality. ML acknowledges support from NASA Grant NAG5-6857.