Superradiant instability for black holes immersed in a magnetic field

We consider the bound states of the massive scalar field around a rotating black hole immersed in the asymptotically uniform magnetic field. In the regime of slow black hole rotation, the Klein-Gordon equation allows separation of variables. We show that the growth rate of the instability can be amplified a few times by the magnetic field. The effect occurs because the magnetic field adds the effective mass term B vertical bar m vertical bar to the scalar field potential for a Kerr black hole. In addition, and as a by-product, we discuss the behavior of the quasinormal modes for the magnetized rotating black holes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.