Equatorial circular orbits in the Kerr–de Sitter spacetimes

Equatorial motion of test particles in Kerr–de Sitter spacetimes is considered. Circular orbits are determined, their properties are discussed for both black-hole and naked-singularity spacetimes, and their relevance for thin accretion disks is established. The circular orbits constitute two families that coalesce at the so-called static radius. The orientation of the motion along the circular orbits is, in accordance with case of asymptotically flat Kerr spacetimes, defined by relating the motion to the locally nonrotating frames. The minus-family orbits are all counterrotating, while the plus-family orbits are usually corotating relative to these frames. However, the plus-family orbits become counterrotating in the vicinity of the static radius in all Kerr–de Sitter spacetimes, and they become counterrotating in the vicinity of the ring singularity in Kerr–de Sitter naked-singularity spacetimes with a low enough rotational parameter. In such spacetimes, the efficiency of the conversion of the rest energy into heat energy in the geometrically thin plus-family accretion disks can reach extremely high values exceeding the efficiency of the annihilation process. The transformation of a Kerr–de Sitter naked singularity into an extreme black hole due to accretion in the thin disks is briefly discussed for both the plus-family and minus-family disks. It is shown that such a conversion leads to an abrupt instability of the innermost parts of the plus-family accretion disks that can have strong observational consequences.