Black Hole Spin Evolution in Magnetized Accretion Flows

Abstract

Black hole (BH) spin grows as accretion supplies angular momentum and decreases as magnetically driven jets remove it, driving the BH toward an equilibrium spin, $a_{\rm \star; eq}$. Existing estimates of $a_{\rm \star; eq}$ rely on general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations with fixed BH mass and spin, and cover only the extreme limits of horizon magnetic flux $ϕ\rightarrow0$ and magnetically arrested disks (MADs), $ϕ\approxϕ_{\rm MAD}$. We evolve the BH mass and spin in long 3D GRMHD simulations of radiatively inefficient accretion flows aligned or anti-aligned with the BH spin. We find the spin-up parameter as a function of BH spin and $ϕ/ϕ_{\rm MAD}$, and derive the equilibrium spin as a continuous function of flux, $a_{\rm \star; eq}(ϕ/ϕ_{\rm MAD})$. The equilibrium spin falls steeply with flux, from $a_{\rm \star; eq}\approx0.9$ in weakly magnetized flows through $a_{\rm \star; eq}(ϕ/ϕ_{\rm MAD}=0.5)\approx0.5$ to $a_{\rm \star; eq}(ϕ/ϕ_{\rm MAD}=1)\approx0.06$ in sustained MADs. In weakly magnetized flows, a slowly spinning BH must accrete at least its initial mass to reach equilibrium, whereas MADs spin down rapidly rotating BHs after accreting less than half of it. However, as the BH grows, the growing gravitational radius and enhanced inflow reduce $ϕ/ϕ_{\rm MAD}$, driving disks whose magnetic-flux supply cannot keep pace out of the MAD state and allowing the BH to transition from spin-down to spin-up. The final spin thus depends on both the magnetic flux history and the accreted mass. We discuss implications for a variety of BH-powered engines and provide a subgrid prescription for galaxy-scale simulations and population studies.