Harvesting energy driven by Comisso-Asenjo process from Kerr-MOG black holes

Abstract

Abstract Magnetic reconnection is a process that plays a critical role in plasma astrophysics by converting magnetic energy into plasma particle energy. Recently, Comisso and Asenjo demonstrated that rapid magnetic reconnection within a black hole's ergosphere can efficiently extract energy from a rotating black hole. In this paper, by considering a Kerr black hole in the MOdified gravity (MOG) framework, we investigate the impact of the MOG parameter α on the rotational energy extraction via the Comisso-Asenjo process (CAP). To model energy extraction from supermassive black holes located in the center of galaxies, we set the value of α within the range inferred from the recent observation of Sgr A* by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Our results indicate that the Kerr-MOG black hole is a more efficient host for CAP-based rotational energy extraction compared to the Kerr black hole, since it amplifies the power of energy extraction and efficiency of the plasma energization process. We show that, from the energy extraction viewpoint, the CAP is more efficient than the Blandford-Znajek process (BZP). The latter is another magnetic field-based energy extraction model which is widely believed to be an engine for powering the high-energy astrophysics jets emerging from the supermassive black holes at active galactic nuclei. In particular, we show that the ratio of the energy extraction power of CAP to BZP in the presence of the MOG parameter is greater than that of the Kerr black hole. Our results promise this phenomenological message that the MOG-induced correction on the Kerr black hole background plays an important role in favor of energy extraction via the CAP.