List of fastest rotating black holes

Below is a list of fastest rotating black holes measured in the dimensionless rotational parameter a.

Diagram showing how a black hole's structure changes as a approaches 1, as described by the Kerr metric.

Methodologies for spin measurements

Accreting black hole spins can be measured by observing the X-ray spectrum of the black hole and identifying spectral features caused by certain characteristics of the accretion disc. This can be used to determine the innermost stable circular orbit and hence the spin.^[1][2] Another method measures the radiative efficiency of the accretion disc.^[3]

List

Prograde rotation

List of fastest prograde rotating black holes

Black hole name	Spin	Inclination	Notes
SMBH in F2MS J0834+3506	0.993+0.005 −0.003[3]	62+8 −12°[3]
SMBH in S82X 0022+0020	0.989+0.009 −0.019[3]	48+2 −3°[3]
SWIFT J1753.5-0127	0.989+0.007 −0.035[4]	73±8°[4]
MAXI J1803-298	0.987+0.037 −0.007[4]	72+9 −6°[4]
XTE J1859+226	0.986+0.001 −0.004 – 0.987±0.003[5]	71.2+0.4 −0.8°[5]
SMBH in S82X 0043+0052	0.985±0.005[3]	53+7 −8°[3]
MAXI J0637-430	0.984+0.042 −0.012[4]	63+10 −9°[4]
SMBH in S82X 0011+0057	0.983±0.015[3]	52+8 −7°[3]
SMBH in F2MS J1540+4923	0.983+0.015 −0.021[3]	52+8 −7°[3]
GRS 1758-258	0.980+0.014 −0.058[4]	67+8 −13°[4]
MAXI J1535-571	0.979+0.049 −0.015[4]	44+19 −17°[4]
MAXI J1348-630	0.977+0.055 −0.017[4]	52+11 −8°[4]
GRS 1915+105	0.976+0.056 −0.018[4]	60+8 −8°[4]
GX 339-4	0.970+0.076 −0.026[4]	49+14 −14°[4]
GRS 1716-249	0.970+0.060 −0.022[4]	59+12 −7°[4]
GRS 1739-278	0.968+0.074 −0.022[4]	70+11 −5°[4]
MAXI J1820+070	0.967+0.061 −0.025[4]	64+9 −8°[4]
IGR J17091-3624	0.963+0.085 −0.027[4]	47+11 −10°[4]
MAXI J1727-203	0.962+0.414 −0.034[4]	65+14 −11°[4]
4U 1543-47	0.959+0.079 −0.031[4]	67+8 −7°[4]
EXO 1846-031	0.959+0.077 −0.031[4]	62+10 −9°[4]
SMBH in S82X 0242+0005	0.959+0.039 −0.069[3]	48+2 −3°[3]
MAXI J1631-479	0.951+0.077 −0.039[4]	22+12 −10°[4]
Swift J1658.2-4242	0.951+0.069 −0.031[4]	50+10 −9°[4]
Cygnus X-1	0.950+0.084 −0.04[4]	47+11 −9°[4]
H 1743-322	0.949+0.127 −0.039[4]	54+13 −12°[4]
SMBH in S82X 0302-0003	0.940+0.058 −0.112[3]	45°[3]
V404 Cygni	0.935+0.075 −0.037[4]	37+8 −9°[4]
IGR J17454-2919	0.932+0.363 −0.06[4]	54+14 −15°[4]
LMC X-3	0.928+0.146 −0.058[4]	38+13 −14°[4]
SMBH in SDSS J1209-0107	0.928+0.066 −0.124[3]	47+3 −2°[3]
SMBH in F2M J1531+2423	0.917+0.081 −0.159[3]	48+7 −3°[3]
SMBH in F2M J1715+2807	0.917+0.075 −0.139[3]	47+3 −2°[3]
AT 2019wey	0.906+0.202 −0.084[4]	14+10 −12°[4]
4U 1957+11	0.900+0.28 −0.08[4]	52+13 −12°[4]

See also

• List of most massive black holes
• Orders of magnitude (speed)

References

1. Reynolds, Christopher S. (29 November 2013). "The spin of supermassive black holes". Classical and Quantum Gravity. 30 (24). arXiv:1307.3246. Bibcode:2013CQGra..30x4004R. doi:10.1088/0264-9381/30/24/244004. ISSN 0264-9381.
2. Draghis, Paul A.; et al. (22 March 2023). "A Systematic View of Ten New Black Hole Spins". The Astrophysical Journal. 946 (1): 42. arXiv:2210.02479. Bibcode:2023ApJ...946...19D. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acafe7. ISSN 1538-4357.
3. Piotrovich, M. Yu.; Buliga, S. D.; Natsvlishvili, T. M. (6 October 2024). "Red Quasars: Estimation of SMBH Spin, Mass, and Accretion Disk Inclination Angle". Astronomische Nachrichten. 345 (8): 11. arXiv:2410.04851. Bibcode:2024AN....34540058P. doi:10.1002/asna.20240058.
4. Draghis, Paul A.; et al. (27 June 2024). "Systematically Revisiting All NuSTAR Spins of Black Holes in X-Ray Binaries". The Astrophysical Journal. 969 (1): 20. arXiv:2311.16225. Bibcode:2024ApJ...969...40D. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad43ea. ISSN 1538-4357.
5. Mall, Gitika; Liu, Honghui; Bambi, Cosimo; Steiner, James F.; García, Javier A. (20 December 2023). "Measuring black hole spins through X-ray reflection spectroscopy and the relativistic precession model: the case of XTE J1859+226". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 527 (4): 12053–12064. arXiv:2309.05018. Bibcode:2024MNRAS.52712053M. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3933.