Particle acceleration driven by null electromagnetic fields near a Kerr black hole

Abstract

Short timescale variability is often associated with a black hole system. The consequence of an electromagnetic outflow suddenly generated near a Kerr black hole is considered assuming that it is described by a solution of a force-free field with a null electric current. We compute charged particle acceleration induced by the burst field. The interaction between the particle and the field is characterized by a large dimensionless number. We show that the particle is instantaneously accelerated to the relativistic regime by the field with a very large amplitude. The typical maximum energy attained by a proton for an event near a super massive black hole is $E_{\rm max} \sim 100$ TeV, which is enough observed high-energy flares.