The Association of Jet Production with Geometrically Thick Accretion Flows and Black Hole Rotation

A model is presented in which the strongest radio-emitting jet outflows are produced in black hole systems when the accretion is a geometrically thick (H/R ∼ 1) inflow (e.g., ADAF, CDAF) and if the black hole is rotating. For galactic black hole candidates, the model naturally accounts for the observed correlation of jet outflow with the black hole hard emission state and predicts an association of strong jets with rapid black hole rotation. When extended to the supermassive case, the model accounts for the highest radio galaxy and quasar jet powers and provides additional theoretical support for the “spin paradigm”, which asserts that radio loud quasars are produced by Kerr holes and radio quiet ones by Schwarzschild holes. In some cases, the angular momentum and energy outflow in the jet may be large enough to significantly alter the structure of the accretion flow from that predicted by current models. Subject headings: black hole physics — galaxies: jets — galaxies: nuclei — hydrodynamics — MHD — quasars: general — radio continuum: galaxies — relativity