The newborn black hole in GRB 191014C proves that it is alive

Abstract

A multi-decade theoretical effort has been devoted to finding an efficient mechanism to use the rotational and electrodynamical extractable energy of a Kerr-Newman black hole (BH), to power the most energetic astrophysical sources such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei. We show an efficient general relativistic electrodynamical process which occurs in the “inner engine” of a binary driven hypernova. The inner engine is composed of a rotating Kerr BH of mass M and dimensionless spin parameter α, a magnetic field of strength B0 aligned and parallel to the rotation axis, and a very low-density ionized plasma. Here, we show that the gravitomagnetic interaction between the BH and the magnetic field induces an electric field that accelerates electrons and protons from the environment to ultrarelativistic energies emitting synchrotron radiation. We show that in GRB 190114C the BH of mass M = 4.4 M⊙, α = 0.4, and B0 ≈ 4 × 1010 G can lead to a high-energy (≳GeV) luminosity of 1051 erg s−1. The inner engine parameters are determined by requiring (1) that the BH extractable energy explains the GeV and ultrahigh-energy emission energetics, (2) that the emitted photons are not subjected to magnetic-pair production, and (3) that the synchrotron radiation timescale agrees with the observed high-energy timescale. We find for GRB 190114C a clear jetted emission of GeV energies with a semi-aperture angle of approximately 60° with respect to the BH rotation axis.