https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-025-15052-6
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
A unified topological classification of circular orbits for charged particles in black hole spacetimes
1
College of Physics, Chengdu University of Technology, 610059, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
2
Yin bin Campus, Chengdu Technological University Yinbin, 644000, Yinbin, Sichuan, China
a
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Received:
5
August
2025
Accepted:
6
November
2025
Published online:
18
November
2025
Abstract
The study of circular orbits offers profound insights into the structure of spacetime around black holes. While the topological properties of these orbits are well-established for neutral particles, the influence of electric charge–particularly for massless particles–remains a subject of exploration. In this work, we employ a topological current 
-mapping approach to systematically investigate the circular orbits of charged test particles in static, spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes with flat, anti-de Sitter (AdS), and de Sitter (dS) asymptotics. We demonstrate that the particle’s charge significantly alters the topological classification of both timelike and null circular orbits. A key finding is that for multi-horizon black holes, if a circular orbit with fixed angular momentum and charge exists between two neighboring horizons, there will always be at least one unstable null and one unstable timelike circular orbit. Outside the outermost horizon, the asymptotic behavior of spacetime and the specific charge ratio crucially determine the topological charge W, dictating the existence and stability of orbits. Our results, validated through Reissner–Nordström (RN), RN-AdS, and RN-dS examples, extend the topological orbit classification framework and provide a foundation for potential applications in environments where effective charge dynamics may be relevant, such as magnetized plasmas around black holes.
© The Author(s) 2025
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Funded by SCOAP3.
