Accretion and Ejection--The GR/MHD View

Abstract

The inward flow of matter through accretion disks is driven by MHD turbulence. Global general relativistic MHD simulations shed quantitative light on this process, revealing a number of aspects of accretion previously unrecognized. Among them are strong stresses in the marginally stable and plunging regions near the black hole and electromagnetically-dominated conical relativistic jets that can form spontaneously from the accretion flow. The energy release associated with both of these effects can significantly augment the classical energy-release estimates based on purely hydrodynamic models.