June 3, 2023

Black holes with magnetic field ‘hair’ shed it in loops of hot plasma

Black holes with magnetic field ‘hair’ shed it in loops of hot plasma
Black holes with magnetic field ‘hair’ shed it in loops of hot plasmaBlack holes with magnetic field ‘hair’ shed it in loops of hot plasma
Black holes follow the no hair theorem

Black holes follow the no-hair theorem

Bransgrove A., et al./American Physical Society

Black holes with “hair” will quickly go bald. A key theoretical prediction about black holes called the no-hair theorem states that an isolated black hole can be described by just three numbers – its mass, spin and charge – and any other properties, or “hair”, are irrelevant. Now, a set of detailed simulations has shown how black holes can shed a magnetic field to comply with the no-hair theorem.

When a black hole forms from a magnetised star, it is born with a magnetic field. How …