• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.301-303
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• 2001

We suggest a possible scenario of an astrophysical black hole with non-vanishing electric charge and magnetic flux. The equilibrium charge on a rotating black hole in a force-free magnetosphere is calculated to be Q $\~$ BJ with a horizon flux of ${\~}BM^2$, which is not large enough to disturb the background Kerr geometry. Being similar to the electric charge of a magnetar, in sign and order of magnitude, both electric charge and magnetic flux are supposed to be continuous onto a black hole.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.215-224
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• 2001

We present the whole basis of numerical method and useful formulae for general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations in Kerr space-time.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2000

In the earlier papers we analyzed the axisymmetric, nonstationary electrodynamics of the central black hole and a surrounding thin accretion disk in an active galactic nucleus. In this paper we analyze the axisymmetric, nonstationary electrodynamics of the black hole magnetosphere in a similar way. In the earlier papers we employed the poloidal component of the plasma velocity which is confined only to the radial direction of the cylindrical coordinate system. In this paper we employ a more general poloidal velocity and get the Grad-Shafranov equation of the force-free magnetosphere of a Kerr black hole. The equation is consistent with the previous ones and is more general in many aspects as it should be. We also show in more general approaches that the angular velocity of the magnetic field lines anchored on the accreting matter tends to become close to that of the black hole at the equatorial zone of the hole.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.86.2-86.2
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• 2014

We present a new ray-tracing code, "Odyssey", for the Kerr spacetime accelerated by the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Taking advantage of the ability of nVidia graphic cards to evaluate trajectories of a large amount of photon simultaneously, the code is two orders of magnitude as fast as the previous CPU-based code corresponding to the speed of few nanoseconds per photon per time step. In the light of the Graphic User Interface (GUI) powered by the GPU-enhanced 2D/3D displaying technique, DirectX, it is feasible for users to manipulate diverse results such as rotating and zooming in/out the trajectories of photon instantly near the black hole. Thus the Odyssey can serve as a tool not only for scientific but also for the educational purpose. We discuss possible applications in detail in light of several results such as the shape of the silhouette of a black hole, the shape of a hot spot orbiting a black hole, and 3D photon trajectories.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.177-187
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• 2003

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are distant, powerful sources of radiation over the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma-rays. There is much evidence that they are driven by gravitational accretion of stars, dust, and gas, onto central massive black holes (MBHs) imprisoning anywhere from $\~$1 to $\~$10,000 million solar masses; such objects may naturally form in the centers of galaxies during their normal dynamical evolution. A small fraction of AGNs, of the radio-loud type (RLAGNs), are somehow able to generate powerful synchrotron-emitting structures (cores, jets, lobes) with sizes ranging from pc to Mpc. A brief summary of AGN observations and theories is given, with an emphasis on RLAGNs. Preliminary results from the imaging of 10000 extragalactic radio sources observed in the MITVLA snapshot survey, and from a new analytic theory of the time-variable power output from Kerr black hole magnetospheres, are presented. To better understand the complex physical processes within the central engines of AGNs, it is important to confront the observations with theories, from the viewpoint of analyzing the time-variable behaviours of AGNs - which have been recorded over both 'short' human ($10^0-10^9\;s$) and 'long' cosmic ($10^{13} - 10^{17}\;s$) timescales. Some key ingredients of a basic mathematical formalism are outlined, which may help in building detailed Monte-Carlo models of evolving AGN populations; such numerical calculations should be potentially important tools for useful interpretation of the large amounts of statistical data now publicly available for both AGNs and RLAGNs.