Thorne spin limit ($a_{\ast }\simeq 0.998$)

The Thorne spin limit is the equilibrium spin produced by competition between coherent thin-disc matter accretion and capture of disc photons by a Kerr black hole. Preferential capture of counterrotating photon angular momentum prevents the standard radiatively efficient model from reaching $a_{\ast }=1$. The commonly quoted limit is approximately $0.998$, with some dependence on emission and accretion assumptions. Thorne's original calculation derives this result.