Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background due to Primordial Binary Black Hole Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandic, Vuk; Bird, Simeon; Cholis, Ilias

2016-11-11

Recent Advanced LIGO detections of binary black hole mergers have prompted multiple studies investigating the possibility that the heavy GW150914 binary system was of primordial origin, and hence could be evidence for dark matter in the form of black holes. We compute the stochastic background arising from the incoherent superposition of such primordial binary black hole systems in the Universe and compare it to the similar background spectrum due to binary black hole systems of stellar origin. We investigate the possibility of detecting this background with future gravitational-wave detectors, and conclude that constraining the dark matter component in the form of black holes using stochastic gravitational-wave background measurements will be very challenging.

Testing the Binary Black Hole Nature of a Compact Binary Coalescence.

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Krishnendu, N V; Arun, K G; Mishra, Chandra Kant

2017-09-01

We propose a novel method to test the binary black hole nature of compact binaries detectable by gravitational wave (GW) interferometers and, hence, constrain the parameter space of other exotic compact objects. The spirit of the test lies in the "no-hair" conjecture for black holes where all properties of a Kerr black hole are characterized by its mass and spin. The method relies on observationally measuring the quadrupole moments of the compact binary constituents induced due to their spins. If the compact object is a Kerr black hole (BH), its quadrupole moment is expressible solely in terms of its mass and spin. Otherwise, the quadrupole moment can depend on additional parameters (such as the equation of state of the object). The higher order spin effects in phase and amplitude of a gravitational waveform, which explicitly contains the spin-induced quadrupole moments of compact objects, hence, uniquely encode the nature of the compact binary. Thus, we argue that an independent measurement of the spin-induced quadrupole moment of the compact binaries from GW observations can provide a unique way to distinguish binary BH systems from binaries consisting of exotic compact objects.

Distinguishing Between Formation Channels for Binary Black Holes with LISA

Science.gov (United States)

Breivik, Katelyn; Rodriguez, Carl L.; Larson, Shane L.; Kalogera, Vassiliki; Rasio, Frederic A.

2017-01-01

The recent detections of GW150914 and GW151226 imply an abundance of stellar-mass binary-black-hole mergers in the local universe. While ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are limited to observing the final moments before a binary merges, space-based detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), can observe binaries at lower orbital frequencies where such systems may still encode information about their formation histories. In particular, the orbital eccentricity and mass of binary black holes in the LISA frequency band can be used together to discriminate between binaries formed in isolation in galactic fields and those formed in dense stellar environments such as globular clusters. In this letter, we explore the orbital eccentricity and mass of binary-black-hole populations as they evolve through the LISA frequency band. Overall we find that there are two distinct populations discernible by LISA. We show that up to ~90% of binaries formed either dynamically or in isolation have eccentricities measurable by LISA. Finally, we note how measured eccentricities of low-mass binary black holes evolved in isolation could provide detailed constraints on the physics of black-hole natal kicks and common-envelope evolution.

Black-Hole Binaries, Gravitational Waves, and Numerical Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bernard J.; Centrella, Joan; Baker, John G.; Kelly, Bernard J.; vanMeter, James R.

2010-01-01

Understanding the predictions of general relativity for the dynamical interactions of two black holes has been a long-standing unsolved problem in theoretical physics. Black-hole mergers are monumental astrophysical events ' releasing tremendous amounts of energy in the form of gravitational radiation ' and are key sources for both ground- and spacebased gravitational wave detectors. The black-hole merger dynamics and the resulting gravitational waveforms can only he calculated through numerical simulations of Einstein's equations of general relativity. For many years, numerical relativists attempting to model these mergers encountered a host of problems, causing their codes to crash after just a fraction of a binary orbit cnuld be simulated. Recently ' however, a series of dramatic advances in numerical relativity has ' for the first time, allowed stable / robust black hole merger simulations. We chronicle this remarkable progress in the rapidly maturing field of numerical relativity, and the new understanding of black-hole binary dynamics that is emerging. We also discuss important applications of these fundamental physics results to astrophysics, to gravitationalwave astronomy, and in other areas.

Black hole astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blandford, R.D.; Thorne, K.S.

1979-01-01

Following an introductory section, the subject is discussed under the headings: on the character of research in black hole astrophysics; isolated holes produced by collapse of normal stars; black holes in binary systems; black holes in globular clusters; black holes in quasars and active galactic nuclei; primordial black holes; concluding remarks on the present state of research in black hole astrophysics. (U.K.)

ILLUMINATING BLACK HOLE BINARY FORMATION CHANNELS WITH SPINS IN ADVANCED LIGO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, Carl L. [MIT-Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 37-664H, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Zevin, Michael; Pankow, Chris; Kalogera, Vasilliki; Rasio, Frederic A. [Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States)

2016-11-20

The recent detections of the binary black hole mergers GW150914 and GW151226 have inaugurated the field of gravitational-wave astronomy. For the two main formation channels that have been proposed for these sources, isolated binary evolution in galactic fields and dynamical formation in dense star clusters, the predicted masses and merger rates overlap significantly, complicating any astrophysical claims that rely on measured masses alone. Here, we examine the distribution of spin–orbit misalignments expected for binaries from the field and from dense star clusters. Under standard assumptions for black hole natal kicks, we find that black hole binaries similar to GW150914 could be formed with significant spin–orbit misalignment only through dynamical processes. In particular, these heavy-black hole binaries can only form with a significant spin–orbit anti -alignment in the dynamical channel. Our results suggest that future detections of merging black hole binaries with measurable spins will allow us to identify the main formation channel for these systems.

Binary Black Hole Mergers from Globular Clusters: Implications for Advanced LIGO.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Carl L; Morscher, Meagan; Pattabiraman, Bharath; Chatterjee, Sourav; Haster, Carl-Johan; Rasio, Frederic A

2015-07-31

The predicted rate of binary black hole mergers from galactic fields can vary over several orders of magnitude and is extremely sensitive to the assumptions of stellar evolution. But in dense stellar environments such as globular clusters, binary black holes form by well-understood gravitational interactions. In this Letter, we study the formation of black hole binaries in an extensive collection of realistic globular cluster models. By comparing these models to observed Milky Way and extragalactic globular clusters, we find that the mergers of dynamically formed binaries could be detected at a rate of ∼100 per year, potentially dominating the binary black hole merger rate. We also find that a majority of cluster-formed binaries are more massive than their field-formed counterparts, suggesting that Advanced LIGO could identify certain binaries as originating from dense stellar environments.

The birth of a supermassive black hole binary

Science.gov (United States)

Pfister, Hugo; Lupi, Alessandro; Capelo, Pedro R.; Volonteri, Marta; Bellovary, Jillian M.; Dotti, Massimo

2017-11-01

We study the dynamical evolution of supermassive black holes, in the late stage of galaxy mergers, from kpc to pc scales. In particular, we capture the formation of the binary, a necessary step before the final coalescence, and trace back the main processes causing the decay of the orbit. We use hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy mergers with different resolutions, from 20 pc down to 1 pc, in order to study the effects of the resolution on our results, remove numerical effects, and assess that resolving the influence radius of the orbiting black hole is a minimum condition to fully capture the formation of the binary. Our simulations include the relevant physical processes, namely star formation, supernova feedback, accretion on to the black holes and the ensuing feedback. We find that, in these mergers, dynamical friction from the smooth stellar component of the nucleus is the main process that drives black holes from kpc to pc scales. Gas does not play a crucial role and even clumps do not induce scattering or perturb the orbits. We compare the time needed for the formation of the binary to analytical predictions and suggest how to apply such analytical formalism to obtain estimates of binary formation times in lower resolution simulations.

Accuracy of binary black hole waveform models for aligned-spin binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Prayush; Chu, Tony; Fong, Heather; Pfeiffer, Harald P.; Boyle, Michael; Hemberger, Daniel A.; Kidder, Lawrence E.; Scheel, Mark A.; Szilagyi, Bela

2016-05-01

Coalescing binary black holes are among the primary science targets for second generation ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Reliable gravitational waveform models are central to detection of such systems and subsequent parameter estimation. This paper performs a comprehensive analysis of the accuracy of recent waveform models for binary black holes with aligned spins, utilizing a new set of 84 high-accuracy numerical relativity simulations. Our analysis covers comparable mass binaries (mass-ratio 1 ≤q ≤3 ), and samples independently both black hole spins up to a dimensionless spin magnitude of 0.9 for equal-mass binaries and 0.85 for unequal mass binaries. Furthermore, we focus on the high-mass regime (total mass ≳50 M⊙ ). The two most recent waveform models considered (PhenomD and SEOBNRv2) both perform very well for signal detection, losing less than 0.5% of the recoverable signal-to-noise ratio ρ , except that SEOBNRv2's efficiency drops slightly for both black hole spins aligned at large magnitude. For parameter estimation, modeling inaccuracies of the SEOBNRv2 model are found to be smaller than systematic uncertainties for moderately strong GW events up to roughly ρ ≲15 . PhenomD's modeling errors are found to be smaller than SEOBNRv2's, and are generally irrelevant for ρ ≲20 . Both models' accuracy deteriorates with increased mass ratio, and when at least one black hole spin is large and aligned. The SEOBNRv2 model shows a pronounced disagreement with the numerical relativity simulation in the merger phase, for unequal masses and simultaneously both black hole spins very large and aligned. Two older waveform models (PhenomC and SEOBNRv1) are found to be distinctly less accurate than the more recent PhenomD and SEOBNRv2 models. Finally, we quantify the bias expected from all four waveform models during parameter estimation for several recovered binary parameters: chirp mass, mass ratio, and effective spin.

Merging Black Hole Binaries in Galactic Nuclei: Implications for Advanced-LIGO Detections

Science.gov (United States)

Antonini, Fabio; Rasio, Frederic A.

2016-11-01

Motivated by the recent detection of gravitational waves from the black hole binary merger GW150914, we study the dynamical evolution of (stellar-mass) black holes in galactic nuclei, where massive star clusters reside. With masses of ˜ {10}7 {M}⊙ and sizes of only a few parsecs, nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are the densest stellar systems observed in the local universe and represent a robust environment where black hole binaries can dynamically form, harden, and merge. We show that due to their large escape speeds, NSCs can retain a large fraction of their merger remnants. Successive mergers can then lead to significant growth and produce black hole mergers of several tens of solar masses similar to GW150914 and up to a few hundreds of solar masses, without the need to invoke extremely low metallicity environments. We use a semi-analytical approach to describe the dynamics of black holes in massive star clusters. Our models give a black hole binary merger rate of ≈ 1.5 {{Gpc}}-3 {{yr}}-1 from NSCs, implying up to a few tens of possible detections per year with Advanced LIGO. Moreover, we find a local merger rate of ˜ 1 {{Gpc}}-3 {{yr}}-1 for high mass black hole binaries similar to GW150914; a merger rate comparable to or higher than that of similar binaries assembled dynamically in globular clusters (GCs). Finally, we show that if all black holes receive high natal kicks, ≳ 50 {km} {{{s}}}-1, then NSCs will dominate the local merger rate of binary black holes compared to either GCs or isolated binary evolution.

Precessional Instability in Binary Black Holes with Aligned Spins.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerosa, Davide; Kesden, Michael; O'Shaughnessy, Richard; Klein, Antoine; Berti, Emanuele; Sperhake, Ulrich; Trifirò, Daniele

2015-10-02

Binary black holes on quasicircular orbits with spins aligned with their orbital angular momentum have been test beds for analytic and numerical relativity for decades, not least because symmetry ensures that such configurations are equilibrium solutions to the spin-precession equations. In this work, we show that these solutions can be unstable when the spin of the higher-mass black hole is aligned with the orbital angular momentum and the spin of the lower-mass black hole is antialigned. Spins in these configurations are unstable to precession to large misalignment when the binary separation r is between the values r(ud±)=(√(χ(1))±√(qχ(2)))(4)(1-q)(-2)M, where M is the total mass, q≡m(2)/m(1) is the mass ratio, and χ(1) (χ(2)) is the dimensionless spin of the more (less) massive black hole. This instability exists for a wide range of spin magnitudes and mass ratios and can occur in the strong-field regime near the merger. We describe the origin and nature of the instability using recently developed analytical techniques to characterize fully generic spin precession. This instability provides a channel to circumvent astrophysical spin alignment at large binary separations, allowing significant spin precession prior to merger affecting both gravitational-wave and electromagnetic signatures of stellar-mass and supermassive binary black holes.

Hybrid Black-Hole Binary Initial Data

Science.gov (United States)

Mundim, Bruno C.; Kelly, Bernard J.; Nakano, Hiroyuki; Zlochower, Yosef; Campanelli, Manuela

2010-01-01

"Traditional black-hole binary puncture initial data is conformally flat. This unphysical assumption is coupled with a lack of radiation signature from the binary's past life. As a result, waveforms extracted from evolutions of this data display an abrupt jump. In Kelly et al. [Class. Quantum Grav. 27:114005 (2010)], a new binary black-hole initial data with radiation contents derived in the post-Newtonian (PN) calculations was adapted to puncture evolutions in numerical relativity. This data satisfies the constraint equations to the 2.5PN order, and contains a transverse-traceless "wavy" metric contribution, violating the standard assumption of conformal flatness. Although the evolution contained less spurious radiation, there were undesired features; the unphysical horizon mass loss and the large initial orbital eccentricity. Introducing a hybrid approach to the initial data evaluation, we significantly reduce these undesired features."

Interacting black holes on the brane: the seeding of binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majumdar, A.S.; Mehta, Anita; Luck, J.M.

2005-01-01

We consider the evolution of subhorizon-sized black holes which are formed during the high energy phase of the braneworld scenario. These black holes are long-lived due to modified evaporation and accretion of radiation during the radiation dominated era. We argue that an initial mass difference between any two neighbouring black holes is always amplified because of their exchange of energy with the surrounding radiation. We present a scheme of binary formation based on mass differences suggesting that such a scenario could lead to binaries with observable signatures

Black holes in massive close binaries - observational data and evolutionary status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tutukov, A.V.; Cherepashchuk, A.M.; Moskovskii Gosudarstvennyi Universitet, Moscow, USSR)

1985-01-01

The available information on the mass of four candidate black holes in X-ray binary systems is summarized; these systems are compared with neutron star binaries with regard to the mass of their components. In mass, the relativistic objects form two distinct groups, neutron stars with masses equal to about 1-2 solar masses and black hole candidates with masses equal to about 10-60 solar masses (there seem to be no intermediate cases), but there is no correlation with the mass of the optical star. Mass exchange between the optical component of a close binary and its neutron star companion would be unlikely to produce a black hole more massive than 5-7 solar masses. Instead, the black holes having masses greater than about 10 solar masses might result from core collapse in stars of initial mass equating 20-100 solar masses through either a rise in the presupernova core mass or weakness of the magnetic field. The (10-30)-fold disparity in the incidence of black holes coupled with OB stars and with radio pulsars could indicate that black holes tend to form in pairs. 36 references

Microlensing Signature of Binary Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Schnittman, Jeremy; Sahu, Kailash; Littenberg, Tyson

2012-01-01

We calculate the light curves of galactic bulge stars magnified via microlensing by stellar-mass binary black holes along the line-of-sight. We show the sensitivity to measuring various lens parameters for a range of survey cadences and photometric precision. Using public data from the OGLE collaboration, we identify two candidates for massive binary systems, and discuss implications for theories of star formation and binary evolution.

An axion-like scalar field environment effect on binary black hole merger

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qing; Ji, Li-Wei; Hu, Bin; Cao, Zhou-Jian; Cai, Rong-Gen

2018-06-01

The environment, such as an accretion disk, could modify the signal of the gravitational wave from astrophysical black hole binaries. In this article, we model the matter field around intermediate-mass binary black holes by means of an axion-like scalar field and investigate their joint evolution. In detail, we consider equal mass binary black holes surrounded by a shell of axion-like scalar field both in spherically symmetric and non-spherically symmetric cases, and with different strengths of the scalar field. Our result shows that the environmental scalar field could essentially modify the dynamics. Firstly, in the spherically symmetric case, with increase of the scalar field strength, the number of circular orbits for the binary black hole is reduced. This means that the scalar field could significantly accelerate the merger process. Secondly, once the scalar field strength exceeds a certain critical value, the scalar field could collapse into a third black hole with its mass being larger than that of the binary. Consequently, the new black hole that collapses from the environmental scalar field could accrete the binary promptly and the binary collides head-on with each other. In this process, there is almost no quadrupole signal produced, and, consequently, the gravitational wave is greatly suppressed. Thirdly, when the scalar field strength is relatively smaller than the critical value, the black hole orbit could develop eccentricity through accretion of the scalar field. Fourthly, during the initial stage of the inspiral, the gravitational attractive force from the axion-like scalar field could induce a sudden turn in the binary orbits, hence resulting in a transient wiggle in the gravitational waveform. Finally, in the non-spherical case, the scalar field could gravitationally attract the binary moving toward the center of mass for the scalar field and slow down the merger process.

The formation and gravitational-wave detection of massive stellar black hole binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belczynski, Krzysztof; Walczak, Marek; Buonanno, Alessandra; Cantiello, Matteo; Fryer, Chris L.; Holz, Daniel E.; Mandel, Ilya; Miller, M. Coleman

2014-01-01

If binaries consisting of two ∼100 M ☉ black holes exist, they would serve as extraordinarily powerful gravitational-wave sources, detectable to redshifts of z ∼ 2 with the advanced LIGO/Virgo ground-based detectors. Large uncertainties about the evolution of massive stars preclude definitive rate predictions for mergers of these massive black holes. We show that rates as high as hundreds of detections per year, or as low as no detections whatsoever, are both possible. It was thought that the only way to produce these massive binaries was via dynamical interactions in dense stellar systems. This view has been challenged by the recent discovery of several ≳ 150 M ☉ stars in the R136 region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Current models predict that when stars of this mass leave the main sequence, their expansion is insufficient to allow common envelope evolution to efficiently reduce the orbital separation. The resulting black hole-black hole binary remains too wide to be able to coalesce within a Hubble time. If this assessment is correct, isolated very massive binaries do not evolve to be gravitational-wave sources. However, other formation channels exist. For example, the high multiplicity of massive stars, and their common formation in relatively dense stellar associations, opens up dynamical channels for massive black hole mergers (e.g., via Kozai cycles or repeated binary-single interactions). We identify key physical factors that shape the population of very massive black hole-black hole binaries. Advanced gravitational-wave detectors will provide important constraints on the formation and evolution of very massive stars.

Dynamical evolution of quasicircular binary black hole data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcubierre, Miguel; Bruegmann, Bernd; Diener, Peter; Guzman, F. Siddhartha; Hawke, Ian; Hawley, Scott; Herrmann, Frank; Pollney, Denis; Thornburg, Jonathan; Koppitz, Michael; Seidel, Edward

2005-01-01

We study the fully nonlinear dynamical evolution of binary black hole data, whose orbital parameters are specified via the effective potential method for determining quasicircular orbits. The cases studied range from the Cook-Baumgarte innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) to significantly beyond that separation. In all cases we find the black holes to coalesce (as determined by the appearance of a common apparent horizon) in less than half an orbital period. The results of the numerical simulations indicate that the initial holes are not actually in quasicircular orbits, but that they are in fact nearly plunging together. The dynamics of the final horizon are studied to determine physical parameters of the final black hole, such as its spin, mass, and oscillation frequency, revealing information about the inspiral process. We show that considerable resolution is required to extract accurate physical information from the final black hole formed in the merger process, and that the quasinormal modes of the final hole are strongly excited in the merger process. For the ISCO case, by comparing physical measurements of the final black hole formed to the initial data, we estimate that less than 3% of the total energy is radiated in the merger process

A VERY CLOSE BINARY BLACK HOLE IN A GIANT ELLIPTICAL GALAXY 3C 66B AND ITS BLACK HOLE MERGER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iguchi, Satoru; Okuda, Takeshi; Sudou, Hiroshi

2010-01-01

Recent observational results provide possible evidence that binary black holes (BBHs) exist in the center of giant galaxies and may merge to form a supermassive black hole in the process of their evolution. We first detected a periodic flux variation on a cycle of 93 ± 1 days from the 3 mm monitor observations of a giant elliptical galaxy 3C 66B for which an orbital motion with a period of 1.05 ± 0.03 yr had been already observed. The detected signal period being shorter than the orbital period can be explained by taking into consideration the Doppler-shifted modulation due to the orbital motion of a BBH. Assuming that the BBH has a circular orbit and that the jet axis is parallel to the binary angular momentum, our observational results demonstrate the presence of a very close BBH that has a binary orbit with an orbital period of 1.05 ± 0.03 yr, an orbital radius of (3.9 ± 1.0) x 10 -3 pc, an orbital separation of (6.1 +1.0 -0.9 ) x 10 -3 pc, a larger black hole mass of (1.2 +0.5 -0.2 ) x 10 9 M sun , and a smaller black hole mass of (7.0 +4.7 -6.4 ) x 10 8 M sun . The BBH decay time of (5.1 +60.5 -2.5 ) x 10 2 yr provides evidence for the occurrence of black hole mergers. This Letter will demonstrate the interesting possibility of black hole collisions to form a supermassive black hole in the process of evolution, one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the universe.

Black holes in binary stellar systems and galactic nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherepashchuk, A M

2014-01-01

In the last 40 years, following pioneering papers by Ya B Zeldovich and E E Salpeter, in which a powerful energy release from nonspherical accretion of matter onto a black hole (BH) was predicted, many observational studies of black holes in the Universe have been carried out. To date, the masses of several dozen stellar-mass black holes (M BH =(4−20)M ⊙ ) in X-ray binary systems and of several hundred supermassive black holes (M BH =(10 6 −10 10 )M ⊙ ) in galactic nuclei have been measured. The estimated radii of these massive and compact objects do not exceed several gravitational radii. For about ten stellar-mass black holes and several dozen supermassive black holes, the values of the dimensionless angular momentum a ∗ have been estimated, which, in agreement with theoretical predictions, do not exceed the limiting value a ∗ =0.998. A new field of astrophysics, so-called black hole demography, which studies the birth and growth of black holes and their evolutionary connection to other objects in the Universe, namely stars, galaxies, etc., is rapidly developing. In addition to supermassive black holes, massive stellar clusters are observed in galactic nuclei, and their evolution is distinct from that of supermassive black holes. The evolutionary relations between supermassive black holes in galactic centers and spheroidal stellar components (bulges) of galaxies, as well as dark-matter galactic haloes are brought out. The launch into Earth's orbit of the space radio interferometer RadioAstron opened up the real possibility of finally proving that numerous discovered massive and highly compact objects with properties very similar to those of black holes make up real black holes in the sense of Albert Einstein's General Relativity. Similar proofs of the existence of black holes in the Universe can be obtained by intercontinental radio interferometry at short wavelengths λ≲1 mm (the international program, Event Horizon Telescope). (100

Black holes in binary stellar systems and galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Cherepashchuk, A. M.

2014-04-01

In the last 40 years, following pioneering papers by Ya B Zeldovich and E E Salpeter, in which a powerful energy release from nonspherical accretion of matter onto a black hole (BH) was predicted, many observational studies of black holes in the Universe have been carried out. To date, the masses of several dozen stellar-mass black holes (M_BH = (4{-}20) M_\\odot) in X-ray binary systems and of several hundred supermassive black holes (M_BH = (10^{6}{-}10^{10}) M_\\odot) in galactic nuclei have been measured. The estimated radii of these massive and compact objects do not exceed several gravitational radii. For about ten stellar-mass black holes and several dozen supermassive black holes, the values of the dimensionless angular momentum a_* have been estimated, which, in agreement with theoretical predictions, do not exceed the limiting value a_* = 0.998. A new field of astrophysics, so-called black hole demography, which studies the birth and growth of black holes and their evolutionary connection to other objects in the Universe, namely stars, galaxies, etc., is rapidly developing. In addition to supermassive black holes, massive stellar clusters are observed in galactic nuclei, and their evolution is distinct from that of supermassive black holes. The evolutionary relations between supermassive black holes in galactic centers and spheroidal stellar components (bulges) of galaxies, as well as dark-matter galactic haloes are brought out. The launch into Earth's orbit of the space radio interferometer RadioAstron opened up the real possibility of finally proving that numerous discovered massive and highly compact objects with properties very similar to those of black holes make up real black holes in the sense of Albert Einstein's General Relativity. Similar proofs of the existence of black holes in the Universe can be obtained by intercontinental radio interferometry at short wavelengths \\lambda \\lesssim 1 mm (the international program, Event Horizon Telescope).

Binary Black Hole Mergers in the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Bejger, M.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, M.J.; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, A.L.S.; Bock, O.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bond, T.C; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Broida, J. E.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, A.D.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Brunett, S.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderon; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Cheeseboro, B. D.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Qian; Chua, S. E.; Chung, E.S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, A.C.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, A.L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dasgupta, A.; Da Silva Costa, C. F.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; De, S.; Debra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dergachev, V.A.; Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Devine, R. C.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M.G.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, T. M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.M.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Fenyvesi, E.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fong, H.; Fournier, J. -D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Geng, P.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; Gonzalez, R.G.; Castro, J. M. Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Buffoni-Hall, R.; Hall, E. D.; Hamilton-Ayers, M.; Hammond, G.L.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, P.J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Henry, J.A.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, D.H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jian, L.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Johnson-McDaniel, N. K.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.H.; Kanner, J. B.; Kapadia, S. J.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kefelian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.E.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chi-Woong; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Namjun; Kim, W.; Kim, Y.M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kissel, J. S.; Klein, B.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Krolak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Lewis, J. B.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lombardi, A. L.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C.; Lueck, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Zertuche, L. Magana; Magee, R. M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, B.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, J.C.; Moraru, D.; Gutierrez Moreno, M.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P.G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton-Howes, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M. B.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Perri, L. M.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poe, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Porter, E. K.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prix, R.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Qiu, S.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, D.M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.A.; Sachdev, P.S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O. E. S.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schreiber, K.E.C.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, M.S.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Setyawati, Y.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T. J.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, António Dias da; Singer, A; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith, N.D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson-Moore, P.; Stone, J.R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepanczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.D.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tapai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, W.R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Toyra, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifiro, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.G.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasuth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J. -Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, MT; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L. -W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.M.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whitcomb, S. E.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, D.R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Worden, J.; Wright, J.L.; Wu, D.S.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrozny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J. -P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.

2016-01-01

The first observational run of the Advanced LIGO detectors, from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, saw the first detections of gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers. In this paper, we present full results from a search for binary black hole merger signals with total masses up to

Search for black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherepashchuk, Anatolii M

2003-01-01

Methods and results of searching for stellar mass black holes in binary systems and for supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei of different types are described. As of now (June 2002), a total of 100 black hole candidates are known. All the necessary conditions Einstein's General Relativity imposes on the observational properties of black holes are satisfied for candidate objects available, thus further assuring the existence of black holes in the Universe. Prospects for obtaining sufficient criteria for reliably distinguishing candidate black holes from real black holes are discussed. (reviews of topical problems)

On the gravitational wave background from black hole binaries after the first LIGO detections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cholis, Ilias, E-mail: icholis1@jhu.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218 (United States)

2017-06-01

The detection of gravitational waves from the merger of binary black holes by the LIGO Collaboration has opened a new window to astrophysics. With the sensitivities of ground based detectors in the coming years, we will principally detect local binary black hole mergers. The integrated merger rate can instead be probed by the gravitational-wave background, the incoherent superposition of the released energy in gravitational waves during binary-black-hole coalescence. Through that, the properties of the binary black holes can be studied. In this work we show that by measuring the energy density Ω{sub GW} (in units of the cosmic critical density) of the gravitational-wave background, we can search for the rare ∼ 100 M {sub ⊙} massive black holes formed in the Universe. In addition, we can answer how often the least massive BHs of mass ≳ 3 M {sub ⊙} form. Finally, if there are multiple channels for the formation of binary black holes and if any of them predicts a narrow mass range for the black holes, then the total Ω{sub GW} spectrum may have features that with the future Einstein Telescope can be detected.

Properties of the Binary Black Hole Merger GW150914

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Camp, J. B.

2016-01-01

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational-wave transient (GW150914); we characterize the properties of the source and its parameters. The data around the time of the event were analyzed coherently across the LIGO network using a suite of accurate waveform models that describe gravitational waves from a compact binary system in general relativity. GW150914 was produced by a nearly equal mass binary black hole of masses 36(+5/-4) solar mass and 29(+4/-4) solar mass; for each parameter we report the median value and the range of the 90% credible interval. The dimensionless spin magnitude of the more massive black hole is bound to be less than 0.7 (at 90% probability). The luminosity distance to the source is 410(+160/-180) Mpc, corresponding to a redshift 0.09(+0.03/-0.04) assuming standard cosmology. The source location is constrained to an annulus section of 610 sq deg, primarily in the southern hemisphere. The binary merges into a black hole of mass 62(+4/-4) solar mass and spin 0.67(+0.05/-0.07). This black hole is significantly more massive than any other inferred from electromagnetic observations in the stellar-mass regime.

Properties of the Binary Black Hole Merger GW150914

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C. J.; Berger, B. K.; Bergman, J.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, J.; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, S.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bojtos, P.; Bond, C.; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brown, N. M.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Calderón Bustillo, J.; Callister, T.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Casanueva Diaz, J.; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Carbon Baiardi, L.; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, S.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Daveloza, H. P.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; DeBra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De Laurentis, M.; Deléglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.; De Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Devine, C.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Giovanni, M.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dojcinoski, G.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etienne, Z.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Fauchon-Jones, E.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M.; Fournier, J.-D.; Franco, S.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gatto, A.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Gendre, B.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; González, G.; Gonzalez Castro, J. M.; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Hall, B. R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Hofman, D.; Hollitt, S. E.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idrisy, A.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J.-M.; Isi, M.; Islas, G.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Johnson-McDaniel, N. K.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; K, Haris; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kéfélian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.; Key, J. S.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan, S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, C.; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y.-M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Kokeyama, K.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Królak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B. M.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C. O.; Lovelace, G.; Lück, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Luo, J.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; MacDonald, T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magaña-Sandoval, F.; Magee, R. M.; Mageswaran, M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mendoza-Gandara, D.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B. C.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P. G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Necula, V.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Premachandra, S. S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Pürrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Röver, C.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schönbeck, A.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Serna, G.; Setyawati, Y.; Sevigny, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shah, S.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shao, Z.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Simakov, D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, N. D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson, S. P.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepańczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tápai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Töyrä, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifirò, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van der Sluys, M. V.; van Heijningen, J. V.; Vañó-Viñuales, A.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, M.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.; Weßels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, R. D.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Wright, J. L.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yap, M. J.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; ZadroŻny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.; Boyle, M.; Brügamin, B.; Campanelli, M.; Clark, M.; Hamberger, D.; Kidder, L. E.; Kinsey, M.; Laguna, P.; Ossokine, S.; Scheel, M. A.; Szilagyi, B.; Teukolsky, S.; Zlochower, Y.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

2016-06-01

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational-wave transient (GW150914); we characterize the properties of the source and its parameters. The data around the time of the event were analyzed coherently across the LIGO network using a suite of accurate waveform models that describe gravitational waves from a compact binary system in general relativity. GW150914 was produced by a nearly equal mass binary black hole of masses 3 6-4+5M⊙ and 2 9-4+4M⊙ ; for each parameter we report the median value and the range of the 90% credible interval. The dimensionless spin magnitude of the more massive black hole is bound to be <0.7 (at 90% probability). The luminosity distance to the source is 41 0-180+160 Mpc , corresponding to a redshift 0.0 9-0.04+0.03 assuming standard cosmology. The source location is constrained to an annulus section of 610 deg2 , primarily in the southern hemisphere. The binary merges into a black hole of mass 6 2-4+4M⊙ and spin 0.6 7-0.07+0.05. This black hole is significantly more massive than any other inferred from electromagnetic observations in the stellar-mass regime.

Expanding the catalog of binary black-hole simulations: aligned-spin configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Tony; Pfeiffer, Harald; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela; SXS Collaboration

2015-04-01

A major goal of numerical relativity is to model the inspiral and merger of binary black holes through sufficiently accurate and long simulations, to enable the successful detection of gravitational waves. However, covering the full parameter space of binary configurations is a computationally daunting task. The SXS Collaboration has made important progress in this direction recently, with a catalog of 174 publicly available binary black-hole simulations [black-holes.org/waveforms]. Nevertheless, the parameter-space coverage remains sparse, even for non-precessing binaries. In this talk, I will describe an addition to the SXS catalog to improve its coverage, consisting of 95 new simulations of aligned-spin binaries with moderate mass ratios and dimensionless spins as high as 0.9. Some applications of these new simulations will also be mentioned.

Detecting binary black holes with efficient and reliable templates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damour, T.; Iyer, B.R.; Sathyaprakash, B.S.

2001-01-01

Detecting binary black holes in interferometer data requires an accurate knowledge of the orbital phase evolution of the system. From the point of view of data analysis one also needs fast algorithms to compute the templates that will be employed in searching for black hole binaries. Recently, there has been progress on both these fronts: On one hand, re-summation techniques have made it possible to accelerate the convergence of poorly convergent asymptotic post-Newtonian series and derive waveforms beyond the conventional adiabatic approximation. We now have a waveform model that extends beyond the inspiral regime into the plunge phase followed by the quasi-normal mode ringing. On the other hand, explicit Fourier domain waveforms have been derived that make the generation of waveforms fast enough so as not to be a burden on the computational resources required in filtering the detector data. These new developments should make it possible to efficiently and reliably search for black hole binaries in data from first interferometers. (author)

Binary Black Hole Mergers in the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, F.; Camp, J. B.;

Binary Black Hole Mergers in the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The first observational run of the Advanced LIGO detectors, from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, saw the first detections of gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers. In this paper, we present full results from a search for binary black hole merger signals with total masses up to 100M_{⊙} and detailed implications from our observations of these systems. Our search, based on general-relativistic models of gravitational-wave signals from binary black hole systems, unambiguously identified two signals, GW150914 and GW151226, with a significance of greater than 5σ over the observing period. It also identified a third possible signal, LVT151012, with substantially lower significance and with an 87% probability of being of astrophysical origin. We provide detailed estimates of the parameters of the observed systems. Both GW150914 and GW151226 provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the two-body motion of a compact-object binary in the large velocity, highly nonlinear regime. We do not observe any deviations from general relativity, and we place improved empirical bounds on several high-order post-Newtonian coefficients. From our observations, we infer stellar-mass binary black hole merger rates lying in the range 9–240  Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}. These observations are beginning to inform astrophysical predictions of binary black hole formation rates and indicate that future observing runs of the Advanced detector network will yield many more gravitational-wave detections.

The Final Merger of Black-Hole Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bernard J.; Centrealla, Joan; Baker, John G.; Kelly, Bernard J.; vanMeter, James R.

2010-01-01

Recent breakthroughs in the field of numerical relativity have led to dramatic progress in understanding the predictions of General Relativity for the dynamical interactions of two black holes in the regime of very strong gravitational fields. Such black-hole binaries are important astrophysical systems and are a key target of current and developing gravitational-wave detectors. The waveform signature of strong gravitational radiation emitted as the black holes fall together and merge provides a clear observable record of the process. After decades of slow progress / these mergers and the gravitational-wave signals they generate can now be routinely calculated using the methods of numerical relativity. We review recent advances in understanding the predicted physics of events and the consequent radiation, and discuss some of the impacts this new knowledge is having in various areas of astrophysics

Jet precession in binary black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Zulema

2018-06-01

Supermassive binary black holes are thought to lie at the centres of merging galaxies. The blazar OJ 287 is the poster child of such systems, showing strong and periodic variability across the electromagnetic spectrum. A new study questions the physical origin of this variability.

Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger.

Science.gov (United States)

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Biscans, S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Bodiya, T P; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bogan, C; Bohe, A; Bojtos, P; Bond, C; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cabero, M; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Calderón Bustillo, J; Callister, T; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Cannon, K C; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Casanueva Diaz, J; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Cerboni Baiardi, L; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chakraborty, R; Chalermsongsak, T; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, C; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conte, A; Conti, L; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Craig, K; Creighton, J D E; Creighton, T D; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cruise, A M; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Dal Canton, T; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Darman, N S; Da Silva Costa, C F; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Daveloza, H P; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Daw, E J; Day, R; De, S; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dereli, H; Dergachev, V; DeRosa, R T; De Rosa, R; DeSalvo, R; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Dojcinoski, G; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Douglas, R; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Du, Z; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Engels, W; Essick, R C; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Fang, Q; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Feldbaum, D; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Finn, L S; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fong, H; Fournier, J-D; Franco, S; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frede, M; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fricke, T T; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H A G; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gatto, A; Gaur, G; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Gendre, B; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghosh, Abhirup; 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Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Idrisy, A; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Islas, G; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacobson, M B; Jacqmin, T; Jang, H; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Johnson-McDaniel, N K; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; Haris, K; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Karki, S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kawazoe, F; Kéfélian, F; Kehl, M S; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kells, W; Kennedy, R; Keppel, D G; Key, J S; Khalaidovski, A; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, C; Kim, J; Kim, K; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y-M; King, E J; King, P J; Kinzel, D L; Kissel, J S; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koehlenbeck, S M; Kokeyama, K; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Koranda, S; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Kringel, V; Krishnan, B; Królak, A; Krueger, C; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kumar, R; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Kwee, P; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lasky, P D; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Levine, B M; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Lockerbie, N A; Logue, J; Lombardi, A L; London, L T; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lousto, C O; Lovelace, G; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Luo, J; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; MacDonald, T; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Magee, R M; Mageswaran, M; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martin, R M; Martynov, D V; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; Mazzolo, G; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mendoza-Gandara, D; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, C L; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D J; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Necula, V; Nedkova, K; Nelemans, G; Neri, M; Neunzert, A; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; 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Wimmer, M H; Winkelmann, L; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wiseman, A G; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Worden, J; Wright, J L; Wu, G; Yablon, J; Yakushin, I; Yam, W; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yap, M J; Yu, H; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zangrando, L; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, F; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, Y; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zuraw, S E; Zweizig, J

2016-02-12

On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160)  Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

Attempt to explain black hole spin in X-ray binaries by new physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bambi, Cosimo

2015-01-01

It is widely believed that the spin of black holes in X-ray binaries is mainly natal. A significant spin-up from accretion is not possible. If the secondary has a low mass, the black hole spin cannot change too much even if the black hole swallows the whole stellar companion. If the secondary has a high mass, its lifetime is too short to transfer the necessary amount of matter and spin the black hole up. However, while black holes formed from the collapse of a massive star with solarmetallicity are expected to have low birth spin, current spin measurements show that some black holes in X-ray binaries are rotating very rapidly. Here we show that, if these objects are not the Kerr black holes of general relativity, the accretion of a small amount of matter (∝2 M s un) can make them look like very fast-rotating Kerr black holes. Such a possibility is not in contradiction with any observation and it can explain current spin measurements in a very simple way. (orig.)

Black holes and neutron stars: evolution of binary systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraft, R.P.

1975-01-01

Evidence for the existence of neutron stars and black holes in binary systems has been reviewed, and the following summarizes the current situation: (1) No statistically significant case has been made for the proposition that black holes and/or neutron stars contribute to the population of unseen companions of ordinary spectroscopic binaries; (2) Plausible evolutionary scenarios can be advanced that place compact X-ray sources into context as descendants of several common types of mass-exchange binaries. The collapse object may be a black hole, a neutron star, or a white dwarf, depending mostly on the mass of the original primary; (3) The rotating neutron star model for the pulsating X-ray sources Her X-1 and Cen X-3 is the simplest interpretation of these objects, but the idea that the pulsations result from the non-radial oscillations of a white dwarf cannot be altogether dismissed. The latter is particularly attractive in the case of Her X-1 because the total mass of the system is small; (4) The black hole picture for Cyg X-1 represents the simplest model that can presently be put forward to explain the observations. This does not insure its correctness, however. The picture depends on a long chain of inferences, some of which are by no means unassailable. (Auth.)

Robustness of binary black hole mergers in the presence of spurious radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bode, Tanja; Shoemaker, Deirdre; Herrmann, Frank; Hinder, Ian

2008-01-01

We present an investigation into how sensitive the last orbits and merger of binary black hole systems are to the presence of spurious radiation in the initial data. Our numerical experiments consist of a binary black hole system starting the last couple of orbits before merger with additional spurious radiation centered at the origin and fixed initial angular momentum. As the energy in the added spurious radiation increases, the binary is invariably hardened for the cases we tested; i.e., the merger of the two black holes is hastened. The change in merger time becomes significant when the additional energy provided by the spurious radiation increases the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner mass of the spacetime by about 1%. While the final masses of the black holes increase due to partial absorption of the radiation, the final spins remain constant to within our numerical accuracy. We conjecture that the spurious radiation is primarily increasing the eccentricity of the orbit and secondarily increasing the mass of the black holes while propagating out to infinity

Matched filtering of numerical relativity templates of spinning binary black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaishnav, Birjoo; Hinder, Ian; Herrmann, Frank; Shoemaker, Deirdre

2007-01-01

Tremendous progress has been made towards the solution of the binary-black-hole problem in numerical relativity. The waveforms produced by numerical relativity will play a role in gravitational wave detection as either test beds for analytic template banks or as template banks themselves. As the parameter space explored by numerical relativity expands, the importance of quantifying the effect that each parameter has on first the detection of gravitational waves and then the parameter estimation of their sources increases. In light of this, we present a study of equal-mass, spinning binary-black-hole evolutions through matched filtering techniques commonly used in data analysis. We study how the match between two numerical waveforms varies with numerical resolution, initial angular momentum of the black holes, and the inclination angle between the source and the detector. This study is limited by the fact that the spinning black-hole binaries are oriented axially and the waveforms only contain approximately two and a half orbits before merger. We find that for detection purposes, spinning black holes require the inclusion of the higher harmonics in addition to the dominant mode, a condition that becomes more important as the black-hole spins increase. In addition, we conduct a preliminary investigation of how well a template of fixed spin and inclination angle can detect target templates of arbitrary but nonprecessing spin and inclination for the axial case considered here

Black Hole Binaries: The Journey from Astrophysics to Physics

Science.gov (United States)

McClintock, Jeffrey E.

This paper is based on a talk presented at the 208th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in the session on Short-Period Binary Stars. The talk (and this paper in turn) are based on a parent paper, which is a comprehensive review by Remillard and McClintock (2006; hereafter RM06) on the X-ray properties of binary stars that contain a stellar black-hole primary. We refer to these systems as black hole binaries. In this present paper, which follows closely the content of the talk, we give sketches of some of the main topics covered in RM06. For a detailed account of the topics discussed herein and a full list of references (which are provided only sketchily below), see RM06 and also a second review paper by McClintock & Remillard (2006; hereafter MR06). There is one subject that is treated in more detail here than in the two review papers just cited, namely, the measurement of black hole spin; on this topic, see McClintock et al. (2006) for further details and references.

GW150914: Implications for the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Binary Black Holes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C. J.; Berger, B. K.; Bergman, J.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, M.J.; Birney, R.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, M.; Bloemen, A.L.S.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bojtos, P.; Bond, T.C; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderon; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Qian; Chua, S. E.; Chung, E.S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, A.C.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, A.L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Daveloza, H. P.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; Debra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.A.; DeRosa, R. T.; Rosa, R.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M.G.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dojcinoski, G.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, T. M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.M.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fournier, J. -D.; Franco, S; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gatto, A.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Gendre, B.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; Gonzalez, Idelmis G.; Castro, J. M. Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Buffoni-Hall, R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.L.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, P.J.; Hardwick, T.; Haris, K.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Hofman, D.; Hollitt, S. E.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idrisy, A.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Islas, G.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, D.H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.H.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kefelian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.E.; Key, J. S.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, C.; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y.M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Kokeyama, K.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krolak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B. M.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lueck, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Luo, J.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; MacDonald, T.T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Magee, R. M.; Mageswaran, M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R.M.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mendoza-Gandara, D.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, J.C.; Moraru, D.; Gutierrez Moreno, M.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P.G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Necula, V.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton-Howes, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M. B.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Premachandra, S. S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.A.; Sachdev, P.S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schoenbeck, A.; Schreiber, K.E.C.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, M.S.; Sellers, D.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Serna, G.; Setyawati, Y.; Sevigny, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shah, S.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shao, Z.M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Silva, António Dias da; Simakov, D.; Singer, A; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith, N.D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stone, J.R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepanczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.D.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tapai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, W.R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Toeyrae, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifiro, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Van Bakel, N.; Van Beuzekom, Martin; Van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasuth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J. -Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, MT; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L. -W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.M.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, D.R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Wright, J.L.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yap, M. J.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrozny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J. -P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.

2016-01-01

The LIGO detection of the gravitational wave transient GW150914, from the inspiral and merger of two black holes with masses ≳30M⊙, suggests a population of binary black holes with relatively high mass. This observation implies that the stochastic gravitational-wave background from binary black

Measuring the Binary Black Hole Mass Spectrum with an Astrophysically Motivated Parameterization

Science.gov (United States)

Talbot, Colm; Thrane, Eric

2018-04-01

Gravitational-wave detections have revealed a previously unknown population of stellar mass black holes with masses above 20 M ⊙. These observations provide a new way to test models of stellar evolution for massive stars. By considering the astrophysical processes likely to determine the shape of the binary black hole mass spectrum, we construct a parameterized model to capture key spectral features that relate gravitational-wave data to theoretical stellar astrophysics. In particular, we model the signature of pulsational pair-instability supernovae, which are expected to cause all stars with initial mass 100 M ⊙ ≲ M ≲ 150 M ⊙ to form ∼40 M ⊙ black holes. This would cause a cutoff in the black hole mass spectrum along with an excess of black holes near 40 M ⊙. We carry out a simulated data study to illustrate some of the stellar physics that can be inferred using gravitational-wave measurements of binary black holes and demonstrate several such inferences that might be made in the near future. First, we measure the minimum and maximum stellar black hole mass. Second, we infer the presence of a peak due to pair-instability supernovae. Third, we measure the distribution of black hole mass ratios. Finally, we show how inadequate models of the black hole mass spectrum lead to biased estimates of the merger rate and the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational-wave background.

Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Camp, Jordan B.;

GW170608: Observation of a 19 Solar-mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

OpenAIRE

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Adhikari, R. X.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barish, B. C.; Berger, B. K.; Billingsley, G.; Biscans, S; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.

2017-01-01

On 2017 June 8 at 02:01:16.49 UTC, a gravitational-wave (GW) signal from the merger of two stellar-mass black holes was observed by the two Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detectors with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13. This system is the lightest black hole binary so far observed, with component masses of 12^(+7)_(-2) M⊙ and 7^(+2)_(-2) M⊙ (90% credible intervals). These lie in the range of measured black hole masses in low-mass X-ray binaries, thus allowi...

Binary black hole initial data from matched asymptotic expansions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yunes, Nicolas; Owen, Benjamin J.; Tichy, Wolfgang; Bruegmann, Bernd

2006-01-01

We present an approximate metric for a binary black-hole spacetime to construct initial data for numerical relativity. This metric is obtained by asymptotically matching a post-Newtonian metric for a binary system to a perturbed Schwarzschild metric for each hole. In the inner zone near each hole, the metric is given by the Schwarzschild solution plus a quadrupolar perturbation corresponding to an external tidal gravitational field. In the near zone, well outside each black hole but less than a reduced wavelength from the center of mass of the binary, the metric is given by a post-Newtonian expansion including the lowest-order deviations from flat spacetime. When the near zone overlaps each inner zone in a buffer zone, the post-Newtonian and perturbed Schwarzschild metrics can be asymptotically matched to each other. By demanding matching (over a 4-volume in the buffer zone) rather than patching (choosing a particular 2-surface in the buffer zone), we guarantee that the errors are small in all zones. The resulting piecewise metric is made formally C ∞ with smooth transition functions so as to obtain the finite extrinsic curvature of a 3-slice. In addition to the metric and extrinsic curvature, we present explicit results for the lapse and the shift, which can be used as initial data for numerical simulations. This initial data is not accurate all the way to the asymptotically flat ends inside each hole, and therefore must be used with evolution codes which employ black hole excision rather than puncture methods. This paper lays the foundations of a method that can be straightforwardly iterated to obtain initial data to higher perturbative order

Relativistic three-body effects in black hole coalescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campanelli, Manuela; Dettwyler, Miranda; Lousto, Carlos O.; Hannam, Mark

2006-01-01

Three-body interactions are expected to be common in globular clusters and in galactic cores hosting supermassive black holes. We consider an equal-mass binary black hole system in the presence of a third black hole. Using numerically generated binary black hole initial data sets, and first and second-order post-Newtonian (1PN and 2PN) techniques, we find that the presence of the third black hole has non-negligible relativistic effects on the location of the binary's innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO), and that these effects arise at 2PN order. For a stellar-mass black hole binary in orbit about a supermassive black hole, the massive black hole has stabilizing effects on the orbiting binary, leading to an increase in merger time and a decrease of the terminal orbital frequency, and an amplification of the gravitational radiation emitted from the binary system by up to 6%

Gravitational Waves from Coalescing Binary Black Holes: Theoretical and Experimental Challenges

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2010-01-01

(LIGO/VIRGO/GEO/...) is currently taking data near its planned sensitivity. Coalescing black hole binaries are among the most promising, and most exciting, gravitational wave sources for these detectors. The talk will review the theoretical and experimental challenges that must be met in order to successfully detect gravitational waves from coalescing black hole binaries, and to be able to reliably measure the physical parameters of the source (masses, spins, ...).

A Dancing Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Shoemaker, Deirdre; Smith, Kenneth; Schnetter, Erik; Fiske, David; Laguna, Pablo; Pullin, Jorge

2002-04-01

Recently, stationary black holes have been successfully simulated for up to times of approximately 600-1000M, where M is the mass of the black hole. Considering that the expected burst of gravitational radiation from a binary black hole merger would last approximately 200-500M, black hole codes are approaching the point where simulations of mergers may be feasible. We will present two types of simulations of single black holes obtained with a code based on the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of the Einstein evolution equations. One type of simulations addresses the stability properties of stationary black hole evolutions. The second type of simulations demonstrates the ability of our code to move a black hole through the computational domain. This is accomplished by shifting the stationary black hole solution to a coordinate system in which the location of the black hole is time dependent.

Black hole binary OJ287 as a testing platform for general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valtonen, M J; Gopakumar, A; Mikkola, S; Wiik, K; Lehto, H J

2014-01-01

The blazar OJ287 is the most promising (and the only) case for an extragalactic binary black hole system inspiralling under the action of gravitational radiation reaction. At present, though it is not possible to directly observe the binary components, it is possible to observe the jet emanating from the primary black hole. We have argued that the orbital motion of the secondary black hole is reflected in the wobble of the jet, and demonstrated that the wobble is orbital position dependent. The erratic wobble of the jet is analyzed by taking into account the binary nature of the system, and we have found that the erratic component of jet wobble is very small

The search for massive black hole binaries with LISA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornish, Neil J; Porter, Edward K

2007-01-01

In this work we focus on the search and detection of massive black hole binary (MBHB) systems, including systems at high redshift. As well as expanding on previous works where we used a variant of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), called Metropolis-Hastings Monte Carlo, with simulated annealing, we introduce a new search method based on frequency annealing which leads to a more rapid and robust detection. We compare the two search methods on systems where we do and do not see the merger of the black holes. In the non-merger case, we also examine the posterior distribution exploration using a 7D MCMC algorithm. We demonstrate that this method is effective in dealing with the high correlations between parameters, has a higher acceptance rate than previously proposed methods and produces posterior distribution functions that are close to the prediction from the Fisher information matrix. Finally, after carrying out searches where there is only one binary in the data stream, we examine the case where two black hole binaries are present in the same data stream. We demonstrate that our search algorithm can accurately recover both binaries, and more importantly showing that we can safely extract the MBHB sources without contaminating the rest of the data stream

BINARY DISRUPTION BY MASSIVE BLACK HOLES: HYPERVELOCITY STARS, S STARS, AND TIDAL DISRUPTION EVENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bromley, Benjamin C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Rm 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Kenyon, Scott J.; Geller, Margaret J.; Brown, Warren R., E-mail: bromley@physics.utah.edu, E-mail: skenyon@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: mgeller@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: wbrown@cfa.harvard.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2012-04-20

We examine whether disrupted binary stars can fuel black hole growth. In this mechanism, tidal disruption produces a single hypervelocity star (HVS) ejected at high velocity and a former companion star bound to the black hole. After a cluster of bound stars forms, orbital diffusion allows the black hole to accrete stars by tidal disruption at a rate comparable to the capture rate. In the Milky Way, HVSs and the S star cluster imply similar rates of 10{sup -5} to 10{sup -3} yr{sup -1} for binary disruption. These rates are consistent with estimates for the tidal disruption rate in nearby galaxies and imply significant black hole growth from disrupted binaries on 10 Gyr timescales.

Binary Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, and Numerical Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2009-01-01

The final merger of two black holes releases a tremendous amount of energy and is one of the brightest sources in the gravitational wave sky. Observing these sources with gravitational wave detectors requires that we know the radiation waveforms they emit. Since these mergers take place in regions of very strong gravitational fields, we need to solve Einstein's equations of general relativity on a computer in order to calculate these waveforms. For more than 30 years, scientists have tried to compute these waveforms using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes have been plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. Recently this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of amazing breakthroughs. This talk will take you on this quest for the holy grail of numerical relativity, showing how a spacetime is constructed on a computer to build a simulation laboratory for binary black hole mergers. We will focus on the recent advances that are revealing these waveforms, and the dramatic new potential for discoveries that arises when these sources will be observed by LIGO and LISA.

Accreting Black Holes

OpenAIRE

Begelman, Mitchell C.

2014-01-01

I outline the theory of accretion onto black holes, and its application to observed phenomena such as X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events, and gamma-ray bursts. The dynamics as well as radiative signatures of black hole accretion depend on interactions between the relatively simple black-hole spacetime and complex radiation, plasma and magnetohydrodynamical processes in the surrounding gas. I will show how transient accretion processes could provide clues to these ...

ENHANCED TIDAL DISRUPTION RATES FROM MASSIVE BLACK HOLE BINARIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xian; Liu, F. K.; Madau, Piero; Sesana, Alberto

2009-01-01

'Hard' massive black hole (MBH) binaries embedded in steep stellar cusps can shrink via three-body slingshot interactions. We show that this process will inevitably be accompanied by a burst of stellar tidal disruptions, at a rate that can be several orders of magnitude larger than that appropriate for a single MBH. Our numerical scattering experiments reveal that (1) a significant fraction of stars initially bound to the primary hole are scattered into its tidal disruption loss cone by gravitational interactions with the secondary hole, an enhancement effect that is more pronounced for very unequal mass binaries; (2) about 25% (40%) of all strongly interacting stars are tidally disrupted by an MBH binary of mass ratio q = 1/81 (q = 1/243) and eccentricity 0.1; and (3) two mechanisms dominate the fueling of the tidal disruption loss cone, a Kozai nonresonant interaction that causes the secular evolution of the stellar angular momentum in the field of the binary, and the effect of close encounters with the secondary hole that change the stellar orbital parameters in a chaotic way. For a hard MBH binary of 10 7 M sun and mass ratio 10 -2 , embedded in an isothermal stellar cusp of velocity dispersion σ * = 100 km s -1 , the tidal disruption rate can be as large as N-dot * ∼1 yr -1 . This is 4 orders of magnitude higher than estimated for a single MBH fed by two-body relaxation. When applied to the case of a putative intermediate-mass black hole inspiraling onto Sgr A*, our results predict tidal disruption rates N-dot * ∼0.05-0.1 yr -1 .

Relativistic boost as the cause of periodicity in a massive black-hole binary candidate.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Orazio, Daniel J; Haiman, Zoltán; Schiminovich, David

2015-09-17

Because most large galaxies contain a central black hole, and galaxies often merge, black-hole binaries are expected to be common in galactic nuclei. Although they cannot be imaged, periodicities in the light curves of quasars have been interpreted as evidence for binaries, most recently in PG 1302-102, which has a short rest-frame optical period of four years (ref. 6). If the orbital period of the black-hole binary matches this value, then for the range of estimated black-hole masses, the components would be separated by 0.007-0.017 parsecs, implying relativistic orbital speeds. There has been much debate over whether black-hole orbits could be smaller than one parsec (ref. 7). Here we report that the amplitude and the sinusoid-like shape of the variability of the light curve of PG 1302-102 can be fitted by relativistic Doppler boosting of emission from a compact, steadily accreting, unequal-mass binary. We predict that brightness variations in the ultraviolet light curve track those in the optical, but with a two to three times larger amplitude. This prediction is relatively insensitive to the details of the emission process, and is consistent with archival ultraviolet data. Follow-up ultraviolet and optical observations in the next few years can further test this prediction and confirm the existence of a binary black hole in the relativistic regime.

A close-pair binary in a distant triple supermassive black hole system.

Science.gov (United States)

Deane, R P; Paragi, Z; Jarvis, M J; Coriat, M; Bernardi, G; Fender, R P; Frey, S; Heywood, I; Klöckner, H-R; Grainge, K; Rumsey, C

2014-07-03

Galaxies are believed to evolve through merging, which should lead to some hosting multiple supermassive black holes. There are four known triple black hole systems, with the closest black hole pair being 2.4 kiloparsecs apart (the third component in this system is at 3 kiloparsecs), which is far from the gravitational sphere of influence (about 100 parsecs for a black hole with mass one billion times that of the Sun). Previous searches for compact black hole systems concluded that they were rare, with the tightest binary system having a separation of 7 parsecs (ref. 10). Here we report observations of a triple black hole system at redshift z = 0.39, with the closest pair separated by about 140 parsecs and significantly more distant from Earth than any other known binary of comparable orbital separation. The effect of the tight pair is to introduce a rotationally symmetric helical modulation on the structure of the large-scale radio jets, which provides a useful way to search for other tight pairs without needing extremely high resolution observations. As we found this tight pair after searching only six galaxies, we conclude that tight pairs are more common than hitherto believed, which is an important observational constraint for low-frequency gravitational wave experiments.

Shaping Globular Clusters with Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-03-01

How many black holes lurk within the dense environments of globular clusters, and how do these powerful objects shape the properties of the cluster around them? One such cluster, NGC 3201, is now helping us to answer these questions.Hunting Stellar-Mass Black HolesSince the detection of merging black-hole binaries by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the dense environments of globular clusters have received increasing attention as potential birthplaces of these compact binary systems.The central region of the globular star cluster NGC 3201, as viewed by Hubble. The black hole is in orbit with the star marked by the blue circle. [NASA/ESA]In addition, more and more stellar-mass black-hole candidates have been observed within globular clusters, lurking in binary pairs with luminous, non-compact companions. The most recent of these detections, found in the globular cluster NGC 3201, stands alone as the first stellar-mass black hole candidate discovered via radial velocity observations: the black holes main-sequence companion gave away its presence via a telltale wobble.Now a team of scientists led by Kyle Kremer (CIERA and Northwestern University) is using models of this system to better understand the impact that black holes might have on their host clusters.A Model ClusterThe relationship between black holes and their host clusters is complicated. Though the cluster environment can determine the dynamical evolution of the black holes, the retention rate of black holes in a globular cluster (i.e., how many remain in the cluster when they are born as supernovae, rather than being kicked out during the explosion) influences how the host cluster evolves.Kremer and collaborators track this complex relationship by modeling the evolution of a cluster similar to NGC 3201 with a Monte Carlo code. The code incorporates physics relevant to the evolution of black holes and black-hole binaries in globular clusters, such as two-body relaxation

ULTRAMASSIVE BLACK HOLE COALESCENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Fazeel Mahmood; Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly; Berczik, Peter

2015-01-01

Although supermassive black holes (SMBHs) correlate well with their host galaxies, there is an emerging view that outliers exist. Henize 2-10, NGC 4889, and NGC 1277 are examples of SMBHs at least an order of magnitude more massive than their host galaxy suggests. The dynamical effects of such ultramassive central black holes is unclear. Here, we perform direct N-body simulations of mergers of galactic nuclei where one black hole is ultramassive to study the evolution of the remnant and the black hole dynamics in this extreme regime. We find that the merger remnant is axisymmetric near the center, while near the large SMBH influence radius, the galaxy is triaxial. The SMBH separation shrinks rapidly due to dynamical friction, and quickly forms a binary black hole; if we scale our model to the most massive estimate for the NGC 1277 black hole, for example, the timescale for the SMBH separation to shrink from nearly a kiloparsec to less than a parsec is roughly 10 Myr. By the time the SMBHs form a hard binary, gravitational wave emission dominates, and the black holes coalesce in a mere few Myr. Curiously, these extremely massive binaries appear to nearly bypass the three-body scattering evolutionary phase. Our study suggests that in this extreme case, SMBH coalescence is governed by dynamical friction followed nearly directly by gravitational wave emission, resulting in a rapid and efficient SMBH coalescence timescale. We discuss the implications for gravitational wave event rates and hypervelocity star production

Systematic Biases in Parameter Estimation of Binary Black-Hole Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Littenberg, Tyson B.; Baker, John G.; Buonanno, Alessandra; Kelly, Bernard J.

2012-01-01

Parameter estimation of binary-black-hole merger events in gravitational-wave data relies on matched filtering techniques, which, in turn, depend on accurate model waveforms. Here we characterize the systematic biases introduced in measuring astrophysical parameters of binary black holes by applying the currently most accurate effective-one-body templates to simulated data containing non-spinning numerical-relativity waveforms. For advanced ground-based detectors, we find that the systematic biases are well within the statistical error for realistic signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). These biases grow to be comparable to the statistical errors at high signal-to-noise ratios for ground-based instruments (SNR approximately 50) but never dominate the error budget. At the much larger signal-to-noise ratios expected for space-based detectors, these biases will become large compared to the statistical errors but are small enough (at most a few percent in the black-hole masses) that we expect they should not affect broad astrophysical conclusions that may be drawn from the data.

Minidisks in Binary Black Hole Accretion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryan, Geoffrey; MacFadyen, Andrew, E-mail: gsr257@nyu.edu [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Physics Department, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

2017-02-01

Newtonian simulations have demonstrated that accretion onto binary black holes produces accretion disks around each black hole (“minidisks”), fed by gas streams flowing through the circumbinary cavity from the surrounding circumbinary disk. We study the dynamics and radiation of an individual black hole minidisk using 2D hydrodynamical simulations performed with a new general relativistic version of the moving-mesh code Disco. We introduce a comoving energy variable that enables highly accurate integration of these high Mach number flows. Tidally induced spiral shock waves are excited in the disk and propagate through the innermost stable circular orbit, providing a Reynolds stress that causes efficient accretion by purely hydrodynamic means and producing a radiative signature brighter in hard X-rays than the Novikov–Thorne model. Disk cooling is provided by a local blackbody prescription that allows the disk to evolve self-consistently to a temperature profile where hydrodynamic heating is balanced by radiative cooling. We find that the spiral shock structure is in agreement with the relativistic dispersion relation for tightly wound linear waves. We measure the shock-induced dissipation and find outward angular momentum transport corresponding to an effective alpha parameter of order 0.01. We perform ray-tracing image calculations from the simulations to produce theoretical minidisk spectra and viewing-angle-dependent images for comparison with observations.

Measuring the spin of black holes in binary systems using gravitational waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitale, Salvatore; Lynch, Ryan; Veitch, John; Raymond, Vivien; Sturani, Riccardo

2014-06-27

Compact binary coalescences are the most promising sources of gravitational waves (GWs) for ground-based detectors. Binary systems containing one or two spinning black holes are particularly interesting due to spin-orbit (and eventual spin-spin) interactions and the opportunity of measuring spins directly through GW observations. In this Letter, we analyze simulated signals emitted by spinning binaries with several values of masses, spins, orientations, and signal-to-noise ratios, as detected by an advanced LIGO-Virgo network. We find that for moderate or high signal-to-noise ratio the spin magnitudes can be estimated with errors of a few percent (5%-30%) for neutron star-black hole (black hole-black hole) systems. Spins' tilt angle can be estimated with errors of 0.04 rad in the best cases, but typical values will be above 0.1 rad. Errors will be larger for signals barely above the threshold for detection. The difference in the azimuth angles of the spins, which may be used to check if spins are locked into resonant configurations, cannot be constrained. We observe that the best performances are obtained when the line of sight is perpendicular to the system's total angular momentum and that a sudden change of behavior occurs when a system is observed from angles such that the plane of the orbit can be seen both from above and below during the time the signal is in band. This study suggests that direct measurement of black hole spin by means of GWs can be as precise as what can be obtained from x-ray binaries.

Contribution of High-Mass Black Holes to Mergers of Compact Binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bethe, H.A.; Brown, G.E.

1999-01-01

We consider the merging of compact binaries consisting of a high-mass black hole and a neutron star. From stellar evolutionary calculations that include mass loss, we estimate that a zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass of approx-gt 80 M circle-dot is necessary before a high-mass black hole can result from a massive O star progenitor. We first consider how Cyg X-1, with its measured orbital radius of ∼17 R circle-dot , might evolve. Although this radius is substantially less than the initial distance of two O stars, it is still so large that the resulting compact objects will merge only if an eccentricity close to unity results from a high kick velocity of the neutron star in the final supernova explosion. We estimate the probability of the necessary eccentricity to be ∼1%; i.e., 99% of the time the explosion of a Cyg X-1 endash type object will end as a binary of compact stars, which will not merge in Hubble time (unless the orbit is tightened in common envelope evolution, which we discuss later). Although we predict ∼7 massive binaries of Cyg X-1 type, we argue that only Cyg X-1 is narrow enough to be observed, and that only Cyg X-1 has an appreciable chance of merging in Hubble time. This gives us a merging rate of ∼3x10 -8 yr -1 in the galaxy, the order of magnitude of the merging rate found by computer-driven population syntheses, if extrapolated to our mass limit of 80 M circle-dot ZAMS mass for high-mass black hole formation. Furthermore, in both our calculation and in those of population syntheses, almost all of the mergings involve an eccentricity close to unity in the final explosion of the O star. From this first part of our development we obtain only a negligible contribution to our final results for mergers, and it turns out to be irrelevant for our final results. In our main development, instead of relying on observed binaries, we consider the general evolution of binaries of massive stars. The critical stage is when the more massive star A has

High-accuracy waveforms for binary black hole inspiral, merger, and ringdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheel, Mark A.; Boyle, Michael; Chu, Tony; Matthews, Keith D.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.; Kidder, Lawrence E.

2009-01-01

The first spectral numerical simulations of 16 orbits, merger, and ringdown of an equal-mass nonspinning binary black hole system are presented. Gravitational waveforms from these simulations have accumulated numerical phase errors through ringdown of f /M=0.951 62±0.000 02, and the final black hole spin is S f /M f 2 =0.686 46±0.000 04.

Dynamical Formation and Merger of Binary Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Nicholas

2017-01-01

The advent of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy began with Advanced LIGO's 2015 discovery of GWs from coalescing black hole (BH) binaries. GW astronomy holds great promise for testing general relativity, but also for investigating open astrophysical questions not amenable to traditional electromagnetic observations. One such question concerns the origin of stellar mass BH binaries in the universe: do these form primarily from evolution of isolated binaries of massive stars, or do they form through more exotic dynamical channels? The best studied dynamical formation channel involves multibody interactions of BHs and stars in dense globular cluster environments, but many other dynamical scenarios have recently been proposed, ranging from the Kozai effect in hierarchical triple systems to BH binary formation in the outskirts of Toomre-unstable accretion disks surrounding supermassive black holes. The BH binaries formed through these processes will have different distributions of observable parameters (e.g. mass ratios, spins) than BH binaries formed through the evolution of isolated binary stars. In my talk I will overview these and other dynamical formation scenarios, and summarize the key observational tests that will enable Advanced LIGO or other future detectors to determine what formation pathway creates the majority of binary BHs in the universe. NCS thanks NASA, which has funded his work through Einstein postdoctoral grant PF5-160145.

GW150914: Implications for the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Binary Black Holes.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T D; Abernathy, M R; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Adya, V B; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Aiello, L; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Altin, P A; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Arceneaux, C C; Areeda, J S; Arnaud, N; Arun, K G; Ascenzi, S; Ashton, G; Ast, M; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Babak, S; Bacon, P; Bader, M K M; Baker, P T; Baldaccini, F; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barclay, S E; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barta, D; Bartlett, J; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Baune, C; Bavigadda, V; Bazzan, M; Behnke, B; Bejger, M; Bell, A S; Bell, C J; Berger, B K; Bergman, J; Bergmann, G; Berry, C P L; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Bhagwat, S; Bhandare, R; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Birch, J; Birney, R; Biscans, S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Bodiya, T P; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bogan, C; Bohe, A; Bojtos, P; Bond, C; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Brooks, A F; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Bustillo, J Calderón; Callister, T; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Cannon, K C; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Diaz, J Casanueva; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Baiardi, L Cerboni; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chakraborty, R; Chalermsongsak, T; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, C; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conte, A; Conti, L; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Craig, K; Creighton, J D E; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Canton, T Dal; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Darman, N S; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Daveloza, H P; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Daw, E J; Day, R; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dereli, H; Dergachev, V; DeRosa, R T; De Rosa, R; DeSalvo, R; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Dojcinoski, G; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Douglas, R; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Du, Z; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Engels, W; Essick, R C; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Fang, Q; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fournier, J-D; Franco, S; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fricke, T T; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H A G; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gatto, A; Gaur, G; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Gendre, B; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, K; Glaefke, A; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Castro, J M Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A; Gordon, N A; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S E; Gosselin, M; Gouaty, R; Graef, C; Graff, P B; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greco, G; Green, A C; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guo, X; Gupta, A; Gupta, M K; Gushwa, K E; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hacker, J J; Hall, B R; Hall, E D; Hammond, G; Haney, M; Hanke, M M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hannam, M D; Hanson, J; Hardwick, T; Haris, K; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Hart, M J; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M C; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Hennig, J; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hodge, K A; Hofman, D; Hollitt, S E; Holt, K; Holz, D E; Hopkins, P; Hosken, D J; Hough, J; Houston, E A; Howell, E J; Hu, Y M; Huang, S; Huerta, E A; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Idrisy, A; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Islas, G; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacqmin, T; Jang, H; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Karki, S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kawazoe, F; Kéfélian, F; Kehl, M S; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kells, W; Kennedy, R; Key, J S; Khalaidovski, A; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, C; Kim, J; Kim, K; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y-M; King, E J; King, P J; Kinzel, D L; Kissel, J S; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koehlenbeck, S M; Kokeyama, K; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Kringel, V; Królak, A; Krueger, C; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lasky, P D; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Levine, B M; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Lockerbie, N A; Logue, J; Lombardi, A L; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Luo, J; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; MacDonald, T; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Magee, R M; Mageswaran, M; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martin, R M; Martynov, D V; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; Mazzolo, G; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mendoza-Gandara, D; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, C L; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D J; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Necula, V; Nedkova, K; Nelemans, G; Neri, M; Neunzert, A; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Oberling, J; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Oelker, E; Ogin, G H; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oliver, M; Oppermann, P; Oram, Richard J; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Ottens, R S; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pai, A; Pai, S A; Palamos, J R; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pal-Singh, A; Pan, H; Pankow, C; Pannarale, F; Pant, B C; Paoletti, F; Paoli, A; Papa, M A; Paris, H R; Parker, W; Pascucci, D; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patricelli, B; Patrick, Z; Pearlstone, B L; Pedraza, M; Pedurand, R; Pekowsky, L; Pele, A; Penn, S; Perreca, A; Phelps, M; Piccinni, O; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pillant, G; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poggiani, R; Popolizio, P; Post, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Predoi, V; Premachandra, S S; Prestegard, T; Price, L R; Prijatelj, M; Principe, M; Privitera, S; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Pürrer, M; Qi, H; Qin, J; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E A; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Re, V; Read, J; Reed, C M; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rew, H; Reyes, S D; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; Rolland, L; Rollins, J G; Roma, V J; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romanov, G; Romie, J H; Rosińska, D; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Ryan, K; Sachdev, S; Sadecki, T; Sadeghian, L; Salconi, L; Saleem, M; Salemi, F; Samajdar, A; Sammut, L; Sanchez, E J; Sandberg, V; Sandeen, B; Sanders, J R; Sassolas, B; Sathyaprakash, B S; Saulson, P R; Sauter, O; Savage, R L; Sawadsky, A; Schale, P; Schilling, R; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R M S; Schönbeck, A; Schreiber, E; Schuette, D; Schutz, B F; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Sellers, D; Sentenac, D; Sequino, V; Sergeev, A; Serna, G; Setyawati, Y; Sevigny, A; Shaddock, D A; Shah, S; Shahriar, M S; Shaltev, M; Shao, Z; Shapiro, B; Shawhan, P; Sheperd, A; Shoemaker, D H; Shoemaker, D M; Siellez, K; Siemens, X; Sigg, D; Silva, A D; Simakov, D; Singer, A; Singer, L P; Singh, A; Singh, R; Singhal, A; Sintes, A M; Slagmolen, B J J; Smith, J R; Smith, N D; Smith, R J E; Son, E J; Sorazu, B; Sorrentino, F; Souradeep, T; Srivastava, A K; Staley, A; Steinke, M; Steinlechner, J; Steinlechner, S; Steinmeyer, D; Stephens, B C; Stone, R; Strain, K A; Straniero, N; Stratta, G; Strauss, N A; Strigin, S; Sturani, R; Stuver, A L; Summerscales, T Z; Sun, L; Sutton, P J; Swinkels, B L; Szczepańczyk, M J; Tacca, M; Talukder, D; Tanner, D B; Tápai, M; Tarabrin, S P; Taracchini, A; Taylor, R; Theeg, T; Thirugnanasambandam, M P; Thomas, E G; Thomas, M; Thomas, P; Thorne, K A; Thorne, K S; Thrane, E; Tiwari, S; Tiwari, V; Tokmakov, K V; Tomlinson, C; Tonelli, M; Torres, C V; Torrie, C I; Töyrä, D; Travasso, F; Traylor, G; Trifirò, D; Tringali, M C; Trozzo, L; Tse, M; Turconi, M; Tuyenbayev, D; Ugolini, D; Unnikrishnan, C S; Urban, A L; Usman, S A; Vahlbruch, H; Vajente, G; Valdes, G; van Bakel, N; van Beuzekom, M; van den Brand, J F J; Van Den Broeck, C; Vander-Hyde, D C; van der Schaaf, L; van Heijningen, J V; van Veggel, A A; Vardaro, M; Vass, S; Vasúth, M; Vaulin, R; Vecchio, A; Vedovato, G; Veitch, J; Veitch, P J; Venkateswara, K; Verkindt, D; Vetrano, F; Viceré, A; Vinciguerra, S; Vine, D J; Vinet, J-Y; Vitale, S; Vo, T; Vocca, H; Vorvick, C; Voss, D; Vousden, W D; Vyatchanin, S P; Wade, A R; Wade, L E; Wade, M; Walker, M; Wallace, L; Walsh, S; Wang, G; Wang, H; Wang, M; Wang, X; Wang, Y; Ward, R L; Warner, J; Was, M; Weaver, B; Wei, L-W; Weinert, M; Weinstein, A J; Weiss, R; Welborn, T; Wen, L; Weßels, P; Westphal, T; Wette, K; Whelan, J T; White, D J; Whiting, B F; Williams, R D; Williamson, A R; Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M H; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Worden, J; Wright, J L; Wu, G; Yablon, J; Yam, W; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yap, M J; Yu, H; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zangrando, L; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, F; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, Y; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zuraw, S E; Zweizig, J

2016-04-01

The LIGO detection of the gravitational wave transient GW150914, from the inspiral and merger of two black holes with masses ≳30M_{⊙}, suggests a population of binary black holes with relatively high mass. This observation implies that the stochastic gravitational-wave background from binary black holes, created from the incoherent superposition of all the merging binaries in the Universe, could be higher than previously expected. Using the properties of GW150914, we estimate the energy density of such a background from binary black holes. In the most sensitive part of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo band for stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), we predict Ω_{GW}(f=25  Hz)=1.1_{-0.9}^{+2.7}×10^{-9} with 90% confidence. This prediction is robustly demonstrated for a variety of formation scenarios with different parameters. The differences between models are small compared to the statistical uncertainty arising from the currently poorly constrained local coalescence rate. We conclude that this background is potentially measurable by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors operating at their projected final sensitivity.

Modeling AGN outbursts from supermassive black hole binaries

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Tanaka T.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available When galaxies merge to assemble more massive galaxies, their nuclear supermassive black holes (SMBHs should form bound binaries. As these interact with their stellar and gaseous environments, they will become increasingly compact, culminating in inspiral and coalescence through the emission of gravitational radiation. Because galaxy mergers and interactions are also thought to fuel star formation and nuclear black hole activity, it is plausible that such binaries would lie in gas-rich environments and power active galactic nuclei (AGN. The primary difference is that these binaries have gravitational potentials that vary – through their orbital motion as well as their orbital evolution – on humanly tractable timescales, and are thus excellent candidates to give rise to coherent AGN variability in the form of outbursts and recurrent transients. Although such electromagnetic signatures would be ideally observed concomitantly with the binary’s gravitational-wave signatures, they are also likely to be discovered serendipitously in wide-field, high-cadence surveys; some may even be confused for stellar tidal disruption events. I discuss several types of possible “smoking gun” AGN signatures caused by the peculiar geometry predicted for accretion disks around SMBH binaries.

Post-Newtonian Dynamics in Dense Star Clusters: Highly Eccentric, Highly Spinning, and Repeated Binary Black Hole Mergers.

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Rodriguez, Carl L; Amaro-Seoane, Pau; Chatterjee, Sourav; Rasio, Frederic A

2018-04-13

We present models of realistic globular clusters with post-Newtonian dynamics for black holes. By modeling the relativistic accelerations and gravitational-wave emission in isolated binaries and during three- and four-body encounters, we find that nearly half of all binary black hole mergers occur inside the cluster, with about 10% of those mergers entering the LIGO/Virgo band with eccentricities greater than 0.1. In-cluster mergers lead to the birth of a second generation of black holes with larger masses and high spins, which, depending on the black hole natal spins, can sometimes be retained in the cluster and merge again. As a result, globular clusters can produce merging binaries with detectable spins regardless of the birth spins of black holes formed from massive stars. These second-generation black holes would also populate any upper mass gap created by pair-instability supernovae.

Post-Newtonian Dynamics in Dense Star Clusters: Highly Eccentric, Highly Spinning, and Repeated Binary Black Hole Mergers

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Rodriguez, Carl L.; Amaro-Seoane, Pau; Chatterjee, Sourav; Rasio, Frederic A.

2018-04-01

We present models of realistic globular clusters with post-Newtonian dynamics for black holes. By modeling the relativistic accelerations and gravitational-wave emission in isolated binaries and during three- and four-body encounters, we find that nearly half of all binary black hole mergers occur inside the cluster, with about 10% of those mergers entering the LIGO/Virgo band with eccentricities greater than 0.1. In-cluster mergers lead to the birth of a second generation of black holes with larger masses and high spins, which, depending on the black hole natal spins, can sometimes be retained in the cluster and merge again. As a result, globular clusters can produce merging binaries with detectable spins regardless of the birth spins of black holes formed from massive stars. These second-generation black holes would also populate any upper mass gap created by pair-instability supernovae.

Impact of Bayesian Priors on the Characterization of Binary Black Hole Coalescences.

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Vitale, Salvatore; Gerosa, Davide; Haster, Carl-Johan; Chatziioannou, Katerina; Zimmerman, Aaron

2017-12-22

In a regime where data are only mildly informative, prior choices can play a significant role in Bayesian statistical inference, potentially affecting the inferred physics. We show this is indeed the case for some of the parameters inferred from current gravitational-wave measurements of binary black hole coalescences. We reanalyze the first detections performed by the twin LIGO interferometers using alternative (and astrophysically motivated) prior assumptions. We find different prior distributions can introduce deviations in the resulting posteriors that impact the physical interpretation of these systems. For instance, (i) limits on the 90% credible interval on the effective black hole spin χ_{eff} are subject to variations of ∼10% if a prior with black hole spins mostly aligned to the binary's angular momentum is considered instead of the standard choice of isotropic spin directions, and (ii) under priors motivated by the initial stellar mass function, we infer tighter constraints on the black hole masses, and in particular, we find no support for any of the inferred masses within the putative mass gap M≲5  M_{⊙}.

Formation of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries with Non-degenerate Donors in Globular Clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanova, Natalia; Rocha, Cassio A. da; Van, Kenny X.; Nandez, Jose L. A., E-mail: nata.ivanova@ualberta.ca [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E7 (Canada)

2017-07-10

In this Letter, we propose a formation channel for low-mass X-ray binaries with black hole accretors and non-degenerate donors via grazing tidal encounters with subgiants. We estimate that in a typically dense globular cluster with a core density of 10{sup 5} stars pc{sup −3}, the formation rates are about one binary per Gyr per 50–100 retained black holes. The donors—stripped subgiants—will be strongly underluminous when compared to subgiant or giant branch stars of the same colors. The products of tidal stripping are underluminous by at least one magnitude for several hundred million years when compared to normal stars of the same color, and differ from underluminous red stars that could be produced by non-catastrophic mass transfer in an ordinary binary. The dynamically formed binaries become quiescent LMXBs, with lifetimes of about a Gyr. The expected number of X-ray binaries is one per 50–200 retained black holes, while the expected number of strongly underluminous subsubgiant is about half this. The presence of strongly underluminous stars in a GC may be indicative of the presence of black holes.

Formation of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries with Non-degenerate Donors in Globular Clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanova, Natalia; Rocha, Cassio A. da; Van, Kenny X.; Nandez, Jose L. A.

2017-01-01

In this Letter, we propose a formation channel for low-mass X-ray binaries with black hole accretors and non-degenerate donors via grazing tidal encounters with subgiants. We estimate that in a typically dense globular cluster with a core density of 10 5 stars pc −3 , the formation rates are about one binary per Gyr per 50–100 retained black holes. The donors—stripped subgiants—will be strongly underluminous when compared to subgiant or giant branch stars of the same colors. The products of tidal stripping are underluminous by at least one magnitude for several hundred million years when compared to normal stars of the same color, and differ from underluminous red stars that could be produced by non-catastrophic mass transfer in an ordinary binary. The dynamically formed binaries become quiescent LMXBs, with lifetimes of about a Gyr. The expected number of X-ray binaries is one per 50–200 retained black holes, while the expected number of strongly underluminous subsubgiant is about half this. The presence of strongly underluminous stars in a GC may be indicative of the presence of black holes.

CIRCUMBINARY MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC ACCRETION INTO INSPIRALING BINARY BLACK HOLES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noble, Scott C.; Mundim, Bruno C.; Nakano, Hiroyuki; Campanelli, Manuela; Zlochower, Yosef [Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Krolik, Julian H. [Physics and Astronomy Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Yunes, Nicolas, E-mail: scn@astro.rit.edu [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States)

2012-08-10

We have simulated the magnetohydrodynamic evolution of a circumbinary disk surrounding an equal-mass binary comprising two non-spinning black holes during the period in which the disk inflow time is comparable to the binary evolution time due to gravitational radiation. Both the changing spacetime and the binary orbital evolution are described by an innovative technique utilizing high-order post-Newtonian approximations. Prior to the beginning of the inspiral, the structure of the circumbinary disk is predicted well by extrapolation from Newtonian results: a gap of roughly two binary separation radii is cleared, and matter piles up at the outer edge of this gap as inflow is retarded by torques exerted by the binary; the accretion rate is roughly half its value at large radius. During inspiral, the inner edge of the disk initially moves inward in coordination with the shrinking binary, but-as the orbital evolution accelerates-the inward motion of the disk edge falls behind the rate of binary compression. In this stage, the binary torque falls substantially, but the accretion rate decreases by only 10%-20%. When the binary separation is tens of gravitational radii, the rest-mass efficiency of disk radiation is a few percent, suggesting that supermassive binary black holes could be very luminous at this stage of their evolution. Inner disk heating is modulated at a beat frequency comparable to the binary orbital frequency. However, a disk with sufficient surface density to be luminous may be optically thick, suppressing periodic modulation of the luminosity.

Constructing binary black hole initial data with high mass ratios and spins

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Ossokine, Serguei; Foucart, Francois; Pfeiffer, Harald; Szilagyi, Bela; Simulating Extreme Spacetimes Collaboration

2015-04-01

Binary black hole systems have now been successfully modelled in full numerical relativity by many groups. In order to explore high-mass-ratio (larger than 1:10), high-spin systems (above 0.9 of the maximal BH spin), we revisit the initial-data problem for binary black holes. The initial-data solver in the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC) was not able to solve for such initial data reliably and robustly. I will present recent improvements to this solver, among them adaptive mesh refinement and control of motion of the center of mass of the binary, and will discuss the much larger region of parameter space this code can now address.

A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH FOR MASSIVE BLACK HOLE BINARIES IN THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY SPECTROSCOPIC SAMPLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsalmantza, P.; Decarli, R.; Hogg, David W.; Dotti, M.

2011-01-01

We present the results of a systematic search for massive black hole binaries in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic database. We focus on bound binaries, under the assumption that one of the black holes is active. In this framework, the broad lines associated with the accreting black hole are expected to show systematic velocity shifts with respect to the narrow lines, which trace the rest frame of the galaxy. For a sample of 54,586 quasars and 3929 galaxies at redshifts 0.1 < z < 1.5, we brute-force model each spectrum as a mixture of two quasars at two different redshifts. The spectral model is a data-driven dimensionality reduction of the SDSS quasar spectra based on a matrix factorization. We identified 32 objects with peculiar spectra. Nine of them can be interpreted as black hole binaries. This doubles the number of known black hole binary candidates. We also report on the discovery of a new class of extreme double-peaked emitters with exceptionally broad and faint Balmer lines. For all the interesting sources, we present detailed analysis of the spectra and discuss possible interpretations.

Turbulent black holes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Huan; Zimmerman, Aaron; Lehner, Luis

2015-02-27

We demonstrate that rapidly spinning black holes can display a new type of nonlinear parametric instability-which is triggered above a certain perturbation amplitude threshold-akin to the onset of turbulence, with possibly observable consequences. This instability transfers from higher temporal and azimuthal spatial frequencies to lower frequencies-a phenomenon reminiscent of the inverse cascade displayed by (2+1)-dimensional fluids. Our finding provides evidence for the onset of transitory turbulence in astrophysical black holes and predicts observable signatures in black hole binaries with high spins. Furthermore, it gives a gravitational description of this behavior which, through the fluid-gravity duality, can potentially shed new light on the remarkable phenomena of turbulence in fluids.

Coalescence of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaru Shibata

2011-08-01

Full Text Available We review the current status of general relativistic studies for the coalescence of black hole-neutron star (BH-NS binaries. First, procedures for a solution of BH-NS binaries in quasi-equilibrium circular orbits and the numerical results, such as quasi-equilibrium sequence and mass-shedding limit, of the high-precision computation, are summarized. Then, the current status of numerical-relativity simulations for the merger of BH-NS binaries is described. We summarize our understanding for the merger and/or tidal disruption processes, the criterion for tidal disruption, the properties of the remnant formed after the tidal disruption, gravitational waveform, and gravitational-wave spectrum.

Observing the dynamics of supermassive black hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays.

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Mingarelli, C M F; Grover, K; Sidery, T; Smith, R J E; Vecchio, A

2012-08-24

Pulsar timing arrays are a prime tool to study unexplored astrophysical regimes with gravitational waves. Here, we show that the detection of gravitational radiation from individually resolvable supermassive black hole binary systems can yield direct information about the masses and spins of the black holes, provided that the gravitational-wave-induced timing fluctuations both at the pulsar and at Earth are detected. This in turn provides a map of the nonlinear dynamics of the gravitational field and a new avenue to tackle open problems in astrophysics connected to the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes. We discuss the potential, the challenges, and the limitations of these observations.

Understanding the fate of merging supermassive black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campanelli, Manuela

2005-01-01

Understanding the fate of merging supermassive black holes in galactic mergers, and the gravitational wave emission from this process, are important LISA science goals. To this end, we present results from numerical relativity simulations of binary black hole mergers using the so-called Lazarus approach to model gravitational radiation from these events. In particular, we focus here on some recent calculations of the final spin and recoil velocity of the remnant hole formed at the end of a binary black hole merger process, which may constrain the growth history of massive black holes at the core of galaxies and globular clusters

Statistical constraints on binary black hole inspiral dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galley, Chad R; Herrmann, Frank; Silberholz, John; Tiglio, Manuel [Department of Physics, Center for Fundamental Physics, Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling, Joint Space Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Guerberoff, Gustavo, E-mail: tiglio@umd.ed [Facultad de IngenierIa, Instituto de Matematica y EstadIstica, ' Prof. Ing. Rafael Laguardia' , Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo (Uruguay)

2010-12-21

We perform a statistical analysis of binary black holes in the post-Newtonian approximation by systematically sampling and evolving the parameter space of initial configurations for quasi-circular inspirals. Through a principal component analysis of spin and orbital angular momentum variables, we systematically look for uncorrelated quantities and find three of them which are highly conserved in a statistical sense, both as functions of time and with respect to variations in initial spin orientations. For example, we find a combination of spin scalar products, 2S-circumflex{sub 1{center_dot}}S-circumflex{sub 2} + (S-circumflex{sub 1{center_dot}}L-circumflex) (S-circumflex{sub 2{center_dot}}L-circumflex), that is exactly conserved in time at the considered post-Newtonian order (including spin-spin and radiative effects) for binaries with equal masses and spin magnitudes evolving in a quasi-circular inspiral. We also look for and find the variables that account for the largest variations in the problem. We present binary black hole simulations of the full Einstein equations analyzing to what extent these results might carry over to the full theory in the inspiral and merger regimes. Among other applications these results should be useful both in semi-analytical and numerical building of templates of gravitational waves for gravitational wave detectors.

Characterizing Black Hole Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, John; Boggs, William Darian; Kelly, Bernard

2010-01-01

Binary black hole mergers are a promising source of gravitational waves for interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Recent advances in numerical relativity have revealed the predictions of General Relativity for the strong burst of radiation generated in the final moments of binary coalescence. We explore features in the merger radiation which characterize the final moments of merger and ringdown. Interpreting the waveforms in terms of an rotating implicit radiation source allows a unified phenomenological description of the system from inspiral through ringdown. Common features in the waveforms allow quantitative description of the merger signal which may provide insights for observations large-mass black hole binaries.

Gravitational waveforms for neutron star binaries from binary black hole simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Barkett, Kevin; Scheel, Mark; Haas, Roland; Ott, Christian; Bernuzzi, Sebastiano; Brown, Duncan; Szilagyi, Bela; Kaplan, Jeffrey; Lippuner, Jonas; Muhlberger, Curran; Foucart, Francois; Duez, Matthew

2016-03-01

Gravitational waves from binary neutron star (BNS) and black-hole/neutron star (BHNS) inspirals are primary sources for detection by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. The tidal forces acting on the neutron stars induce changes in the phase evolution of the gravitational waveform, and these changes can be used to constrain the nuclear equation of state. Current methods of generating BNS and BHNS waveforms rely on either computationally challenging full 3D hydrodynamical simulations or approximate analytic solutions. We introduce a new method for computing inspiral waveforms for BNS/BHNS systems by adding the post-Newtonian (PN) tidal effects to full numerical simulations of binary black holes (BBHs), effectively replacing the non-tidal terms in the PN expansion with BBH results. Comparing a waveform generated with this method against a full hydrodynamical simulation of a BNS inspiral yields a phase difference of < 1 radian over ~ 15 orbits. The numerical phase accuracy required of BNS simulations to measure the accuracy of the method we present here is estimated as a function of the tidal deformability parameter λ.

First Higher-Multipole Model of Gravitational Waves from Spinning and Coalescing Black-Hole Binaries.

Science.gov (United States)

London, Lionel; Khan, Sebastian; Fauchon-Jones, Edward; García, Cecilio; Hannam, Mark; Husa, Sascha; Jiménez-Forteza, Xisco; Kalaghatgi, Chinmay; Ohme, Frank; Pannarale, Francesco

2018-04-20

Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes currently rely on theoretical models that predict the dominant multipoles (ℓ=2,|m|=2) of the radiation during inspiral, merger, and ringdown. We introduce a simple method to include the subdominant multipoles to binary black hole gravitational waveforms, given a frequency-domain model for the dominant multipoles. The amplitude and phase of the original model are appropriately stretched and rescaled using post-Newtonian results (for the inspiral), perturbation theory (for the ringdown), and a smooth transition between the two. No additional tuning to numerical-relativity simulations is required. We apply a variant of this method to the nonprecessing PhenomD model. The result, PhenomHM, constitutes the first higher-multipole model of spinning and coalescing black-hole binaries, and currently includes the (ℓ,|m|)=(2,2),(3,3),(4,4),(2,1),(3,2),(4,3) radiative moments. Comparisons with numerical-relativity waveforms demonstrate that PhenomHM is more accurate than dominant-multipole-only models for all binary configurations, and typically improves the measurement of binary properties.

First Higher-Multipole Model of Gravitational Waves from Spinning and Coalescing Black-Hole Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

London, Lionel; Khan, Sebastian; Fauchon-Jones, Edward; García, Cecilio; Hannam, Mark; Husa, Sascha; Jiménez-Forteza, Xisco; Kalaghatgi, Chinmay; Ohme, Frank; Pannarale, Francesco

2018-04-01

Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes currently rely on theoretical models that predict the dominant multipoles (ℓ=2 ,|m |=2 ) of the radiation during inspiral, merger, and ringdown. We introduce a simple method to include the subdominant multipoles to binary black hole gravitational waveforms, given a frequency-domain model for the dominant multipoles. The amplitude and phase of the original model are appropriately stretched and rescaled using post-Newtonian results (for the inspiral), perturbation theory (for the ringdown), and a smooth transition between the two. No additional tuning to numerical-relativity simulations is required. We apply a variant of this method to the nonprecessing PhenomD model. The result, PhenomHM, constitutes the first higher-multipole model of spinning and coalescing black-hole binaries, and currently includes the (ℓ,|m |)=(2 ,2 ),(3 ,3 ),(4 ,4 ),(2 ,1 ),(3 ,2 ),(4 ,3 ) radiative moments. Comparisons with numerical-relativity waveforms demonstrate that PhenomHM is more accurate than dominant-multipole-only models for all binary configurations, and typically improves the measurement of binary properties.

Black-hole kicks from numerical-relativity surrogate models

Science.gov (United States)

Gerosa, Davide; Hébert, François; Stein, Leo C.

2018-05-01

Binary black holes radiate linear momentum in gravitational waves as they merge. Recoils imparted to the black-hole remnant can reach thousands of km /s , thus ejecting black holes from their host galaxies. We exploit recent advances in gravitational waveform modeling to quickly and reliably extract recoils imparted to generic, precessing, black-hole binaries. Our procedure uses a numerical-relativity surrogate model to obtain the gravitational waveform given a set of binary parameters; then, from this waveform we directly integrate the gravitational-wave linear momentum flux. This entirely bypasses the need for fitting formulas which are typically used to model black-hole recoils in astrophysical contexts. We provide a thorough exploration of the black-hole kick phenomenology in the parameter space, summarizing and extending previous numerical results on the topic. Our extraction procedure is made publicly available as a module for the Python programming language named surrkick. Kick evaluations take ˜0.1 s on a standard off-the-shelf machine, thus making our code ideal to be ported to large-scale astrophysical studies.

Reducing orbital eccentricity in binary black hole simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfeiffer, Harald P; Brown, Duncan A; Kidder, Lawrence E; Lindblom, Lee; Lovelace, Geoffrey; Scheel, Mark A

2007-01-01

Binary black hole simulations starting from quasi-circular (i.e., zero radial velocity) initial data have orbits with small but nonzero orbital eccentricities. In this paper, the quasi-equilibrium initial-data method is extended to allow nonzero radial velocities to be specified in binary black hole initial data. New low-eccentricity initial data are obtained by adjusting the orbital frequency and radial velocities to minimize the orbital eccentricity, and the resulting (∼5 orbit) evolutions are compared with those of quasi-circular initial data. Evolutions of the quasi-circular data clearly show eccentric orbits, with eccentricity that decays over time. The precise decay rate depends on the definition of eccentricity; if defined in terms of variations in the orbital frequency, the decay rate agrees well with the prediction of Peters (1964 Phys. Rev. 136 1224-32). The gravitational waveforms, which contain ∼8 cycles in the dominant l = m = 2 mode, are largely unaffected by the eccentricity of the quasi-circular initial data. The overlap between the dominant mode in the quasi-circular evolution and the same mode in the low-eccentricity evolution is about 0.99

Merging Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2012-01-01

The final merger of two black holes is expected to be the strongest source of gravitational waves for both ground-based detectors such as LIGO and VIRGO, as well as future. space-based detectors. Since the merger takes place in the regime of strong dynamical gravity, computing the resulting gravitational waveforms requires solving the full Einstein equations of general relativity on a computer. For many years, numerical codes designed to simulate black hole mergers were plagued by a host of instabilities. However, recent breakthroughs have conquered these instabilities and opened up this field dramatically. This talk will focus on.the resulting 'gold rush' of new results that is revealing the dynamics and waveforms of binary black hole mergers, and their applications in gravitational wave detection, testing general relativity, and astrophysics

Black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feast, M.W.

1981-01-01

This article deals with two questions, namely whether it is possible for black holes to exist, and if the answer is yes, whether we have found any yet. In deciding whether black holes can exist or not the central role in the shaping of our universe played by the forse of gravity is discussed, and in deciding whether we are likely to find black holes in the universe the author looks at the way stars evolve, as well as white dwarfs and neutron stars. He also discusses the problem how to detect a black hole, possible black holes, a southern black hole, massive black holes, as well as why black holes are studied

Measuring Parameters of Massive Black Hole Binaries with Partially Aligned Spins

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Ryan N.; Hughes, Scott A.; Cornish, Neil J.

2011-01-01

The future space-based gravitational wave detector LISA will be able to measure parameters of coalescing massive black hole binaries, often to extremely high accuracy. Previous work has demonstrated that the black hole spins can have a strong impact on the accuracy of parameter measurement. Relativistic spin-induced precession modulates the waveform in a manner which can break degeneracies between parameters, in principle significantly improving how well they are measured. Recent studies have indicated, however, that spin precession may be weak for an important subset of astrophysical binary black holes: those in which the spins are aligned due to interactions with gas. In this paper, we examine how well a binary's parameters can be measured when its spins are partially aligned and compare results using waveforms that include higher post-Newtonian harmonics to those that are truncated at leading quadrupole order. We find that the weakened precession can substantially degrade parameter estimation, particularly for the "extrinsic" parameters sky position and distance. Absent higher harmonics, LISA typically localizes the sky position of a nearly aligned binary about an order of magnitude less accurately than one for which the spin orientations are random. Our knowledge of a source's sky position will thus be worst for the gas-rich systems which are most likely to produce electromagnetic counterparts. Fortunately, higher harmonics of the waveform can make up for this degradation. By including harmonics beyond the quadrupole in our waveform model, we find that the accuracy with which most of the binary's parameters are measured can be substantially improved. In some cases, the improvement is such that they are measured almost as well as when the binary spins are randomly aligned.

Boosting jet power in black hole spacetimes.

Science.gov (United States)

Neilsen, David; Lehner, Luis; Palenzuela, Carlos; Hirschmann, Eric W; Liebling, Steven L; Motl, Patrick M; Garrett, Travis

2011-08-02

The extraction of rotational energy from a spinning black hole via the Blandford-Znajek mechanism has long been understood as an important component in models to explain energetic jets from compact astrophysical sources. Here we show more generally that the kinetic energy of the black hole, both rotational and translational, can be tapped, thereby producing even more luminous jets powered by the interaction of the black hole with its surrounding plasma. We study the resulting Poynting jet that arises from single boosted black holes and binary black hole systems. In the latter case, we find that increasing the orbital angular momenta of the system and/or the spins of the individual black holes results in an enhanced Poynting flux.

Einstein's Gift: Stellar Mass Black Holes in the LIGO Era

Science.gov (United States)

Cadonati, Laura; Georgia Institute of Technology, LIGO-Virgo Collaboration

2017-01-01

The discovery of gravitational waves from the coalescence of black hole binary systems in LIGO has provided the first evidence for heavy stellar mass black holes. In this talk, I will review the observational evidence for black holes in LIGO data, its astrophysical implications and the plans for the near and long term future of ground based gravitational wave detection of black hole binary coalescences.

Black hole dynamics in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschmann, Eric W.; Lehner, Luis; Liebling, Steven L.; Palenzuela, Carlos

2018-03-01

We consider the properties and dynamics of black holes within a family of alternative theories of gravity, namely Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. We analyze the dynamical evolution of individual black holes as well as the merger of binary black hole systems. We do this for a wide range of parameter values for the family of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories, investigating, in the process, the stability of these black holes. We examine radiative degrees of freedom, explore the impact of the scalar field on the dynamics of merger, and compare with other scalar-tensor theories. We argue that the dilaton can largely be discounted in understanding merging binary systems and that the end states essentially interpolate between charged and uncharged, rotating black holes. For the relatively small charge values considered here, we conclude that these black hole systems will be difficult to distinguish from their analogs within General Relativity.

ASTRONOMICAL PLATE ARCHIVES AND SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE BINARIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

René Hudec

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The recent extensive digitisation of astronomical photographic plate archives, the development of new dedicated software and the use of powerful computers have for the first time enabled effective data mining in extensive plate databases, with wide applications in various fields of recent astrophysics. As an example, analyses of supermassive binary black holes (binary blazars require very long time intervals (50 years and more, which cannot be provided by other data sources. Examples of data obtained from data mining in plate archives are presented and briefly discussed.

Mergers of Black-Hole Binaries with Aligned Spins: Waveform Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bernard J.; Baker, John G.; vanMeter, James R.; Boggs, William D.; McWilliams, Sean T.; Centrella, Joan

2011-01-01

"We apply our gravitational-waveform analysis techniques, first presented in the context of nonspinning black holes of varying mass ratio [1], to the complementary case of equal-mass spinning black-hole binary systems. We find that, as with the nonspinning mergers, the dominant waveform modes phases evolve together in lock-step through inspiral and merger, supporting the previous model of the binary system as an adiabatically rigid rotator driving gravitational-wave emission - an implicit rotating source (IRS). We further apply the late-merger model for the rotational frequency introduced in [1], along with a new mode amplitude model appropriate for the dominant (2, plus or minus 2) modes. We demonstrate that this seven-parameter model performs well in matches with the original numerical waveform for system masses above - 150 solar mass, both when the parameters are freely fit, and when they are almost completely constrained by physical considerations."

Strong disk winds traced throughout outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Tetarenko, B E; Lasota, J-P; Heinke, C O; Dubus, G; Sivakoff, G R

2018-02-01

Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs) in close binary systems provide a way of constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The light curves of these outbursts are shaped by the efficiency of angular-momentum (and thus mass) transport in the accretion disks, which has traditionally been encoded in a viscosity parameter, α. Numerical simulations of the magneto-rotational instability that is believed to be the physical mechanism behind this transport yield values of α of roughly 0.1-0.2, consistent with values determined from observations of accreting white dwarfs. Equivalent viscosity parameters have hitherto not been estimated for disks around neutron stars or black holes. Here we report the results of an analysis of archival X-ray light curves of 21 outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries. By applying a Bayesian approach to a model of accretion, we determine corresponding values of α of around 0.2-1.0. These high values may be interpreted as an indication either of a very high intrinsic rate of angular-momentum transport in the disk, which could be sustained by the magneto-rotational instability only if a large-scale magnetic field threads the disk, or that mass is being lost from the disk through substantial outflows, which strongly shape the outburst in the black-hole X-ray binary. The lack of correlation between our estimates of α and the accretion state of the binaries implies that such outflows can remove a substantial fraction of the disk mass in all accretion states and therefore suggests that the outflows correspond to magnetically driven disk winds rather than thermally driven ones, which require specific radiative conditions.

Strong disk winds traced throughout outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Tetarenko, B. E.; Lasota, J.-P.; Heinke, C. O.; Dubus, G.; Sivakoff, G. R.

2018-02-01

Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs) in close binary systems provide a way of constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The light curves of these outbursts are shaped by the efficiency of angular-momentum (and thus mass) transport in the accretion disks, which has traditionally been encoded in a viscosity parameter, α. Numerical simulations of the magneto-rotational instability that is believed to be the physical mechanism behind this transport yield values of α of roughly 0.1–0.2, consistent with values determined from observations of accreting white dwarfs. Equivalent viscosity parameters have hitherto not been estimated for disks around neutron stars or black holes. Here we report the results of an analysis of archival X-ray light curves of 21 outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries. By applying a Bayesian approach to a model of accretion, we determine corresponding values of α of around 0.2–1.0. These high values may be interpreted as an indication either of a very high intrinsic rate of angular-momentum transport in the disk, which could be sustained by the magneto-rotational instability only if a large-scale magnetic field threads the disk, or that mass is being lost from the disk through substantial outflows, which strongly shape the outburst in the black-hole X-ray binary. The lack of correlation between our estimates of α and the accretion state of the binaries implies that such outflows can remove a substantial fraction of the disk mass in all accretion states and therefore suggests that the outflows correspond to magnetically driven disk winds rather than thermally driven ones, which require specific radiative conditions.

A massive binary black-hole system in OJ 287 and a test of general relativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Valtonen, M J; Lehto, H J; Nilsson, K; Heidt, J; Takalo, L O; Sillanpää, A; Villforth, C; Kidger, M; Poyner, G; Pursimo, T; Zola, S; Wu, J-H; Zhou, X; Sadakane, K; Drozdz, M; Koziel, D; Marchev, D; Ogloza, W; Porowski, C; Siwak, M; Stachowski, G; Winiarski, M; Hentunen, V-P; Nissinen, M; Liakos, A; Dogru, S

2008-04-17

Tests of Einstein's general theory of relativity have mostly been carried out in weak gravitational fields where the space-time curvature effects are first-order deviations from Newton's theory. Binary pulsars provide a means of probing the strong gravitational field around a neutron star, but strong-field effects may be best tested in systems containing black holes. Here we report such a test in a close binary system of two candidate black holes in the quasar OJ 287. This quasar shows quasi-periodic optical outbursts at 12-year intervals, with two outburst peaks per interval. The latest outburst occurred in September 2007, within a day of the time predicted by the binary black-hole model and general relativity. The observations confirm the binary nature of the system and also provide evidence for the loss of orbital energy in agreement (within 10 per cent) with the emission of gravitational waves from the system. In the absence of gravitational wave emission the outburst would have happened 20 days later.

Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first observing run of Advanced LIGO

OpenAIRE

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Adhikari, R. X.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barish, B. C.; Berger, B. K.; Billingsley, G.; Blackburn, J. K.; Bork, R.; Brooks, A. F.

2017-01-01

During their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems. This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves (GWs) from merging intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHBs). The combined results from two independent search techniques were used in this study: the first employs a matched-filter algorithm that...

Properties of the Binary Black Hole Merger GW150914

OpenAIRE

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abernathy, M. R.; Adhikari, R. X.; Anderson, S. B.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barish, B. C.; Berger, B. K.; Billingsley, G.; Blackburn, J. K.; Bork, R.; Brooks, A. F.; Cahillane, C.

2016-01-01

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational-wave transient (GW150914); we characterize the properties of the source and its parameters. The data around the time of the event were analyzed coherently across the LIGO network using a suite of accurate waveform models that describe gravitational waves from a compact binary system in general relativity. GW150914 was produced by a nearly equal mass binary black hole of masses 36^(+5...

Can black-hole MACHO binaries be detected by the Brazilian spherical antenna?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, J C N de; Miranda, O D; Castro, C S; Paleo, B W; Aguiar, O D

2004-01-01

Different studies show that dark matter of non-baryonic origin might exist. There is experimental evidence that at least one form of dark matter has been detected through microlensing effects. This form of dark matter is named MACHOs (massive astrophysical compact halo objects). The MACHO collaboration estimated that the masses of these objects are to be in the range 0.15-0.95M o-dot , where the most probable mass is of 0.5M o-dot . Some authors argue that MACHOs could be black holes, and that they could form binary systems, BHMACHO binaries. As is well known, binary systems are sources of gravitational waves. The Brazilian spherical antenna will operate in the frequency band of 3.0-3.4 kHz, sensitive to binaries of a pair of 0.5M o-dot black holes just before coalescing. In the present work we study the detectability of these putative BHMACHO binaries by the Brazilian spherical antenna Mario Schenberg

Comparing initial-data sets for binary black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfeiffer, Harald P.; Cook, Gregory B.; Teukolsky, Saul A.

2002-01-01

We compare the results of constructing binary black hole initial data with three different decompositions of the constraint equations of general relativity. For each decomposition we compute the initial data using a superposition of two Kerr-Schild black holes to fix the freely specifiable data. We find that these initial-data sets differ significantly, with the ADM energy varying by as much as 5% of the total mass. We find that all initial-data sets currently used for evolutions might contain unphysical gravitational radiation of the order of several percent of the total mass. This is comparable to the amount of gravitational-wave energy observed during the evolved collision. More astrophysically realistic initial data will require more careful choices of the freely specifiable data and boundary conditions for both the metric and extrinsic curvature. However, we find that the choice of extrinsic curvature affects the resulting data sets more strongly than the choice of conformal metric

Black holes: the membrane paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorne, K.S.; Price, R.H.; Macdonald, D.A.

1986-01-01

The physics of black holes is explored in terms of a membrane paradigm which treats the event horizon as a two-dimensional membrane embedded in three-dimensional space. A 3+1 formalism is used to split Schwarzschild space-time and the laws of physics outside a nonrotating hole, which permits treatment of the atmosphere in terms of the physical properties of thin slices. The model is applied to perturbed slowly or rapidly rotating and nonrotating holes, and to quantify the electric and magnetic fields and eddy currents passing through a membrane surface which represents a stretched horizon. Features of tidal gravitational fields in the vicinity of the horizon, quasars and active galalctic nuclei, the alignment of jets perpendicular to accretion disks, and the effects of black holes at the center of ellipsoidal star clusters are investigated. Attention is also given to a black hole in a binary system and the interactions of black holes with matter that is either near or very far from the event horizon. Finally, a statistical mechanics treatment is used to derive a second law of thermodynamics for a perfectly thermal atmosphere of a black hole

FORMATION OF BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES IN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanova, N.; Heinke, C. O.; Woods, T. E.; Chaichenets, S.; Fregeau, J.; Lombardi, J. C.

2010-01-01

Inspired by the recent identification in extragalactic globular clusters of the first candidate black hole-white dwarf (BH-WD) X-ray binaries, where the compact accretors may be stellar-mass black holes (BHs), we explore how such binaries could be formed in a dynamical environment. We provide analyses of the formation rates via well-known formation channels like binary exchange and physical collisions and propose that the only possibility of forming BH-WD binaries is via coupling these usual formation channels with subsequent hardening and/or triple formation. In particular, we find that the most important mechanism for the creation of a BH-WD X-ray binary from an initially dynamically formed BH-WD binary is mass transfer induced in a triple system via the Kozai mechanism. Furthermore, we find that BH-WD binaries that evolve into X-ray sources can be formed by exchanges of a BH into a WD-WD binary or possibly by collisions of a BH and a giant star. If BHs undergo significant evaporation from the cluster or form a completely detached subcluster of BHs, then we cannot match the observationally inferred production rates even using the most optimistic estimates of formation rates. To explain the observations with stellar-mass BH-WD binaries, at least 1% of all formed BHs, or presumably 10% of the BHs present in the core now, must be involved in interactions with the rest of the core stellar population.

Properties of the Binary Black Hole Merger GW150914

OpenAIRE

Abbott, BP; Abbott, R; Abbott, TD; Abernathy, MR; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, RX; Adya, VB; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N

2016-01-01

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational-wave transient (GW150914); we characterize the properties of the source and its parameters. The data around the time of the event were analyzed coherently across the LIGO network using a suite of accurate waveform models that describe gravitational waves from a compact binary system in general relativity. GW150914 was produced by a nearly equal mass binary black hole of masses 36+5−4...

Tracking black holes in numerical relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caveny, Scott A.; Anderson, Matthew; Matzner, Richard A.

2003-01-01

This work addresses the problem of generically tracking black hole event horizons in computational simulation of black hole interactions. Solutions of the hyperbolic eikonal equation, solved on a curved spacetime manifold containing black hole sources, are employed in development of a robust tracking method capable of continuously monitoring arbitrary changes of topology in the event horizon as well as arbitrary numbers of gravitational sources. The method makes use of continuous families of level set viscosity solutions of the eikonal equation with identification of the black hole event horizon obtained by the signature feature of discontinuity formation in the eikonal's solution. The method is employed in the analysis of the event horizon for the asymmetric merger in a binary black hole system. In this first such three dimensional analysis, we establish both qualitative and quantitative evidence for our method and its application to the asymmetric problem. We focus attention on (1) the topology of the throat connecting the holes following merger, (2) the time of merger, and (3) continuing to account for the surface of section areas of the black hole sources

First detections of gravitational waves from binary black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bejger, Michał

2017-01-01

Recent direct detections of gravitational waves from coalescing binary black holes systems herald a new era in the observational astronomy, as well as in experimental verifications of the theories of gravity. I will present the principles of detection of gravitational waves, current state-of-art laser interferometric detectors (Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo), and the most promising astrophysical sources of gravitational waves. (paper)

LIGO Discovers the Merger of Two Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-02-01

Big news: the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has detected its first gravitational-wave signal! Not only is the detection of this signal a major technical accomplishment and an exciting confirmation of general relativity, but it also has huge implications for black-hole astrophysics.What did LIGO see?LIGO is designed to detect the ripples in space-time created by two massive objects orbiting each other. These waves can reach observable amplitudes when a binary system consisting of two especially massive objects i.e., black holes or neutron stars reach the end of their inspiral and merge.LIGO has been unsuccessfully searching for gravitational waves since its initial operations in 2002, but a recent upgrade in its design has significantly increased its sensitivity and observational range. The first official observing run of Advanced LIGO began 18 September 2015, but the instruments were up and running in engineering mode several weeks before that. And it was in this time frame before official observing even began! that LIGO spotted its first gravitational wave signal: GW150914.One of LIGOs two detection sites, located near Hanford in eastern Washington. [LIGO]The signal, detected on 14 September, 2015, provides astronomers with a remarkable amount of information about the merger that caused it. From the detection, the LIGO team has extracted the masses of the two black holes that merged, 36+5-4 and 29+4-4 solar masses, as well as the mass of the final black hole formed by the merger, ~62 solar masses. The team also determined that the merger happened roughly a billion light-years away (at a redshift of z~0.1), and the direction of the signal was localized to an area of ~600 square degrees (roughly 1% of the sky).Why is this detection a big deal?This is the firstdirect detection of gravitational waves, providing spectacular further confirmation of Einsteins theory of general relativity. But the implications of GW150914 go far beyond this

Black Hole/Pulsar Binaries in the Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yong; Li, Xiang-Dong

2018-04-01

We have performed population synthesis calculation on the formation of binaries containing a black hole (BH) and a neutron star (NS) in the Galactic disk. Some of important input parameters, especially for the treatment of common envelope evolution, are updated in the calculation. We have discussed the uncertainties from the star formation rate of the Galaxy and the velocity distribution of NS kicks on the birthrate (˜ 0.6-13 Myr^{-1}) of BH/NS binaries. From incident BH/NS binaries, by modelling the orbital evolution duo to gravitational wave radiation and the NS evolution as radio pulsars, we obtain the distributions of the observable parameters such as the orbital period, eccentricity and pulse period of the BH/pulsar binaries. We estimate that there may be ˜3 - 80 BH/pulsar binaries in the Galactic disk and around 10% of them could be detected by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope.

Black hole/pulsar binaries in the Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yong; Li, Xiang-Dong

2018-06-01

We have performed population synthesis calculation on the formation of binaries containing a black hole (BH) and a neutron star (NS) in the Galactic disc. Some of important input parameters, especially for the treatment of common envelope evolution, are updated in the calculation. We have discussed the uncertainties from the star formation rate of the Galaxy and the velocity distribution of NS kicks on the birthrate (˜ 0.6-13 M yr^{-1}) of BH/NS binaries. From incident BH/NS binaries, by modelling the orbital evolution due to gravitational wave radiation and the NS evolution as radio pulsars, we obtain the distributions of the observable parameters such as the orbital period, eccentricity, and pulse period of the BH/pulsar binaries. We estimate that there may be ˜3-80 BH/pulsar binaries in the Galactic disc and around 10 per cent of them could be detected by the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope.

Monitoring the Black Hole Binary GRS 1758-258 with INTEGRAL and RXTE

Science.gov (United States)

Pottschmidt, Katja; Chernyakova, Masha; Lubinski, Piotr; Migliari, Simone; Smith, David M.; Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Tomsick, John A.; Bezayiff, N.; Kreykenbohm, Ingo; Kretschmar, Peter;

H I OBSERVATIONS OF THE SUPERMASSIVE BINARY BLACK HOLE SYSTEM IN 0402+379

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, C.; Taylor, G. B.; Pihlstroem, Y. M.; Zavala, R. T.; Peck, A. B.

2009-01-01

We have recently discovered a supermassive binary black hole system with a projected separation between the two black holes of 7.3 pc in the radio galaxy 0402+379 (Rodriguez et al. 2006). This is the most compact supermassive binary black hole pair yet imaged by more than two orders of magnitude. We present Global VLBI observations at 1.3464 GHz of this radio galaxy, taken to improve the quality of the H I data. Two absorption lines are found toward the southern jet of the source, one redshifted by 370 ± 10 km s -1 and the other blueshifted by 700 ± 10 km s -1 with respect to the systemic velocity of the source, which, along with the results obtained for the opacity distribution over the source, suggests the presence of two mass clumps rotating around the central region of the source. We propose a model consisting of a geometrically thick disk, of which we only see a couple of clumps, that reproduces the velocities measured from the H I absorption profiles. These clumps rotate in circular Keplerian orbits around an axis that crosses one of the supermassive black holes of the binary system in 0402+379. We find an upper limit for the inclination angle of the twin jets of the source to the line of sight of θ = 66 deg., which, according to the proposed model, implies a lower limit on the central mass of ∼7 x 10 8 M sun and a lower limit for the scale height of the thick disk of ∼12 pc.

Massive Black Hole Binary Evolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merritt David

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Coalescence of binary supermassive black holes (SBHs would constitute the strongest sources of gravitational waves to be observed by LISA. While the formation of binary SBHs during galaxy mergers is almost inevitable, coalescence requires that the separation between binary components first drop by a few orders of magnitude, due presumably to interaction of the binary with stars and gas in a galactic nucleus. This article reviews the observational evidence for binary SBHs and discusses how they would evolve. No completely convincing case of a bound, binary SBH has yet been found, although a handful of systems (e.g. interacting galaxies; remnants of galaxy mergers are now believed to contain two SBHs at projected separations of <~ 1kpc. N-body studies of binary evolution in gas-free galaxies have reached large enough particle numbers to reproduce the slow, “diffusive” refilling of the binary’s loss cone that is believed to characterize binary evolution in real galactic nuclei. While some of the results of these simulations - e.g. the binary hardening rate and eccentricity evolution - are strongly N-dependent, others - e.g. the “damage” inflicted by the binary on the nucleus - are not. Luminous early-type galaxies often exhibit depleted cores with masses of ~ 1-2 times the mass of their nuclear SBHs, consistent with the predictions of the binary model. Studies of the interaction of massive binaries with gas are still in their infancy, although much progress is expected in the near future. Binary coalescence has a large influence on the spins of SBHs, even for mass ratios as extreme as 10:1, and evidence of spin-flips may have been observed.

ASTROPHYSICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE BINARY BLACK HOLE MERGER GW150914

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Belczynski, C.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C. J.; Berger, B. K.; Bergman, J.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, M.J.; Birney, R.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, A.L.S.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bojtos, P.; Bond, T.C; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, A.D.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderon; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Qian; Chua, S. E.; Chung, E.S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, A.C.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, A.L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Daveloza, H. P.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; Debra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.A.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M.G.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dojcinoski, G.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, T. M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.M.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fournier, J. -D.; Franco, S; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gatto, A.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Gendre, B.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; Gonzalez, Idelmis G.; Gonzalez Castro, J. M.; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Buffoni-Hall, R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.L.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, P.J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Hofman, D.; Hollitt, S. E.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idrisy, A.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Islas, G.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, D.H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.H.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kefelian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.E.; Key, J. S.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, C.; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y.M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Kokeyama, K.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Krolak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B. M.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lueck, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Luo, J.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; MacDonald, T.T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magna-Sandoval, F.; Magee, R. M.; Mageswaran, M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R.M.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mendoza-Gandara, D.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, J.C.; Moraru, D.; Gutierrez Moreno, M.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P.G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Necula, V.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton-Howes, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M. B.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Premachandra, S. S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prix, R.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.A.; Sachdev, P.S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schoenbeck, A.; Schreiber, K.E.C.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, M.S.; Sellers, D.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Serna, G.; Setyawati, Y.; Sevigny, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shah, S.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shao, Z.M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Silva, António Dias da; Simakov, D.; Singer, A; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith, N.D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson-Moore, P.; Stone, J.R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepanczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.D.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tapai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, W.R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Toyra, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifir, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Van Bakel, N.; Van Beuzekom, Martin; Van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasuth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J. -Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, MT; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L. -W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.M.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, D.R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Wright, J.L.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yap, M. J.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrozny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J. -P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.

2016-01-01

The discovery of the gravitational-wave (GW) source GW150914 with the Advanced LIGO detectors provides the first observational evidence for the existence of binary black hole (BH) systems that inspiral and merge within the age of the universe. Such BH mergers have been predicted in two main types of

Black Hole Kicks as New Gravitational Wave Observables.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerosa, Davide; Moore, Christopher J

2016-07-01

Generic black hole binaries radiate gravitational waves anisotropically, imparting a recoil, or kick, velocity to the merger remnant. If a component of the kick along the line of sight is present, gravitational waves emitted during the final orbits and merger will be gradually Doppler shifted as the kick builds up. We develop a simple prescription to capture this effect in existing waveform models, showing that future gravitational wave experiments will be able to perform direct measurements, not only of the black hole kick velocity, but also of its accumulation profile. In particular, the eLISA space mission will measure supermassive black hole kick velocities as low as ∼500  km s^{-1}, which are expected to be a common outcome of black hole binary coalescence following galaxy mergers. Black hole kicks thus constitute a promising new observable in the growing field of gravitational wave astronomy.

White holes and eternal black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, Stephen D H

2012-01-01

We investigate isolated white holes surrounded by vacuum, which correspond to the time reversal of eternal black holes that do not evaporate. We show that isolated white holes produce quasi-thermal Hawking radiation. The time reversal of this radiation, incident on a black hole precursor, constitutes a special preparation that will cause the black hole to become eternal. (paper)

Accuracy of Binary Black Hole waveforms for Advanced LIGO searches

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Prayush; Barkett, Kevin; Bhagwat, Swetha; Chu, Tony; Fong, Heather; Brown, Duncan; Pfeiffer, Harald; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela

2015-04-01

Coalescing binaries of compact objects are flagship sources for the first direct detection of gravitational waves with LIGO-Virgo observatories. Matched-filtering based detection searches aimed at binaries of black holes will use aligned spin waveforms as filters, and their efficiency hinges on the accuracy of the underlying waveform models. A number of gravitational waveform models are available in literature, e.g. the Effective-One-Body, Phenomenological, and traditional post-Newtonian ones. While Numerical Relativity (NR) simulations provide for the most accurate modeling of gravitational radiation from compact binaries, their computational cost limits their application in large scale searches. In this talk we assess the accuracy of waveform models in two regions of parameter space, which have only been explored cursorily in the past: the high mass-ratio regime as well as the comparable mass-ratio + high spin regime.s Using the SpEC code, six q = 7 simulations with aligned-spins and lasting 60 orbits, and tens of q ∈ [1,3] simulations with high black hole spins were performed. We use them to study the accuracy and intrinsic parameter biases of different waveform families, and assess their viability for Advanced LIGO searches.

Two stellar-mass black holes in the globular cluster M22.

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Strader, Jay; Chomiuk, Laura; Maccarone, Thomas J; Miller-Jones, James C A; Seth, Anil C

2012-10-04

Hundreds of stellar-mass black holes probably form in a typical globular star cluster, with all but one predicted to be ejected through dynamical interactions. Some observational support for this idea is provided by the lack of X-ray-emitting binary stars comprising one black hole and one other star ('black-hole/X-ray binaries') in Milky Way globular clusters, even though many neutron-star/X-ray binaries are known. Although a few black holes have been seen in globular clusters around other galaxies, the masses of these cannot be determined, and some may be intermediate-mass black holes that form through exotic mechanisms. Here we report the presence of two flat-spectrum radio sources in the Milky Way globular cluster M22, and we argue that these objects are black holes of stellar mass (each ∼10-20 times more massive than the Sun) that are accreting matter. We find a high ratio of radio-to-X-ray flux for these black holes, consistent with the larger predicted masses of black holes in globular clusters compared to those outside. The identification of two black holes in one cluster shows that ejection of black holes is not as efficient as predicted by most models, and we argue that M22 may contain a total population of ∼5-100 black holes. The large core radius of M22 could arise from heating produced by the black holes.

Relativistic hydrodynamics in the presence of puncture black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faber, Joshua A.; Etienne, Zachariah B.; Shapiro, Stuart L.; Taniguchi, Keisuke; Baumgarte, Thomas W.

2007-01-01

Many of the recent numerical simulations of binary black holes in vacuum adopt the moving puncture approach. This successful approach avoids the need to impose numerical excision of the black hole interior and is easy to implement. Here we wish to explore how well the same approach can be applied to moving black hole punctures in the presence of relativistic hydrodynamic matter. First, we evolve single black hole punctures in vacuum to calibrate our Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura implementation and to confirm that the numerical solution for the exterior spacetime is invariant to any junk (i.e., constraint-violating) initial data employed in the black hole interior. Then we focus on relativistic Bondi accretion onto a moving puncture Schwarzschild black hole as a numerical test bed for our high-resolution shock-capturing relativistic hydrodynamics scheme. We find that the hydrodynamical equations can be evolved successfully in the interior without imposing numerical excision. These results help motivate the adoption of the moving puncture approach to treat the binary black hole-neutron star problem using conformal thin-sandwich initial data

Digging Deeper: Observing Primordial Gravitational Waves below the Binary-Black-Hole-Produced Stochastic Background.

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Regimbau, T; Evans, M; Christensen, N; Katsavounidis, E; Sathyaprakash, B; Vitale, S

2017-04-14

The merger rate of black hole binaries inferred from the detections in the first Advanced LIGO science run implies that a stochastic background produced by a cosmological population of mergers will likely mask the primordial gravitational wave background. Here we demonstrate that the next generation of ground-based detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer, will be able to observe binary black hole mergers throughout the Universe with sufficient efficiency that the confusion background can potentially be subtracted to observe the primordial background at the level of Ω_{GW}≃10^{-13} after 5 years of observation.

From X-ray binaries to quasars black holes on all mass scales black holes on all mass scales

CERN Document Server

Ho, L C; Maccarone, T J

2005-01-01

This volume brings together contributions from many of the world's leading authorities on black hole accretion. The papers within represent part of a new movement to make use of the relative advantages of studying stellar mass and supermassive black holes and to bring together the knowledge gained from the two approaches. The topics discussed here run the gamut of the state of the art in black hole observational and theoretical work-variability, spectroscopy, disk-jet connections, and multi-wavelength campaigns on black holes are all covered. Reprinted from ASTROPHYSICS AND SPACE SCIENCE, 300:1-3 (2005)

Black hole ringdown echoes and howls

Science.gov (United States)

Nakano, Hiroyuki; Sago, Norichika; Tagoshi, Hideyuki; Tanaka, Takahiro

2017-07-01

Recently the possibility of detecting echoes of ringdown gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers was shown. The presence of echoes is expected if the black hole is surrounded by a mirror that reflects gravitational waves near the horizon. Here, we present slightly more sophisticated templates motivated by a waveform which is obtained by solving the linear perturbation equation around a Kerr black hole with a complete reflecting boundary condition in the stationary traveling wave approximation. We estimate that the proposed template can bring about a 10% improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio.

Is black-hole ringdown a memory of its progenitor?

Science.gov (United States)

Kamaretsos, Ioannis; Hannam, Mark; Sathyaprakash, B S

2012-10-05

We perform an extensive numerical study of coalescing black-hole binaries to understand the gravitational-wave spectrum of quasinormal modes excited in the merged black hole. Remarkably, we find that the masses and spins of the progenitor are clearly encoded in the mode spectrum of the ringdown signal. Some of the mode amplitudes carry the signature of the binary's mass ratio, while others depend critically on the spins. Simulations of precessing binaries suggest that our results carry over to generic systems. Using Bayesian inference, we demonstrate that it is possible to accurately measure the mass ratio and a proper combination of spins even when the binary is itself invisible to a detector. Using a mapping of the binary masses and spins to the final black-hole spin allows us to further extract the spin components of the progenitor. Our results could have tremendous implications for gravitational astronomy by facilitating novel tests of general relativity using merging black holes.

A Search for Black Holes and Neutron Stars in the Kepler Field

Science.gov (United States)

Orosz, Jerome; Short, Donald; Welsh, William; Windmiller, Gur; Dabney, David

2018-01-01

Black holes and neutron stars represent the final evolutionary stages of the most massive stars. In addition to their use as probes into the evolution of massive stars, black holes and neutron stars are ideal laboratories to test General Relativity in the strong field limit. The number of neutron stars and black holes in the Milky Way is not precisely known, but there are an estimated one billion neutron stars in the galaxy based on the observed numbers of radio pulsars. The number of black holes is about 100 million, based on the behavior of the Initial Mass Function at high stellar masses.All of the known steller-mass black holes (and a fair number of neutron stars) are in ``X-ray binaries'' that were discovered because of their luminous X-ray emission. The requirement to be in an X-ray-emitting binary places a strong observational bias on the discovery of stellar-mass black holes. Thus the 21 known black hole binaries represent only the very uppermost tip of the population iceberg.We have conducted an optical survey using Kepler data designed to uncover black holes and neutron stars in both ``quiescent'' X-ray binaries and ``pre-contact'' X-ray binaries. We discuss how the search was conducted, including how potentially interesting light curves were classified and the how variability types were identified. Although we did not find any convincing candidate neutron star or black hole systems, we did find a few noteworthy binary systems, including two binaries that contain low-mass stars with unusually low albedos.

Search for gravitational waves from primordial black hole binary coalescences in the galactic halo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, B.; Anderson, S.B.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Asiri, F.; Barish, B.C.; Barnes, M.; Barton, M.A.; Bhawal, B.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, K.; Bogue, L.; Bork, R.; Brown, D.A.; Busby, D.; Cardenas, L.; Chandler, A.; Chapsky, J.; Charlton, P.

2005-01-01

We use data from the second science run of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors to search for the gravitational waves from primordial black hole binary coalescence with component masses in the range 0.2-1.0M · . The analysis requires a signal to be found in the data from both LIGO observatories, according to a set of coincidence criteria. No inspiral signals were found. Assuming a spherical halo with core radius 5 kpc extending to 50 kpc containing nonspinning black holes with masses in the range 0.2-1.0M · , we place an observational upper limit on the rate of primordial black hole coalescence of 63 per year per Milky Way halo (MWH) with 90% confidence

Improved gravitational waveforms from spinning black hole binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porter, Edward K.; Sathyaprakash, B.S.

2005-01-01

The standard post-Newtonian approximation to gravitational waveforms, called T-approximants, from nonspinning black hole binaries are known not to be sufficiently accurate close to the last stable orbit of the system. A new approximation, called P-approximants, is believed to improve the accuracy of the waveforms rendering them applicable up to the last stable orbit. In this study we apply P-approximants to the case of a test particle in equatorial orbit around a Kerr black hole parameterized by a spin-parameter q that takes values between -1 and 1. In order to assess the performance of the two approximants we measure their effectualness (i.e., larger overlaps with the exact signal), and faithfulness (i.e., smaller biases while measuring the parameters of the signal) with the exact (numerical) waveforms. We find that in the case of prograde orbits, that is orbits whose angular momentum is in the same sense as the spin angular momentum of the black hole, T-approximant templates obtain an effectualness of ∼0.99 for spins q 0.99 for all spins up to q=0.95. The bias in the estimation of parameters is much lower in the case of P-approximants than T-approximants. We find that P-approximants are both effectual and faithful and should be more effective than T-approximants as a detection template family when q>0. For q<0 both T- and P-approximants perform equally well so that either of them could be used as a detection template family

Black-hole hair loss: Learning about binary progenitors from ringdown signals

Science.gov (United States)

Kamaretsos, Ioannis; Hannam, Mark; Husa, Sascha; Sathyaprakash, B. S.

2012-01-01

Perturbed Kerr black holes emit gravitational radiation, which (for the practical purposes of gravitational-wave astronomy) consists of a superposition of damped sinusoids termed quasinormal modes. The frequencies and time constants of the modes depend only on the mass and spin of the black hole—a consequence of the no-hair theorem. It has been proposed that a measurement of two or more quasinormal modes could be used to confirm that the source is a black hole and to test if general relativity continues to hold in ultrastrong gravitational fields. In this paper, we propose a practical approach to testing general relativity with quasinormal modes. We will also argue that the relative amplitudes of the various quasinormal modes encode important information about the origin of the perturbation that caused them. This helps in inferring the nature of the perturbation from an observation of the emitted quasinormal modes. In particular, we will show that the relative amplitudes of the different quasinormal modes emitted in the process of the merger of a pair of nonspinning black holes can be used to measure the component masses of the progenitor binary.

Primary black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novikov, I.; Polnarev, A.

1981-01-01

Proves are searched for of the formation of the so-called primary black holes at the very origin of the universe. The black holes would weigh less than 10 13 kg. The formation of a primary black hole is conditional on strong fluctuations of the gravitational field corresponding roughly to a half of the fluctuation maximally permissible by the general relativity theory. Only big fluctuations of the gravitational field can overcome the forces of the hot gas pressure and compress the originally expanding matter into a black hole. Low-mass black holes have a temperature exceeding that of the black holes formed from stars. A quantum process of particle formation, the so-called evaporation takes place in the strong gravitational field of a black hole. The lower the mass of the black hole, the shorter the evaporation time. The analyses of processes taking place during the evaporation of low-mass primary black holes show that only a very small proportion of the total mass of the matter in the universe could turn into primary black holes. (M.D.)

Gravitational Waveforms in the Early Inspiral of Binary Black Hole Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Barkett, Kevin; Kumar, Prayush; Bhagwat, Swetha; Brown, Duncan; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela; Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes Collaboration

2015-04-01

The inspiral, merger and ringdown of compact object binaries are important targets for gravitational wave detection by aLIGO. Detection and parameter estimation will require long, accurate waveforms for comparison. There are a number of analytical models for generating gravitational waveforms for these systems, but the only way to ensure their consistency and correctness is by comparing with numerical relativity simulations that cover many inspiral orbits. We've simulated a number of binary black hole systems with mass ratio 7 and a moderate, aligned spin on the larger black hole. We have attached these numerical waveforms to analytical waveform models to generate long hybrid gravitational waveforms that span the entire aLIGO frequency band. We analyze the robustness of these hybrid waveforms and measure the faithfulness of different hybrids with each other to obtain an estimate on how long future numerical simulations need to be in order to ensure that waveforms are accurate enough for use by aLIGO.

Black-hole astrophysics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bender, P. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Bloom, E. [Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA (United States); Cominsky, L. [Sonoma State Univ., Rohnert Park, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy] [and others

1995-07-01

Black-hole astrophysics is not just the investigation of yet another, even if extremely remarkable type of celestial body, but a test of the correctness of the understanding of the very properties of space and time in very strong gravitational fields. Physicists` excitement at this new prospect for testing theories of fundamental processes is matched by that of astronomers at the possibility to discover and study a new and dramatically different kind of astronomical object. Here the authors review the currently known ways that black holes can be identified by their effects on their neighborhood--since, of course, the hole itself does not yield any direct evidence of its existence or information about its properties. The two most important empirical considerations are determination of masses, or lower limits thereof, of unseen companions in binary star systems, and measurement of luminosity fluctuations on very short time scales.

Gravitational Waves from Stellar Black Hole Binaries and the Impact on Nearby Sun-like Stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Ilídio [Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofísica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Silk, Joseph, E-mail: ilidio.lopes@tecnico.ulisboa.pt, E-mail: silk@astro.ox.ac.uk [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095 CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, Paris F-75014 (France)

2017-07-20

We investigate the impact of resonant gravitational waves on quadrupole acoustic modes of Sun-like stars located nearby stellar black hole binary systems (such as GW150914 and GW151226). We find that the stimulation of the low-overtone modes by gravitational radiation can lead to sizeable photometric amplitude variations, much larger than the predictions for amplitudes driven by turbulent convection, which in turn are consistent with the photometric amplitudes observed in most Sun-like stars. For accurate stellar evolution models, using up-to-date stellar physics, we predict photometric amplitude variations of 1–10{sup 3} ppm for a solar mass star located at a distance between 1 au and 10 au from the black hole binary and belonging to the same multi-star system. The observation of such a phenomenon will be within the reach of the Plato mission because the telescope will observe several portions of the Milky Way, many of which are regions of high stellar density with a substantial mixed population of Sun-like stars and black hole binaries.

Phase transition for black holes with scalar hair and topological black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myung, Yun Soo

2008-01-01

We study phase transitions between black holes with scalar hair and topological black holes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes. As the ground state solutions, we introduce the non-rotating BTZ black hole in three dimensions and topological black hole with hyperbolic horizon in four dimensions. For the temperature matching only, we show that the phase transition between black hole with scalar hair (Martinez-Troncoso-Zanelli black hole) and topological black hole is second-order by using differences between two free energies. However, we do not identify what order of the phase transition between scalar and non-rotating BTZ black holes occurs in three dimensions, although there exists a possible decay of scalar black hole to non-rotating BTZ black hole

WHEN CAN GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE OBSERVATIONS DISTINGUISH BETWEEN BLACK HOLES AND NEUTRON STARS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hannam, Mark; Fairhurst, Stephen; Brown, Duncan A.; Fryer, Chris L.; Harry, Ian W.

2013-01-01

Gravitational-wave observations of compact binaries have the potential to uncover the distribution of masses and spins of black holes and neutron stars in the universe. The binary components' physical parameters can be inferred from their effect on the phasing of the gravitational-wave signal, but a partial degeneracy between the components' mass ratio and their spins limits our ability to measure the individual component masses. At the typical signal amplitudes expected by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (signal-to-noise ratios between 10 and 20), we show that it will in many cases be difficult to distinguish whether the components are neutron stars or black holes. We identify when the masses of the binary components could be unambiguously measured outside the range of current observations: a system with a chirp mass M ≤ 0.871 M ☉ would unambiguously contain the smallest-mass neutron star observed, and a system with M ≥ 2.786 M ☉ must contain a black hole. However, additional information would be needed to distinguish between a binary containing two 1.35 M ☉ neutron stars and an exotic neutron-star-black-hole binary. We also identify those configurations that could be unambiguously identified as black hole binaries, and show how the observation of an electromagnetic counterpart to a neutron-star-black-hole binary could be used to constrain the black hole spin.

Orbiting binary black hole evolutions with a multipatch high order finite-difference approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pazos, Enrique; Tiglio, Manuel; Duez, Matthew D.; Kidder, Lawrence E.; Teukolsky, Saul A.

2009-01-01

We present numerical simulations of orbiting black holes for around 12 cycles, using a high order multipatch approach. Unlike some other approaches, the computational speed scales almost perfectly for thousands of processors. Multipatch methods are an alternative to adaptive mesh refinement, with benefits of simplicity and better scaling for improving the resolution in the wave zone. The results presented here pave the way for multipatch evolutions of black hole-neutron star and neutron star-neutron star binaries, where high resolution grids are needed to resolve details of the matter flow.

Black Holes

OpenAIRE

Townsend, P. K.

1997-01-01

This paper is concerned with several not-quantum aspects of black holes, with emphasis on theoretical and mathematical issues related to numerical modeling of black hole space-times. Part of the material has a review character, but some new results or proposals are also presented. We review the experimental evidence for existence of black holes. We propose a definition of black hole region for any theory governed by a symmetric hyperbolic system of equations. Our definition reproduces the usu...

Featured Image: Making a Rapidly Rotating Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-10-01

These stills from a simulation show the evolution (from left to right and top to bottom) of a high-mass X-ray binary over 1.1 days, starting after the star on the right fails to explode as a supernova and then collapses into a black hole. Many high-mass X-ray binaries like the well-known Cygnus X-1, the first source widely accepted to be a black hole host rapidly spinning black holes. Despite our observations of these systems, however, were still not sure how these objects end up with such high rotation speeds. Using simulations like that shown above, a team of scientists led by Aldo Batta (UC Santa Cruz) has demonstrated how a failed supernova explosion can result in such a rapidly spinning black hole. The authors work shows that in a binary where one star attempts to explode as a supernova and fails it doesnt succeed in unbinding the star the large amount of fallback material can interact with the companion star and then accrete onto the black hole, spinning it up in the process. You can read more about the authors simulations and conclusions in the paper below.CitationAldo Batta et al 2017 ApJL 846 L15. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa8506

Unmodeled search for black hole binary systems in the NINJA project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cadonati, Laura; Fischetti, Sebastian; Mohapatra, Satyanarayan R P; Chatterji, Shourov; Guidi, Gianluca; Sturani, Riccardo; Vicere, Andrea

2009-01-01

The gravitational-wave signature from binary black hole coalescences is an important target for ground-based interferometric detectors such as LIGO and Virgo. The Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project brought together the numerical relativity and gravitational wave data analysis communities, with the goal to optimize the detectability of these events. In its first instantiation, the NINJA project produced a simulated data set with numerical waveforms from binary black hole coalescences of various morphologies (spin, mass ratio, initial conditions), superimposed to Gaussian colored noise at the design sensitivity for initial LIGO and Virgo. We analyzed the NINJA simulated data set with the Q-pipeline algorithm, designed for the all-sky detection of gravitational-wave bursts with minimal assumptions on the shape of the waveform. The algorithm filters the data with a bank of sine-Gaussians, sinusoids with Gaussian envelope, to identify significant excess power in the time-frequency domain. We compared the performance of this burst search algorithm with lalapps r ing, which match-filters data with a bank of ring-down templates to specifically target the final stage of a coalescence of black holes. A comparison of the output of the two algorithms on NINJA data in a single detector analysis yielded qualitatively consistent results; however, due to the low simulation statistics in the first NINJA project, it is premature to draw quantitative conclusions at this stage, and further studies with higher statistics and real detector noise will be needed.

eLISA eccentricity measurements as tracers of binary black hole formation

OpenAIRE

Nishizawa, Atsushi; Berti, Emanuele; Klein, Antoine; Sesana, Alberto

2016-01-01

Up to hundreds of black hole binaries individually resolvable by eLISA will coalesce in the Advanced LIGO/Virgo band within ten years, allowing for multi-band gravitational wave observations. Binaries formed via dynamical interactions in dense star clusters are expected to have eccentricities $e_0\\sim 10^{-3}$-$10^{-1}$ at the frequencies $f_0=10^{-2}$ Hz where eLISA is most sensitive, while binaries formed in the field should have negligible eccentricity in both frequency bands. We estimate ...

Black-hole binaries as relics of gamma-ray burst/hypernova explosions

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno Mendez, Enrique

The Collapsar model, in which a fast-spinning massive star collapses into a Kerr black hole, has become the standard model to explain long-soft gamma-ray bursts and hypernova explosions (GRB/HN). However, stars massive enough (those with ZAMS mass ≳ (18--20) M⊙ ) to produce these events evolve through a path that loses too much angular momentum to produce a central engine capable of delivering the necessary energy. In this work I suggest that the soft X-ray transient sources are the remnants of GRBs/HNe. Binaries in which the massive primary star evolves a carbon-oxygen burning core, then start to transfer material to the secondary star (Case C mass transfer), causing the orbit to decay until a common-envelope phase sets in. The secondary spirals in, further narrowing the orbit of the binary and removing the hydrogen envelope of the primary star. Eventually the primary star becomes tidally locked and spins up, acquiring enough rotational energy to power up a GRB/HN explosion. The central engine producing the GRB/HN event is the Kerr black hole acting through the Blandford-Znajek mechanism. This model can explain not only the long-soft GRBs, but also the subluminous bursts (which comprise ˜ 97% of the total), the long-soft bursts and the short-hard bursts (in a neutron star, black hole merger). Because of our binary evolution through Case C mass transfer, it turns out that for the subluminous and cosmological bursts, the angular momentum O is proportional to m3/2D , where mD is the mass of the donor (secondary star). This binary evolution model has a great advantage over the Woosley Collapsar model; one can "dial" the donor mass in order to obtain whatever angular momentum is needed to drive the explosion. Population syntheses show that there are enough binaries to account for the progenitors of all known classes of GRBs.

Topology of black hole binary-single interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Samsing, Johan; Ilan, Teva

2018-05-01

We present a study on how the outcomes of binary-single interactions involving three black holes (BHs) distribute as a function of the initial conditions; a distribution we refer to as the topology. Using a N-body code that includes BH finite sizes and gravitational wave (GW) emission in the equation of motion (EOM), we perform more than a million binary-single interactions to explore the topology of both the Newtonian limit and the limit at which general relativistic (GR) effects start to become important. From these interactions, we are able to describe exactly under which conditions BH collisions and eccentric GW capture mergers form, as well as how GR in general modifies the Newtonian topology. This study is performed on both large- and microtopological scales. We further describe how the inclusion of GW emission in the EOM naturally leads to scenarios where the binary-single system undergoes two successive GW mergers.

Where are LIGO's Big Black Holes?

Science.gov (United States)

Fishbach, Maya; Holz, Daniel E.

2018-01-01

In LIGO's O1 and O2 observational runs, the detectors were sensitive to stellar mass binary black hole coalescences with component masses up to 100 M⊙, with binaries with primary masses above 40 M⊙ representing over 90% of the total accessible sensitive volume. Nonetheless, of the first 3.9 LIGO detections (GW150914, GW151226, GW170104, and LVT151012), the most massive binary detected was GW150914 with a primary component mass of ~ 36 M⊙ far below the detection mass limit. Furthermore, there are theoretical arguments in favor of an upper mass gap, predicting an absence of black holes in the mass range 50 constraints on the shape of the underlying mass distribution of LIGO's binary black holes. We fit a power-law distribution with an upper mass cutoff to real and simulated BBH mass measurements, finding that the first four detections favor shallow power law slopes α < 3 and an upper mass cutoff Mmax ~ 40 M⊙. We show that with ~10 additional LIGO BBH detections, fitting the BH mass distribution will provide strong evidence for an upper mass gap if one exists.

Eccentric, nonspinning, inspiral, Gaussian-process merger approximant for the detection and characterization of eccentric binary black hole mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Huerta, E. A.; Moore, C. J.; Kumar, Prayush; George, Daniel; Chua, Alvin J. K.; Haas, Roland; Wessel, Erik; Johnson, Daniel; Glennon, Derek; Rebei, Adam; Holgado, A. Miguel; Gair, Jonathan R.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.

2018-01-01

We present ENIGMA, a time domain, inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform model that describes nonspinning binary black holes systems that evolve on moderately eccentric orbits. The inspiral evolution is described using a consistent combination of post-Newtonian theory, self-force and black hole perturbation theory. Assuming eccentric binaries that circularize prior to coalescence, we smoothly match the eccentric inspiral with a stand-alone, quasicircular merger, which is constructed using machine learning algorithms that are trained with quasicircular numerical relativity waveforms. We show that ENIGMA reproduces with excellent accuracy the dynamics of quasicircular compact binaries. We validate ENIGMA using a set of Einstein Toolkit eccentric numerical relativity waveforms, which describe eccentric binary black hole mergers with mass-ratios between 1 ≤q ≤5.5 , and eccentricities e0≲0.2 ten orbits before merger. We use this model to explore in detail the physics that can be extracted with moderately eccentric, nonspinning binary black hole mergers. In particular, we use ENIGMA to show that the gravitational wave transients GW150914, GW151226, GW170104, GW170814 and GW170608 can be effectively recovered with spinning, quasicircular templates if the eccentricity of these events at a gravitational wave frequency of 10 Hz satisfies e0≤{0.175 ,0.125 ,0.175 ,0.175 ,0.125 }, respectively. We show that if these systems have eccentricities e0˜0.1 at a gravitational wave frequency of 10 Hz, they can be misclassified as quasicircular binaries due to parameter space degeneracies between eccentricity and spin corrections. Using our catalog of eccentric numerical relativity simulations, we discuss the importance of including higher-order waveform multipoles in gravitational wave searches of eccentric binary black hole mergers.

Low-mass black holes as the remnants of primordial black hole formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Jenny E

2012-01-01

Bridging the gap between the approximately ten solar mass 'stellar mass' black holes and the 'supermassive' black holes of millions to billions of solar masses are the elusive 'intermediate-mass' black holes. Their discovery is key to understanding whether supermassive black holes can grow from stellar-mass black holes or whether a more exotic process accelerated their growth soon after the Big Bang. Currently, tentative evidence suggests that the progenitors of supermassive black holes were formed as ∼10(4)-10(5) M(⊙) black holes via the direct collapse of gas. Ongoing searches for intermediate-mass black holes at galaxy centres will help shed light on this formation mechanism.

Optical Variability Signatures from Massive Black Hole Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Kasliwal, Vishal P.; Frank, Koby Alexander; Lidz, Adam

2017-01-01

The hierarchical merging of dark matter halos and their associated galaxies should lead to a population of supermassive black hole binaries (MBHBs). We consider plausible optical variability signatures from MBHBs at sub-parsec separations and search for these using data from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS). Specifically, we model the impact of relativistic Doppler beaming on the accretion disk emission from the less massive, secondary black hole. We explore whether this Doppler modulation may be separated from other sources of stochastic variability in the accretion flow around the MBHBs, which we describe as a damped random walk (DRW). In the simple case of a circular orbit, relativistic beaming leads to a series of broad peaks — located at multiples of the orbital frequency — in the fluctuation power spectrum. We extend our analysis to the case of elliptical orbits and discuss the effect of beaming on the flux power spectrum and auto-correlation function using simulations. We present a code to model an observed light curve as a stochastic DRW-type time series modulated by relativistic beaming and apply the code to CRTS data.

Black hole based tests of general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagi, Kent; Stein, Leo C

2016-01-01

General relativity has passed all solar system experiments and neutron star based tests, such as binary pulsar observations, with flying colors. A more exotic arena for testing general relativity is in systems that contain one or more black holes. Black holes are the most compact objects in the Universe, providing probes of the strongest-possible gravitational fields. We are motivated to study strong-field gravity since many theories give large deviations from general relativity only at large field strengths, while recovering the weak-field behavior. In this article, we review how one can probe general relativity and various alternative theories of gravity by using electromagnetic waves from a black hole with an accretion disk, and gravitational waves from black hole binaries. We first review model-independent ways of testing gravity with electromagnetic/gravitational waves from a black hole system. We then focus on selected examples of theories that extend general relativity in rather simple ways. Some important characteristics of general relativity include (but are not limited to) (i) only tensor gravitational degrees of freedom, (ii) the graviton is massless, (iii) no quadratic or higher curvatures in the action, and (iv) the theory is four-dimensional. Altering a characteristic leads to a different extension of general relativity: (i) scalar–tensor theories, (ii) massive gravity theories, (iii) quadratic gravity, and (iv) theories with large extra dimensions. Within each theory, we describe black hole solutions, their properties, and current and projected constraints on each theory using black hole based tests of gravity. We close this review by listing some of the open problems in model-independent tests and within each specific theory. (paper)

Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered in Nearby Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

2007-10-01

Astronomers have located an exceptionally massive black hole in orbit around a huge companion star. This result has intriguing implications for the evolution and ultimate fate of massive stars. The black hole is part of a binary system in M33, a nearby galaxy about 3 million light years from Earth. By combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Gemini telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, the mass of the black hole, known as M33 X-7, was determined to be 15.7 times that of the Sun. This makes M33 X-7 the most massive stellar black hole known. A stellar black hole is formed from the collapse of the core of a massive star at the end of its life. Chandra X-ray Image of M33 X-7 Chandra X-ray Image of M33 X-7 "This discovery raises all sorts of questions about how such a big black hole could have been formed," said Jerome Orosz of San Diego State University, lead author of the paper appearing in the October 18th issue of the journal Nature. M33 X-7 orbits a companion star that eclipses the black hole every three and a half days. The companion star also has an unusually large mass, 70 times that of the Sun. This makes it the most massive companion star in a binary system containing a black hole. Hubble Optical Image of M33 X-7 Hubble Optical Image of M33 X-7 "This is a huge star that is partnered with a huge black hole," said coauthor Jeffrey McClintock of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "Eventually, the companion will also go supernova and then we'll have a pair of black holes." The properties of the M33 X-7 binary system - a massive black hole in a close orbit around a massive companion star - are difficult to explain using conventional models for the evolution of massive stars. The parent star for the black hole must have had a mass greater than the existing companion in order to have formed a black hole before the companion star. Gemini Optical Image of M33 X-7 Gemini Optical Image of M33 X-7 Such a massive star would

A test of the massive binary black hole hypothesis - Arp 102B

Science.gov (United States)

Helpern, J. P.; Filippenko, Alexei V.

1988-01-01

The emission-line spectra of several AGN have broad peaks which are significantly displaced in velocity with respect to the host galaxy. An interpretation of this effect in terms of orbital motion of a binary black hole predicts periods of a few centuries. It is pointed out here that recent measurements of the masses and sizes of many low-luminosity AGN imply orbital periods much shorter than this. In particular, it is found that the elliptical galaxy Arp 102B is the most likely candidate for observation of radial velocity variations; its period is expected to be about 3 yr. The H-alpha line profile of Arp 102B has been measured for 5 yr without detecting any change in velocity, and it is thus found that a rather restrictive observational test of the massive binary black hole hypothesis already exists, albeit for this one object.

Gravitational waves from binary supermassive black holes missing in pulsar observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shannon, R M; Ravi, V; Lentati, L T; Lasky, P D; Hobbs, G; Kerr, M; Manchester, R N; Coles, W A; Levin, Y; Bailes, M; Bhat, N D R; Burke-Spolaor, S; Dai, S; Keith, M J; Osłowski, S; Reardon, D J; van Straten, W; Toomey, L; Wang, J-B; Wen, L; Wyithe, J S B; Zhu, X-J

2015-09-25

Gravitational waves are expected to be radiated by supermassive black hole binaries formed during galaxy mergers. A stochastic superposition of gravitational waves from all such binary systems would modulate the arrival times of pulses from radio pulsars. Using observations of millisecond pulsars obtained with the Parkes radio telescope, we constrained the characteristic amplitude of this background, A(c,yr), to be gravitational waves. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Bumpy black holes from spontaneous Lorentz violation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubovsky, Sergei; Tinyakov, Peter; Zaldarriaga, Matias

2007-01-01

We consider black holes in Lorentz violating theories of massive gravity. We argue that in these theories black hole solutions are no longer universal and exhibit a large number of hairs. If they exist, these hairs probe the singularity inside the black hole providing a window into quantum gravity. The existence of these hairs can be tested by future gravitational wave observatories. We generically expect that the effects we discuss will be larger for the more massive black holes. In the simplest models the strength of the hairs is controlled by the same parameter that sets the mass of the graviton (tensor modes). Then the upper limit on this mass coming from the inferred gravitational radiation emitted by binary pulsars implies that hairs are likely to be suppressed for almost the entire mass range of the super-massive black holes in the centers of galaxies

Formation of black hole and emission of gravitational waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Takashi

2006-12-01

Numerical simulations were performed for the formation process of rotating black holes. It is suggested that Kerr black holes are formed for wide ranges of initial parameters. The nature of gravitational waves from a test particle falling into a Kerr black hole as well as the development of 3D numerical relativity for the coalescing binary neutron stars are discussed.

Black holes in the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camenzind, M.

2005-01-01

While physicists have been grappling with the theory of black holes (BH), as shown by the many contributions to the Einstein year, astronomers have been successfully searching for real black holes in the Universe. Black hole astrophysics began in the 1960s with the discovery of quasars and other active galactic nuclei (AGN) in distant galaxies. Already in the 1960s it became clear that the most natural explanation for the quasar activity is the release of gravitational energy through accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes. The remnants of this activity have now been found in the centers of about 50 nearby galaxies. BH astrophysics received a new twist in the 1970s with the discovery of the X-ray binary (XRB) Cygnus X-1. The X-ray emitting compact object was too massive to be explained by a neutron star. Today, about 20 excellent BH candidates are known in XRBs. On the extragalactic scale, more than 100.000 quasars have been found in large galaxy surveys. At the redshift of the most distant ones, the Universe was younger than one billion year. The most enigmatic black hole candidates identified in the last years are the compact objects behind the Gamma-Ray Bursters. The formation of all these types of black holes is accompanied by extensive emission of gravitational waves. The detection of these strong gravity events is one of the biggest challenges for physicists in the near future. (author)

Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: Multi-Messenger Astrophysics and Long Baselines with the Next-Generation Very Large Array

Science.gov (United States)

Burke-Spolaor, Sarah; Lazio, Joseph; Nyland, Kristina; Blecha, Laura; Bogdanovic, Tamara; Comerford, Julie; Liu, Xin; Taylor, Gregory; Shen, Yue; Maccarone, T. J.; Chomiuk, Laura; Reines, Amy

2018-01-01

Dual ( physical processes that drive both the remnant's dynamics and the inspiral of the black hole pair. A systematic census of the dual supermassive black hole population will also directly constrain the strength and distribution of objects emitting gravitational waves that will be detected by pulsar timing arrays and future space-based laser interferometers. Although the population of dual supermassive black holes in galaxy merger products is central to these topics and others, few have yet been discovered.A suite of radio, visible-infrared, and X-ray telescopes have just begun to reveal the population of kiloparsec-separation dual active nuclei. This poster will present the unique capability of radio observations to explore the dual and binary population of supermassive black hole binaries, and will highlight the observational techniques and discoveries expected for the Next-Generation Very Large Array.Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The NANOGrav project receives support from NSF Physics Frontier Center award number 1430284.

Search for Binary Black Hole Candidates from the VLBI Images of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... We have searched the core-jet pairs in the VLBI scales (< 1 kpc), from several VLBI catalogues, and found out 5 possible Binary Black Hole (BBH) candidates. We present here the search results and analyse the candidates preliminarily. We plan to study with multi-band VLBI observation. We also plan to ...

NONLINEAR GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE MEMORY FROM BINARY BLACK HOLE MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favata, Marc

2009-01-01

Some astrophysical sources of gravitational waves can produce a 'memory effect', which causes a permanent displacement of the test masses in a freely falling gravitational-wave detector. The Christodoulou memory is a particularly interesting nonlinear form of memory that arises from the gravitational-wave stress-energy tensor's contribution to the distant gravitational-wave field. This nonlinear memory contributes a nonoscillatory component to the gravitational-wave signal at leading (Newtonian-quadrupole) order in the waveform amplitude. Previous computations of the memory and its detectability considered only the inspiral phase of binary black hole coalescence. Using an 'effective-one-body' (EOB) approach calibrated to numerical relativity simulations, as well as a simple fully analytic model, the Christodoulou memory is computed for the inspiral, merger, and ringdown. The memory will be very difficult to detect with ground-based interferometers, but is likely to be observable in supermassive black hole mergers with LISA out to redshifts z ∼< 2. Detection of the nonlinear memory could serve as an experimental test of the ability of gravity to 'gravitate'.

Distinguishing spin-aligned and isotropic black hole populations with gravitational waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Farr, Will M; Stevenson, Simon; Miller, M Coleman; Mandel, Ilya; Farr, Ben; Vecchio, Alberto

2017-08-23

The direct detection of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes opens up a window into the environments in which binary black holes form. One signature of such environments is the angular distribution of the black hole spins. Binary systems that formed through dynamical interactions between already-compact objects are expected to have isotropic spin orientations (that is, the spins of the black holes are randomly oriented with respect to the orbit of the binary system), whereas those that formed from pairs of stars born together are more likely to have spins that are preferentially aligned with the orbit. The best-measured combination of spin parameters for each of the four likely binary black hole detections GW150914, LVT151012, GW151226 and GW170104 is the 'effective' spin. Here we report that, if the magnitudes of the black hole spins are allowed to extend to high values, the effective spins for these systems indicate a 0.015 odds ratio against an aligned angular distribution compared to an isotropic one. When considering the effect of ten additional detections, this odds ratio decreases to 2.9 × 10 -7 against alignment. The existing preference for either an isotropic spin distribution or low spin magnitudes for the observed systems will be confirmed (or overturned) confidently in the near future.

Black Holes

OpenAIRE

Horowitz, Gary T.; Teukolsky, Saul A.

1998-01-01

Black holes are among the most intriguing objects in modern physics. Their influence ranges from powering quasars and other active galactic nuclei, to providing key insights into quantum gravity. We review the observational evidence for black holes, and briefly discuss some of their properties. We also describe some recent developments involving cosmic censorship and the statistical origin of black hole entropy.

Simulating the X-ray luminosity of Be X-ray binaries: the case for black holes versus neutron stars

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, R. O.; Ho, W. C. G.; Coe, M. J.; Okazaki, A. T.

2018-04-01

There are over 100 Be stars that are known to have neutron star companions but only one such system with a black hole. Previous theoretical work suggests this is not due to their formation but due to differences in X-ray luminosity. It has also been proposed that the truncation of the Be star's circumstellar disc is dependent on the mass of the compact object. Hence, Be star discs in black hole binaries are smaller. Since accretion onto the compact object from the Be star's disc is what powers the X-ray luminosity, a smaller disc in black hole systems leads to a lower luminosity. In this paper, simulations are performed with a range of eccentricities and compact object mass. The disc's size and density are shown to be dependent on both quantities. Mass capture and, in turn, X-ray luminosity are heavily dependent on the size and density of the disc. Be/black hole binaries are expected to be up to ˜10 times fainter than Be/neutron star binaries when both systems have the same eccentricity and can be 100 times fainter when comparing systems with different eccentricity.

Black hole levitron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arsiwalla, Xerxes D.; Verlinde, Erik P.

2010-01-01

We study the problem of spatially stabilizing four dimensional extremal black holes in background electric/magnetic fields. Whilst looking for stationary stable solutions describing black holes placed in external fields we find that taking a continuum limit of Denef et al.'s multicenter supersymmetric black hole solutions provides a supergravity description of such backgrounds within which a black hole can be trapped within a confined volume. This construction is realized by solving for a levitating black hole over a magnetic dipole base. We comment on how such a construction is akin to a mechanical levitron.

Accretion Disks Around Binary Black Holes of Unequal Mass: GRMHD Simulations Near Decoupling

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Roman; Paschalidis, Vasileios; Etienne, Zachariah B.; Shapiro, Stuart L.; Pfeiffer, Harald, P.

2013-01-01

We report on simulations in general relativity of magnetized disks onto black hole binaries. We vary the binary mass ratio from 1:1 to 1:10 and evolve the systems when they orbit near the binary disk decoupling radius. We compare (surface) density profiles, accretion rates (relative to a single, non-spinning black hole), variability, effective alpha-stress levels and luminosities as functions of the mass ratio. We treat the disks in two limiting regimes: rapid radiative cooling and no radiative cooling. The magnetic field lines clearly reveal jets emerging from both black hole horizons and merging into one common jet at large distances. The magnetic fields give rise to much stronger shock heating than the pure hydrodynamic flows, completely alter the disk structure, and boost accretion rates and luminosities. Accretion streams near the horizons are among the densest structures; in fact, the 1:10 no-cooling evolution results in a refilling of the cavity. The typical effective temperature in the bulk of the disk is approx. 10(exp5) (M / 10(exp 8)M solar mass (exp -1/4(L/L(sub edd) (exp 1/4K) yielding characteristic thermal frequencies approx. 10 (exp 15) (M /10(exp 8)M solar mass) (exp -1/4(L/L (sub edd) (1+z) (exp -1)Hz. These systems are thus promising targets for many extragalactic optical surveys, such as LSST, WFIRST, and PanSTARRS.

Search for gravitational waves from binary black hole inspirals in LIGO data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, B.; Abbott, R.; Adhikari, R.; Agresti, J.; Anderson, S.B.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Asiri, F.; Barish, B.C.; Barnes, M.; Barton, M.A.; Bhawal, B.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, K.; Bork, R.; Brown, D.A.; Busby, D.; Cardenas, L.; Chandler, A.

2006-01-01

We report on a search for gravitational waves from binary black hole inspirals in the data from the second science run of the LIGO interferometers. The search focused on binary systems with component masses between 3 and 20M · . Optimally oriented binaries with distances up to 1 Mpc could be detected with efficiency of at least 90%. We found no events that could be identified as gravitational waves in the 385.6 hours of data that we searched

Caged black holes: Black holes in compactified spacetimes. I. Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kol, Barak; Sorkin, Evgeny; Piran, Tsvi

2004-01-01

In backgrounds with compact dimensions there may exist several phases of black objects including a black hole and a black string. The phase transition between them raises questions and touches on fundamental issues such as topology change, uniqueness, and cosmic censorship. No analytic solution is known for the black hole, and moreover one can expect approximate solutions only for very small black holes, while phase transition physics happens when the black hole is large. Hence we turn to numerical solutions. Here some theoretical background to the numerical analysis is given, while the results will appear in a subsequent paper. The goals for a numerical analysis are set. The scalar charge and tension along the compact dimension are defined and used as improved order parameters which put both the black hole and the black string at finite values on the phase diagram. The predictions for small black holes are presented. The differential and the integrated forms of the first law are derived, and the latter (Smarr's formula) can be used to estimate the 'overall numerical error'. Field asymptotics and expressions for physical quantities in terms of the numerical values are supplied. The techniques include the 'method of equivalent charges', free energy, dimensional reduction, and analytic perturbation for small black holes

The mass of the black hole in the X-ray binary LMC X-1

Science.gov (United States)

Abubekerov, M. K.; Antokhina, E. A.; Gostev, N. Yu.; Cherepashchuk, A. M.; Shimansky, V. V.

2016-12-01

A dynamical estimate of the mass of the black hole in the LMC X-1 binary system is obtained in the framework of a Roche model for the optical star, based on fitting of the He I 4471 Å and He II 4200 Å absorption lines assuming LTE. The mass of the black hole derived from the radial-velocity curve for the He II 4200 Å line is m x = 10.55 M ⊙, close to the value found earlier based on a model with two point bodies [1].

Noncommutative black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez-DomInguez, J C [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato PO Box E-143, 37150 Leoen Gto. (Mexico); Obregon, O [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato PO Box E-143, 37150 Leoen Gto. (Mexico); RamIrez, C [Facultad de Ciencias FIsico Matematicas, Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, PO Box 1364, 72000 Puebla (Mexico); Sabido, M [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato PO Box E-143, 37150 Leoen Gto. (Mexico)

2007-11-15

We study noncommutative black holes, by using a diffeomorphism between the Schwarzschild black hole and the Kantowski-Sachs cosmological model, which is generalized to noncommutative minisuperspace. Through the use of the Feynman-Hibbs procedure we are able to study the thermodynamics of the black hole, in particular, we calculate Hawking's temperature and entropy for the 'noncommutative' Schwarzschild black hole.

Black Hole - Neutron Star Binary Mergers

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Gravitational radiation waveforms for black hole-neutron star coalescence calculations. The physical input is Newtonian physics, an ideal gas equation of state with...

Black hole critical phenomena without black holes

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

large values of Ф, black holes do form and for small values the scalar field ... on the near side of the ridge ultimately evolve to form black holes while those configu- ... The inset shows a bird's eye view looking down on the saddle point.

CYG X-3: A GALACTIC DOUBLE BLACK HOLE OR BLACK-HOLE-NEUTRON-STAR PROGENITOR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belczynski, Krzysztof; Bulik, Tomasz [Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw (Poland); Mandel, Ilya [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Sathyaprakash, B. S. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, 5, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3YB (United Kingdom); Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Mikolajewska, Joanna [Centrum Astronomiczne im. M. Kopernika, Bartycka 18, PL-00-716 Warszawa (Poland)

2013-02-10

There are no known stellar-origin double black hole (BH-BH) or black-hole-neutron-star (BH-NS) systems. We argue that Cyg X-3 is a very likely BH-BH or BH-NS progenitor. This Galactic X-ray binary consists of a compact object, wind-fed by a Wolf-Rayet (W-R) type companion. Based on a comprehensive analysis of observational data, it was recently argued that Cyg X-3 harbors a 2-4.5 M {sub Sun} black hole (BH) and a 7.5-14.2 M {sub Sun} W-R companion. We find that the fate of such a binary leads to the prompt ({approx}< 1 Myr) formation of a close BH-BH system for the high end of the allowed W-R mass (M {sub W-R} {approx}> 13 M {sub Sun }). For the low- to mid-mass range of the W-R star (M {sub W-R} {approx} 7-10 M {sub Sun }) Cyg X-3 is most likely (probability 70%) disrupted when W-R ends up as a supernova. However, with smaller probability, it may form a wide (15%) or a close (15%) BH-NS system. The advanced LIGO/VIRGO detection rate for mergers of BH-BH systems from the Cyg X-3 formation channel is {approx}10 yr{sup -1}, while it drops down to {approx}0.1 yr{sup -1} for BH-NS systems. If Cyg X-3 in fact hosts a low-mass black hole and massive W-R star, it lends additional support for the existence of BH-BH/BH-NS systems.

No-Hair Theorem for Black Holes in Astrophysical Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gürlebeck, Norman

2015-04-01

According to the no-hair theorem, static black holes are described by a Schwarzschild spacetime provided there are no other sources of the gravitational field. This requirement, however, is in astrophysical realistic scenarios often violated, e.g., if the black hole is part of a binary system or if it is surrounded by an accretion disk. In these cases, the black hole is distorted due to tidal forces. Nonetheless, the subsequent formulation of the no-hair theorem holds: The contribution of the distorted black hole to the multipole moments that describe the gravitational field close to infinity and, thus, all sources is that of a Schwarzschild black hole. It still has no hair. This implies that there is no multipole moment induced in the black hole and that its second Love numbers, which measure some aspects of the distortion, vanish as was already shown in approximations to general relativity. But here we prove this property for astrophysical relevant black holes in full general relativity.

No-hair theorem for black holes in astrophysical environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gürlebeck, Norman

2015-04-17

According to the no-hair theorem, static black holes are described by a Schwarzschild spacetime provided there are no other sources of the gravitational field. This requirement, however, is in astrophysical realistic scenarios often violated, e.g., if the black hole is part of a binary system or if it is surrounded by an accretion disk. In these cases, the black hole is distorted due to tidal forces. Nonetheless, the subsequent formulation of the no-hair theorem holds: The contribution of the distorted black hole to the multipole moments that describe the gravitational field close to infinity and, thus, all sources is that of a Schwarzschild black hole. It still has no hair. This implies that there is no multipole moment induced in the black hole and that its second Love numbers, which measure some aspects of the distortion, vanish as was already shown in approximations to general relativity. But here we prove this property for astrophysical relevant black holes in full general relativity.

Reinvestigation of moving punctured black holes with a new code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Zhoujian; Yo Hweijang; Yu Juiping

2008-01-01

We report on our code, in which the moving puncture method is applied and an adaptive/fixed mesh refinement is implemented, and on its preliminary performance on black hole simulations. Based on the Baumgarte-Sharpiro-Shibata-Nakamura (BSSN) formulation, up-to-date gauge conditions and the modifications of the formulation are also implemented and tested. In this work, we present our primary results about the simulation of a single static black hole, of a moving single black hole, and of the head-on collision of a binary black hole system. For the static punctured black hole simulations, different modifications of the BSSN formulation are applied. It is demonstrated that both the currently used sets of modifications lead to a stable evolution. For cases of a moving punctured black hole with or without spin, we search for viable gauge conditions and study the effect of spin on the black hole evolution. Our results confirm previous results obtained by other research groups. In addition, we find a new gauge condition, which has not yet been adopted by any other researchers, which can also give stable and accurate black hole evolution calculations. We examine the performance of the code for the head-on collision of a binary black hole system, and the agreement of the gravitational waveform it produces with that obtained in other works. In order to understand qualitatively the influence of matter on the binary black hole collisions, we also investigate the same head-on collision scenarios but perturbed by a scalar field. The numerical simulations performed with this code not only give stable and accurate results that are consistent with the works by other numerical relativity groups, but also lead to the discovery of a new viable gauge condition, as well as clarify some ambiguities in the modification of the BSSN formulation. These results demonstrate that this code is reliable and ready to be used in the study of more realistic astrophysical scenarios and of numerical

Black holes in a box: Toward the numerical evolution of black holes in AdS space-times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Witek, Helvi; Nerozzi, Andrea; Cardoso, Vitor; Herdeiro, Carlos; Sperhake, Ulrich; Zilhao, Miguel

2010-01-01

The evolution of black holes in ''confining boxes'' is interesting for a number of reasons, particularly because it mimics the global structure of anti-de Sitter geometries. These are nonglobally hyperbolic space-times and the Cauchy problem may only be well defined if the initial data are supplemented by boundary conditions at the timelike conformal boundary. Here, we explore the active role that boundary conditions play in the evolution of a bulk black hole system, by imprisoning a black hole binary in a box with mirrorlike boundary conditions. We are able to follow the post-merger dynamics for up to two reflections off the boundary of the gravitational radiation produced in the merger. We estimate that about 15% of the radiation energy is absorbed by the black hole per interaction, whereas transfer of angular momentum from the radiation to the black hole is observed only in the first interaction. We discuss the possible role of superradiant scattering for this result. Unlike the studies with outgoing boundary conditions, both of the Newman-Penrose scalars Ψ 4 and Ψ 0 are nontrivial in our setup, and we show that the numerical data verifies the expected relations between them.

Chandra reveals a black hole X-ray binary within the ultraluminous supernova remnant MF 16

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, T. P.; Colbert, E. J. M.

2003-06-01

We present evidence, based on Chandra ACIS-S observations of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946, that the extraordinary X-ray luminosity of the MF 16 supernova remnant actually arises in a black hole X-ray binary. This conclusion is drawn from the point-like nature of the X-ray source, its X-ray spectrum closely resembling the spectrum of other ultraluminous X-ray sources thought to be black hole X-ray binary systems, and the detection of rapid hard X-ray variability from the source. We briefly discuss the nature of the hard X-ray variability, and the origin of the extreme radio and optical luminosity of MF 16 in light of this identification.

TIDAL STELLAR DISRUPTIONS BY MASSIVE BLACK HOLE PAIRS. II. DECAYING BINARIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xian; Liu, F. K.; Sesana, Alberto; Madau, Piero

2011-01-01

Tidal stellar disruptions have traditionally been discussed as a probe of the single, massive black holes (MBHs) that are dormant in the nuclei of galaxies. We have previously used numerical scattering experiments to show that three-body interactions between bound stars in a stellar cusp and a non-evolving 'hard' MBH binary will also produce a burst of tidal disruptions, caused by a combination of the secular 'Kozai effect' and by close resonant encounters with the secondary hole. Here, we derive basic analytical scalings of the stellar disruption rates with the system parameters, assess the relative importance of the Kozai and resonant encounter mechanisms as a function of time, discuss the impact of general relativistic (GR) and extended stellar cusp effects, and develop a hybrid model to self-consistently follow the shrinking of an MBH binary in a stellar background, including slingshot ejections and tidal disruptions. In the case of a fiducial binary with primary hole mass M 1 = 10 7 M sun and mass ratio q = M 2 /M 1 = 1/81, embedded in an isothermal cusp, we derive a stellar disruption rate N-dot * ∼ 0.2 yr -1 lasting ∼3 x 10 5 yr. This rate is three orders of magnitude larger than the corresponding value for a single MBH fed by two-body relaxation, confirming our previous findings. For q 10% of the tidal-disruption events may originate in MBH binaries.

Efficiency of template banks for binary black-hole detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cokelaer, Thomas; Babak, Stas; Sathyaprakash, B S

2004-01-01

In the framework of matched filtering theory, which is the most promising method for the detection of gravitational waves emitted by coalescing binaries, we report on the ability of a template bank to catch a simulated binary black-hole gravitational wave signal. If we suppose that the incoming signal waveform is known a priori, then both the (simulated) signal and the templates can be based on the same physical model and therefore the template bank can be optimal in the sense of Wiener filtering. This turns out to be true for the case of neutron star binaries but not necessarily for the black-hole case. When the templates and the signal are based on different physical models the detection bank may still remain efficient. Nonetheless, it might be a judicious choice to use a phenomenological template family such as the so-called BCV templates to catch all the different physical models. In the first part of that report, we illustrate in a non-exhaustive study, by using Monte Carlo simulations, the efficiency of a template bank based on the stationary phase approximation and show how it catches simulated signals based on the same physical model but fails to catch signals built using other models (Pade, EOB, ...) especially in the case of high mass binaries. In the second part, we construct a BCV-template bank and test its validity by injecting simulated signals based on different physical models such as the PN-approximants, Pade-approximant and the effective one-body method. We show that it is suitable for a search pipeline since it gives a match higher than 95% for all the different physical models. The range of individual mass which has been used is [3-20]M o-dot

Stellar-mass black holes and ultraluminous x-ray sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Fender, Rob; Belloni, Tomaso

2012-08-03

We review the likely population, observational properties, and broad implications of stellar-mass black holes and ultraluminous x-ray sources. We focus on the clear empirical rules connecting accretion and outflow that have been established for stellar-mass black holes in binary systems in the past decade and a half. These patterns of behavior are probably the keys that will allow us to understand black hole feedback on the largest scales over cosmological time scales.

Massive Black-Hole Binary Mergers: Dynamics, Environments & Expected Detections

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, Luke Zoltan

2018-05-01

This thesis studies the populations and dynamics of massive black-hole binaries and their mergers, and explores the implications for electromagnetic and gravitational-wave signals that will be detected in the near future. Massive black-holes (MBH) reside in the centers of galaxies, and when galaxies merge, their MBH interact and often pair together. We base our study on the populations of MBH and galaxies from the `Illustris' cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. The bulk of the binary merger dynamics, however, are unresolved in cosmological simulations. We implement a suite of comprehensive physical models for the merger process, like dynamical friction and gravitational wave emission, which are added in post-processing. Contrary to many previous studies, we find that the most massive binaries with near equal-mass companions are the most efficient at coalescing; though the process still typically takes gigayears.From the data produced by these MBH binary populations and their dynamics, we calculate the expected gravitational wave (GW) signals: both the stochastic, GW background of countless unresolved sources, and the GW foreground of individually resolvable binaries which resound above the noise. Ongoing experiments, called pulsar timing arrays, are sensitive to both of these types of signals. We find that, while the current lack of detections is unsurprising, both the background and foreground will plausibly be detected in the next decade. Unlike previous studies which have predicted the foreground to be significantly harder to detect than the background, we find their typical amplitudes are comparable.With traditional electromagnetic observations, there has also been a dearth of confirmed detections of MBH binary systems. We use our binaries, combined with models of emission from accreting MBH systems, to make predictions for the occurrence rate of systems observable using photometric, periodic-variability surveys. These variables should be detectable in

Assessing the Detectability of Gravitational Waves from Coalescing Binary Black Holes with Precessing Spin

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick, Sara; Privitera, Stephen; Weinstein, Alan J.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration

2015-01-01

The Advanced LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors will come online within the year and are expected to outperform the strain sensitivity of initial LIGO/Virgo detectors by an order of magnitude and operate with greater bandwidth, possibly to frequencies as low as 10 Hz. Coalescing binary black holes (BBH) are anticipated to be among the most likely sources of gravitational radiation observable by the detectors. Searches for such systems benefit greatly from the use of accurate predictions for the gravitational wave signal to filter the data. The component black holes of these systems are predicted to have substantial spin, which greatly influences the gravitational waveforms from these sources; however, recent LIGO/Virgo searches have made use of banks of waveform models which neglect the effects of the component spins. The inclusion of spinning components is relatively simplified when the spins are taken to be aligned with the orbital angular momentum, though the difficult task of including precession (allowing for mis-aligned component spins) remains a goal of this work. We aim to assess the ability of the GSTLAL gravitational wave search pipeline using IMR aligned-spin template waveforms to recover signals from generically spinning black hole binaries injected into simulated Advanced LIGO and Virgo detector noise. If black holes are highly spinning as predicted, use of aligned-spin template banks in upcoming searches could increase the detection rate of these systems in Advanced LIGO and Virgo data, providing the opportunity for a deeper understanding of the sources.

Astrophysical black holes

CERN Document Server

Gorini, Vittorio; Moschella, Ugo; Treves, Aldo; Colpi, Monica

2016-01-01

Based on graduate school lectures in contemporary relativity and gravitational physics, this book gives a complete and unified picture of the present status of theoretical and observational properties of astrophysical black holes. The chapters are written by internationally recognized specialists. They cover general theoretical aspects of black hole astrophysics, the theory of accretion and ejection of gas and jets, stellar-sized black holes observed in the Milky Way, the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers and quasars as well as their influence on the dynamics in galactic nuclei. The final chapter addresses analytical relativity of black holes supporting theoretical understanding of the coalescence of black holes as well as being of great relevance in identifying gravitational wave signals. With its introductory chapters the book is aimed at advanced graduate and post-graduate students, but it will also be useful for specialists.

The eclectic approach to gravitational waves from black hole collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, J.

2001-01-01

I present the first results in a new program intended to make the best use of all available technologies to provide an effective understanding of waves from inspiraling black hole binaries in time for imminent observations. In particular, I address the problem of combining the close-limit approximation describing ringing black holes and full numerical relativity, required for essentially nonlinear interactions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach using general methods for a model problem, the head-on collision of black holes. Our method allows a more direct physical understanding of these collisions indicating clearly when non-linear methods are important. The success of this method supports our expectation that this unified approach will be able to provide astrophysically relevant results for black hole binaries in time to assist gravitational wave observations. (author)

Black Hole Accretion in Gamma Ray Bursts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Janiuk

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We study the structure and evolution of the hyperaccreting disks and outflows in the gamma ray bursts central engines. The torus around a stellar mass black hole is composed of free nucleons, Helium, electron-positron pairs, and is cooled by neutrino emission. Accretion of matter powers the relativistic jets, responsible for the gamma ray prompt emission. The significant number density of neutrons in the disk and outflowing material will cause subsequent formation of heavier nuclei. We study the process of nucleosynthesis and its possible observational consequences. We also apply our scenario to the recent observation of the gravitational wave signal, detected on 14 September 2015 by the two Advanced LIGO detectors, and related to an inspiral and merger of a binary black hole system. A gamma ray burst that could possibly be related with the GW150914 event was observed by the Fermi satellite. It had a duration of about 1 s and appeared about 0.4 s after the gravitational-wave signal. We propose that a collapsing massive star and a black hole in a close binary could lead to the event. The gamma ray burst was powered by a weak neutrino flux produced in the star remnant’s matter. Low spin and kick velocity of the merged black hole are reproduced in our simulations. Coincident gravitational-wave emission originates from the merger of the collapsed core and the companion black hole.

Understanding possible electromagnetic counterparts to loud gravitational wave events: Binary black hole effects on electromagnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palenzuela, Carlos; Lehner, Luis; Yoshida, Shin

2010-01-01

In addition to producing loud gravitational waves, the dynamics of a binary black hole system could induce emission of electromagnetic radiation by affecting the behavior of plasmas and electromagnetic fields in their vicinity. We study how the electromagnetic fields are affected by a pair of orbiting black holes through the merger. In particular, we show how the binary's dynamics induce a variability in possible electromagnetically induced emissions as well as an enhancement of electromagnetic fields during the late-merge and merger epochs. These time dependent features will likely leave their imprint in processes generating detectable emissions and can be exploited in the detection of electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves.

A Be-type star with a black-hole companion.

Science.gov (United States)

Casares, J; Negueruela, I; Ribó, M; Ribas, I; Paredes, J M; Herrero, A; Simón-Díaz, S

2014-01-16

Stellar-mass black holes have all been discovered through X-ray emission, which arises from the accretion of gas from their binary companions (this gas is either stripped from low-mass stars or supplied as winds from massive ones). Binary evolution models also predict the existence of black holes accreting from the equatorial envelope of rapidly spinning Be-type stars (stars of the Be type are hot blue irregular variables showing characteristic spectral emission lines of hydrogen). Of the approximately 80 Be X-ray binaries known in the Galaxy, however, only pulsating neutron stars have been found as companions. A black hole was formally allowed as a solution for the companion to the Be star MWC 656 (ref. 5; also known as HD 215227), although that conclusion was based on a single radial velocity curve of the Be star, a mistaken spectral classification and rough estimates of the inclination angle. Here we report observations of an accretion disk line mirroring the orbit of MWC 656. This, together with an improved radial velocity curve of the Be star through fitting sharp Fe II profiles from the equatorial disk, and a refined Be classification (to that of a B1.5-B2 III star), indicates that a black hole of 3.8 to 6.9 solar masses orbits MWC 656, the candidate counterpart of the γ-ray source AGL J2241+4454 (refs 5, 6). The black hole is X-ray quiescent and fed by a radiatively inefficient accretion flow giving a luminosity less than 1.6 × 10(-7) times the Eddington luminosity. This implies that Be binaries with black-hole companions are difficult to detect in conventional X-ray surveys.

Black holes. Chapter 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penrose, R.

1980-01-01

Conditions for the formation of a black hole are considered, and the properties of black holes. The possibility of Cygnus X-1 as a black hole is discussed. Einstein's theory of general relativity in relation to the formation of black holes is discussed. (U.K.)

GW150914: First results from the search for binary black hole coalescence with Advanced LIGO

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C. J.; Berger, B. K.; Bergman, J.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, M.J.; Birney, R.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, A.L.S.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bohemier, K.; Bojtos, P.; Bond, T.C; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, A.D.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Calderon Bustillo, J.; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Qian; Chua, S. E.; Chung, E.S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Clayton, J. H.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Cokelaer, T.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, A.C.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, A.L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Daveloza, H. P.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; De, S.; Debra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.A.; DeRosa, R. T.; Rosa, R.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Dietz, A.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M.G.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dojcinoski, G.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, T. M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.M.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fotopoulos, N.; Fournier, J. -D.; Franco, S; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gatto, A.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Gendre, B.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, A.; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Goggin, L. M.; Gondan, L.; Gonzalez, Idelmis G.; Castro, J. M. Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Buffoni-Hall, R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.L.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, P.J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Hofman, D.; Hollitt, S. E.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idrisy, A.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Islas, G.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, D.H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, G.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.H.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kefelian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Keppel, D. G.; Kennedy, R.E.; Key, J. S.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, C.; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y.M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Kokeyama, K.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Krolak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B. M.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lueck, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Luo, J.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; MacDonald, T.T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Magee, R. M.; Mageswaran, M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R.M.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McKechan, D. J. A.; McManus, D. J.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mendoza-Gandara, D.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messaritaki, E.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, J.C.; Moraru, D.; Gutierrez Moreno, M.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P.G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Necula, V.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton-Howes, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M. B.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Premachandra, S. S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Robinson, C.; Rocchi, A.; Rodriguez, A. C.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.A.; Sachdev, P.S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Santamaria, L.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. 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2016-01-01

On September 14, 2015, at 09∶50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) simultaneously observed the binary black hole merger GW150914. We report the results of a matched-filter search using relativistic models of compact-object binaries that

Hangup effect in unequal mass binary black hole mergers and further studies of their gravitational radiation and remnant properties

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, James; Lousto, Carlos O.

2018-04-01

We present the results of 74 new simulations of nonprecessing spinning black hole binaries with mass ratios q =m1/m2 in the range 1 /7 ≤q ≤1 and individual spins covering the parameter space -0.95 ≤α1 ,2≤0.95 . We supplement those runs with 107 previous simulations to study the hangup effect in black hole mergers, i.e. the delay or prompt merger of spinning holes with respect to nonspinning binaries. We perform the numerical evolution for typically the last ten orbits before the merger and down to the formation of the final remnant black hole. This allows us to study the hangup effect for unequal mass binaries leading us to identify the spin variable that controls the number of orbits before merger as S→ hu.L ^ , where S→ hu=(1 +1/2 m/2 m1 )S→ 1+(1 +1/2 m/1 m2 )S→ 2 . We also combine the total results of those 181 simulations to obtain improved fitting formulas for the remnant final black hole mass, spin and recoil velocity as well as for the peak luminosity and peak frequency of the gravitational strain, and find new correlations among them. This accurate new set of simulations enhances the number of available numerical relativity waveforms available for parameter estimation of gravitational wave observations.

MCMC exploration of supermassive black hole binary inspirals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornish, Neil J; Porter, Edward K

2006-01-01

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna will be able to detect the inspiral and merger of super massive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) anywhere in the universe. Standard matched filtering techniques can be used to detect and characterize these systems. Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are ideally suited to this and other LISA data analysis problems as they are able to efficiently handle models with large dimensions. Here we compare the posterior parameter distributions derived by an MCMC algorithm with the distributions predicted by the Fisher information matrix. We find excellent agreement for the extrinsic parameters, while the Fisher matrix slightly overestimates errors in the intrinsic parameters

Black hole hair removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banerjee, Nabamita; Mandal, Ipsita; Sen, Ashoke

2009-01-01

Macroscopic entropy of an extremal black hole is expected to be determined completely by its near horizon geometry. Thus two black holes with identical near horizon geometries should have identical macroscopic entropy, and the expected equality between macroscopic and microscopic entropies will then imply that they have identical degeneracies of microstates. An apparent counterexample is provided by the 4D-5D lift relating BMPV black hole to a four dimensional black hole. The two black holes have identical near horizon geometries but different microscopic spectrum. We suggest that this discrepancy can be accounted for by black hole hair - degrees of freedom living outside the horizon and contributing to the degeneracies. We identify these degrees of freedom for both the four and the five dimensional black holes and show that after their contributions are removed from the microscopic degeneracies of the respective systems, the result for the four and five dimensional black holes match exactly.

Chaos and order in models of black hole pairs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, Janna

2006-01-01

Chaos in the orbits of black hole pairs has by now been confirmed by several independent groups. While the chaotic behavior of binary black hole orbits is no longer argued, it remains difficult to quantify the importance of chaos to the evolutionary dynamics of a pair of comparable mass black holes. None of our existing approximations are robust enough to offer convincing quantitative conclusions in the most highly nonlinear regime. It is intriguing to note that, in three different approximations to a black hole pair built of a spinning black hole and a nonspinning companion, two approximations exhibit chaos and one approximation does not. The fully relativistic scenario of a spinning test mass around a Schwarzschild black hole shows chaos, as does the post-Newtonian Lagrangian approximation. However, the approximately equivalent post-Newtonian Hamiltonian approximation does not show chaos when only one body spins. It is well known in dynamical systems theory that one system can be regular while an approximately related system is chaotic, so there is no formal conflict. However, the physical question remains: Is there chaos for comparable mass binaries when only one object spins? We are unable to answer this question given the poor convergence of the post-Newtonian approximation to the fully relativistic system. A resolution awaits better approximations that can be trusted in the highly nonlinear regime

The stable problem of the black-hole connected region in the Schwarzschild black hole

OpenAIRE

Tian, Guihua

2005-01-01

The stability of the Schwarzschild black hole is studied. Using the Painlev\\'{e} coordinate, our region can be defined as the black-hole-connected region(r>2m, see text) of the Schwarzschild black hole or the white-hole-connected region(r>2m, see text) of the Schwarzschild black hole. We study the stable problems of the black-hole-connected region. The conclusions are: (1) in the black-hole-connected region, the initially regular perturbation fields must have real frequency or complex frequen...

Error analysis of numerical gravitational waveforms from coalescing binary black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Heather; Chu, Tony; Kumar, Prayush; Pfeiffer, Harald; Boyle, Michael; Hemberger, Daniel; Kidder, Lawrence; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela; SXS Collaboration

2016-03-01

The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO) has finished a successful first observation run and will commence its second run this summer. Detection of compact object binaries utilizes matched-filtering, which requires a vast collection of highly accurate gravitational waveforms. This talk will present a set of about 100 new aligned-spin binary black hole simulations. I will discuss their properties, including a detailed error analysis, which demonstrates that the numerical waveforms are sufficiently accurate for gravitational wave detection purposes, as well as for parameter estimation purposes.

Theory-Agnostic Constraints on Black-Hole Dipole Radiation with Multiband Gravitational-Wave Astrophysics.

Science.gov (United States)

Barausse, Enrico; Yunes, Nicolás; Chamberlain, Katie

2016-06-17

The aLIGO detection of the black-hole binary GW150914 opens a new era for probing extreme gravity. Many gravity theories predict the emission of dipole gravitational radiation by binaries. This is excluded to high accuracy in binary pulsars, but entire classes of theories predict this effect predominantly (or only) in binaries involving black holes. Joint observations of GW150914-like systems by aLIGO and eLISA will improve bounds on dipole emission from black-hole binaries by 6 orders of magnitude relative to current constraints, provided that eLISA is not dramatically descoped.

Rotating black holes at future colliders. III. Determination of black hole evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ida, Daisuke; Oda, Kin-ya; Park, Seong Chan

2006-01-01

TeV scale gravity scenario predicts that the black hole production dominates over all other interactions above the scale and that the Large Hadron Collider will be a black hole factory. Such higher-dimensional black holes mainly decay into the standard model fields via the Hawking radiation whose spectrum can be computed from the greybody factor. Here we complete the series of our work by showing the greybody factors and the resultant spectra for the brane-localized spinor and vector field emissions for arbitrary frequencies. Combining these results with the previous works, we determine the complete radiation spectra and the subsequent time evolution of the black hole. We find that, for a typical event, well more than half a black hole mass is emitted when the hole is still highly rotating, confirming our previous claim that it is important to take into account the angular momentum of black holes

Tidal disruption of stars in a supermassive black hole binary system: the influence of orbital properties on fallback and accretion rates

Science.gov (United States)

Vigneron, Quentin; Lodato, Giuseppe; Guidarelli, Alessio

2018-06-01

The disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole generates a sudden bright flare. Previous studies have focused on the disruption by single black holes, for which the fallback rate decays as ∝ t-5/3. In this paper, we generalize the study to the case of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB), using both analytical estimates and hydrodynamical simulations, looking for specific observable signatures. The range of binary separation for which it is possible to distinguish between the disruption created by a single or a binary black hole concerns typically separations of the order of a few milliparsecs for a primary of mass ˜106 M⊙. When the fallback rate is affected by the secondary, it undergoes two types interruptions, depending on the initial inclination θ of the orbit of the star relative to the plane of the SMBHB. For θ ≲ 70°, periodic sharp interruptions occur and the time of first interruption depends on the distance of the secondary black hole with the debris. If θ ≳ 70°, a first smooth interruption occurs, but not always followed by a further recovery of the fallback rate. This implies that most of the TDEs around a SMBHB will undergo periodic sharp interruptions of their light curve.

Statistical black-hole thermodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bekenstein, J.D.

1975-01-01

Traditional methods from statistical thermodynamics, with appropriate modifications, are used to study several problems in black-hole thermodynamics. Jaynes's maximum-uncertainty method for computing probabilities is used to show that the earlier-formulated generalized second law is respected in statistically averaged form in the process of spontaneous radiation by a Kerr black hole discovered by Hawking, and also in the case of a Schwarzschild hole immersed in a bath of black-body radiation, however cold. The generalized second law is used to motivate a maximum-entropy principle for determining the equilibrium probability distribution for a system containing a black hole. As an application we derive the distribution for the radiation in equilibrium with a Kerr hole (it is found to agree with what would be expected from Hawking's results) and the form of the associated distribution among Kerr black-hole solution states of definite mass. The same results are shown to follow from a statistical interpretation of the concept of black-hole entropy as the natural logarithm of the number of possible interior configurations that are compatible with the given exterior black-hole state. We also formulate a Jaynes-type maximum-uncertainty principle for black holes, and apply it to obtain the probability distribution among Kerr solution states for an isolated radiating Kerr hole

Black holes are warm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravndal, F.

1978-01-01

Applying Einstein's theory of gravitation to black holes and their interactions with their surroundings leads to the conclusion that the sum of the surface areas of several black holes can never become less. This is shown to be analogous to entropy in thermodynamics, and the term entropy is also thus applied to black holes. Continuing, expressions are found for the temperature of a black hole and its luminosity. Thermal radiation is shown to lead to explosion of the black hole. Numerical examples are discussed involving the temperature, the mass, the luminosity and the lifetime of black mini-holes. It is pointed out that no explosions corresponding to the prediction have been observed. It is also shown that the principle of conservation of leptons and baryons is broken by hot black holes, but that this need not be a problem. The related concept of instantons is cited. It is thought that understanding of thermal radiation from black holes may be important for the development of a quantified gravitation theory. (JIW)

Constraining stellar binary black hole formation scenarios with eLISA eccentricity measurements

OpenAIRE

Nishizawa, Atsushi; Sesana, Alberto; Berti, Emanuele; Klein, Antoine

2016-01-01

A space-based interferometer such as eLISA could observe few to few thousands progenitors of black hole binaries (BHBs) similar to those recently detected by Advanced LIGO. Gravitational radiation circularizes the orbit during inspiral, but some BHBs retain a measurable eccentricity at the low frequencies where eLISA is most sensitive. The eccentricity of a BHB carries precious information about its formation channel: BHBs formed in the field, in globular clusters, or close to a massive black...

A magnetic model for low/hard state of black hole binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Yong-Chun; Wang, Ding-Xiong; Huang, Chang-Yin; Cao, Xiao-Feng

2016-03-01

A magnetic model for the low/hard state (LHS) of two black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs), H1743-322 and GX 339-4, is proposed based on transport of the magnetic field from a companion into an accretion disk around a black hole (BH). This model consists of a truncated thin disk with an inner advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF). The spectral profiles of the sources are fitted in agreement with the data observed at four different dates corresponding to the rising phase of the LHS. In addition, the association of the LHS with a quasi-steady jet is modeled based on transport of magnetic field, where the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) and Blandford-Payne (BP) processes are invoked to drive the jets from BH and inner ADAF. It turns out that the steep radio/X-ray correlations observed in H1743-322 and GX 339-4 can be interpreted based on our model.

Merging Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, and Numerical Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan M.

2009-01-01

The final merger of two black holes will emit more energy than all the stars in the observable universe combined. This energy will come in the form of gravitational waves, which are a key prediction of Einstein's general relativity and a new tool for exploring the universe. Observing these mergers with gravitational wave detectors, such as the ground-based LIGO and the space-based LISA, requires knowledge of the radiation waveforms. Since these mergers take place in regions of extreme gravity, we need to solve Einstein's equations of general relativity on a computer. For more than 30 years, scientists have tried to compute black hole mergers using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes were long plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. Within the past few years, however, this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of remarkable breakthroughs. This talk will focus on new simulations that are revealing the dynamics and w aefo rms of binary black hole mergers, and their applications in gravitational wave detection, testing general relativity, and astrophysics.

Quantum aspects of black holes

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

Beginning with an overview of the theory of black holes by the editor, this book presents a collection of ten chapters by leading physicists dealing with the variety of quantum mechanical and quantum gravitational effects pertinent to black holes. The contributions address topics such as Hawking radiation, the thermodynamics of black holes, the information paradox and firewalls, Monsters, primordial black holes, self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensates, the formation of small black holes in high energetic collisions of particles, minimal length effects in black holes and small black holes at the Large Hadron Collider. Viewed as a whole the collection provides stimulating reading for researchers and graduate students seeking a summary of the quantum features of black holes.

Merging Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2009-01-01

This talk will focus on simulations of binary black hole mergers and the gravitational wave signals they produce. Applications to gravitational wave detection with LISA, and electronagnetic counterparts, will be highlighted.

A precise measurement of the magnetic field in the corona of the black hole binary V404 Cygni.

Science.gov (United States)

Dallilar, Yigit; Eikenberry, Stephen S; Garner, Alan; Stelter, Richard D; Gottlieb, Amy; Gandhi, Poshak; Casella, Piergiorgio; Dhillon, Vik S; Marsh, Tom R; Littlefair, Stuart P; Hardy, Liam; Fender, Rob; Mooley, Kunal; Walton, Dominic J; Fuerst, Felix; Bachetti, Matteo; Castro-Tirado, A J; Charcos, Miguel; Edwards, Michelle L; Lasso-Cabrera, Nestor M; Marin-Franch, Antonio; Raines, S Nicholas; Ackley, Kendall; Bennett, John G; Cenarro, A Javier; Chinn, Brian; Donoso, H Veronica; Frommeyer, Raymond; Hanna, Kevin; Herlevich, Michael D; Julian, Jeff; Miller, Paola; Mullin, Scott; Murphey, Charles H; Packham, Chris; Varosi, Frank; Vega, Claudia; Warner, Craig; Ramaprakash, A N; Burse, Mahesh; Punnadi, Sujit; Chordia, Pravin; Gerarts, Andreas; de Paz Martín, Héctor; Calero, María Martín; Scarpa, Riccardo; Acosta, Sergio Fernandez; Hernández Sánchez, William Miguel; Siegel, Benjamin; Pérez, Francisco Francisco; Viera Martín, Himar D; Rodríguez Losada, José A; Nuñez, Agustín; Tejero, Álvaro; Martín González, Carlos E; Rodríguez, César Cabrera; Molgó, Jordi; Rodriguez, J Esteban; Cáceres, J Israel Fernández; Rodríguez García, Luis A; Lopez, Manuel Huertas; Dominguez, Raul; Gaggstatter, Tim; Lavers, Antonio Cabrera; Geier, Stefan; Pessev, Peter; Sarajedini, Ata

2017-12-08

Observations of binary stars containing an accreting black hole or neutron star often show x-ray emission extending to high energies (>10 kilo--electron volts), which is ascribed to an accretion disk corona of energetic particles akin to those seen in the solar corona. Despite their ubiquity, the physical conditions in accretion disk coronae remain poorly constrained. Using simultaneous infrared, optical, x-ray, and radio observations of the Galactic black hole system V404 Cygni, showing a rapid synchrotron cooling event in its 2015 outburst, we present a precise 461 ± 12 gauss magnetic field measurement in the corona. This measurement is substantially lower than previous estimates for such systems, providing constraints on physical models of accretion physics in black hole and neutron star binary systems. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Black holes and beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-02-01

Belief in the existence of black holes is the ultimate act of faith for a physicist. First suggested by the English clergyman John Michell in the year 1784, the gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that nothing - not even light - can escape. Gravity might be the weakest of the fundamental forces but black-hole physics is not for the faint-hearted. Black holes present obvious problems for would-be observers because they cannot, by definition, be seen with conventional telescopes - although before the end of the decade gravitational-wave detectors should be able to study collisions between black holes. Until then astronomers can only infer the existence of a black hole from its gravitational influence on other matter, or from the X-rays emitted by gas and dust as they are dragged into the black hole. However, once this material passes through the 'event horizon' that surrounds the black hole, we will never see it again - not even with X-ray specs. Despite these observational problems, most physicists and astronomers believe that black holes do exist. Small black holes a few kilometres across are thought to form when stars weighing more than about two solar masses collapse under the weight of their own gravity, while supermassive black holes weighing millions of solar masses appear to be present at the centre of most galaxies. Moreover, some brave physicists have proposed ways to make black holes - or at least event horizons - in the laboratory. The basic idea behind these 'artificial black holes' is not to compress a large amount of mass into a small volume, but to reduce the speed of light in a moving medium to less than the speed of the medium and so create an event horizon. The parallels with real black holes are not exact but the experiments could shed new light on a variety of phenomena. The first challenge, however, is to get money for the research. One year on from a high-profile meeting on artificial black holes in London, for

Measuring Intermediate-Mass Black-Hole Binaries with Advanced Gravitational Wave Detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Veitch, John; Pürrer, Michael; Mandel, Ilya

2015-10-02

We perform a systematic study to explore the accuracy with which the parameters of intermediate-mass black-hole binary systems can be measured from their gravitational wave (GW) signatures using second-generation GW detectors. We make use of the most recent reduced-order models containing inspiral, merger, and ringdown signals of aligned-spin effective-one-body waveforms to significantly speed up the calculations. We explore the phenomenology of the measurement accuracies for binaries with total masses between 50M(⊙) and 500M(⊙) and mass ratios between 0.1 and 1. We find that (i) at total masses below ∼200M(⊙), where the signal-to-noise ratio is dominated by the inspiral portion of the signal, the chirp mass parameter can be accurately measured; (ii) at higher masses, the information content is dominated by the ringdown, and total mass is measured more accurately; (iii) the mass of the lower-mass companion is poorly estimated, especially at high total mass and more extreme mass ratios; and (iv) spin cannot be accurately measured for our injection set with nonspinning components. Most importantly, we find that for binaries with nonspinning components at all values of the mass ratio in the considered range and at a network signal-to-noise ratio of 15, analyzed with spin-aligned templates, the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole with mass >100M(⊙) can be confirmed with 95% confidence in any binary that includes a component with a mass of 130M(⊙) or greater.

Gravitational-wave localization alone can probe origin of stellar-mass black hole mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartos, I; Haiman, Z; Marka, Z; Metzger, B D; Stone, N C; Marka, S

2017-10-10

The recent discovery of gravitational waves from stellar-mass binary black hole mergers by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory opened the door to alternative probes of stellar and galactic evolution, cosmology and fundamental physics. Probing the origin of binary black hole mergers will be difficult due to the expected lack of electromagnetic emission and limited localization accuracy. Associations with rare host galaxy types-such as active galactic nuclei-can nevertheless be identified statistically through spatial correlation. Here we establish the feasibility of statistically proving the connection between binary black hole mergers and active galactic nuclei as hosts, even if only a sub-population of mergers originate from active galactic nuclei. Our results are the demonstration that the limited localization of gravitational waves, previously written off as not useful to distinguish progenitor channels, can in fact contribute key information, broadening the range of astrophysical questions probed by binary black hole observations.Binary black hole mergers have recently been observed through the detection of gravitational wave signatures. The authors demonstrate that their association with active galactic nuclei can be made through a statistical spatial correlation.

Neutrino constraints that transform black holes into grey holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruderfer, M.

1982-01-01

Existing black hole theory is found to be defective in its neglect of the physical properties of matter and radiation at superhigh densities. Nongravitational neutrino effects are shown to be physically relevant to the evolution of astronomical black holes and their equations of state. Gravitational collapse to supernovae combined with the Davis and Ray vacuum solution for neutrinos limit attainment of a singularity and require black holes to evolve into ''grey holes''. These allow a better justification than do black holes for explaining the unique existence of galactic masses. (Auth.)

The Final Merger of Massive Black Holes: Recoils, Gravitational Waves, and Electromagnetic Signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan M.

2010-01-01

The final merger of two massive black holes produces a powerful burst of gravitational radiation, emitting more energy than all the stars in the observable universe combined. The resulting gravitational waveforms will be easily detectable by the space-based LISA out to redshifts z greater than 10, revealing the masses and spins of the black holes to high precision. If the merging black holes have unequal masses, or asymmetric spins, the final black hole that forms can recoil with a velocity exceeding 1000 km/s. And, when the black holes merge in the presence of gas and magnetic fields, various types of electromagnetic signals may also be produced. For more than 30 years, scientists have tried to compute black hole mergers using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes have been plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. Within the past few years, however, this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of remarkable breakthroughs. This talk will focus on new results that are revealing the dynamics and waveforms of binary black hole mergers, recoil velocities, and the possibility of accompanying electromagnetic outbursts.

EFFICIENT MERGER OF BINARY SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN MERGING GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Fazeel Mahmood; Just, Andreas; Merritt, David

2011-01-01

In spherical galaxies, binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have difficulty reaching sub-parsec separations due to depletion of stars on orbits that intersect the massive binary-the 'final parsec problem'. Galaxies that form via major mergers are substantially non-spherical, and it has been argued that the centrophilic orbits in triaxial galaxies might provide stars to the massive binary at a high enough rate to avoid stalling. Here we test that idea by carrying out fully self-consistent merger simulations of galaxies containing central SMBHs. We find hardening rates of the massive binaries that are indeed much higher than in spherical models and essentially independent of the number of particles used in the simulations. Binary eccentricities remain high throughout the simulations. Our results constitute a fully stellar-dynamical solution to the final parsec problem and imply a potentially high rate of events for low-frequency gravitational wave detectors like LISA.

Hidden Pair of Supermassive Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2015-08-01

Could a pair of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) be lurking at the center of the galaxy Mrk 231? A recent study finds that this may be the case and the unique spectrum of this galaxy could be the key to discovering more hidden binary SMBH systems.Where Are the Binary Supermassive Black Holes?Its believed that most, if not all, galaxies have an SMBH at their centers. As two galaxies merge, the two SMBHs should evolve into a closely-bound binary system before they eventually merge. Given the abundance of galaxy mergers, we would expect to see the kinematic and visual signatures of these binary SMBHs among observed active galactic nuclei yet such evidence for sub-parsec binary SMBH systems remains scarce and ambiguous. This has led researchers to wonder: is there another way that we might detect these elusive systems?A collaboration led by Chang-Shuo Yan (National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences) thinks that there is. The group suggests that these systems might have distinct signatures in their optical-to-UV spectra, and they identify a system that might be just such a candidate: Mrk 231.A Binary CandidateProposed model of Mrk 231. Two supermassive black holes, each with their own mini-disk, orbit each other in the center of a circumbinary disk. The secondary black hole has cleared gap in the circumbinary disk as a result of its orbit around the primary black hole. [Yan et al. 2015]Mrk 231 is a galaxy with a disturbed morphology and tidal tails strong clues that it might be in the final stages of a galactic merger. In addition to these signs, Mrk 231 also has an unusual spectrum for a quasar: its continuum emission displays an unexpected drop in the near-UV band.Yan and her collaborators propose that the odd behavior of Mrk 231s spectrum can be explained if the center of the galaxy houses a pair of SMBHs each with its own mini accretion disk surrounded by a circumbinary accretion disk. As the secondary SMBH orbits the primary SMBH (with a

Gravitational-wave memory revisited: Memory from the merger and recoil of binary black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favata, Marc

2009-01-01

Gravitational-wave memory refers to the permanent displacement of the test masses in an idealized (freely-falling) gravitational-wave interferometer. Inspiraling binaries produce a particularly interesting form of memory-the Christodoulou memory. Although it originates from nonlinear interactions at 2.5 post-Newtonian order, the Christodoulou memory affects the gravitational-wave amplitude at leading (Newtonian) order. Previous calculations have computed this non-oscillatory amplitude correction during the inspiral phase of binary coalescence. Using an 'effective-one-body' description calibrated with the results of numerical relativity simulations, the evolution of the memory during the inspiral, merger, and ringdown phases, as well as the memory's final saturation value, are calculated. Using this model for the memory, the prospects for its detection are examined, particularly for supermassive black hole binary coalescences that LISA will detect with high signal-to-noise ratios. Coalescing binary black holes also experience center-of-mass recoil due to the anisotropic emission of gravitational radiation. These recoils can manifest themselves in the gravitational-wave signal in the form of a 'linear' memory and a Doppler shift of the quasi-normal-mode frequencies. The prospects for observing these effects are also discussed.

Black Hole Area Quantization rule from Black Hole Mass Fluctuations

OpenAIRE

Schiffer, Marcelo

2016-01-01

We calculate the black hole mass distribution function that follows from the random emission of quanta by Hawking radiation and with this function we calculate the black hole mass fluctuation. From a complete different perspective we regard the black hole as quantum mechanical system with a quantized event horizon area and transition probabilities among the various energy levels and then calculate the mass dispersion. It turns out that there is a perfect agreement between the statistical and ...

Grumblings from an Awakening Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2015-11-01

In June of this year, after nearly three decades of sleep, the black hole V404 Cygni woke up and began grumbling. Scientists across the globe scrambled to observe the sudden flaring activity coming from this previously peaceful black hole. And now were getting the first descriptions of what weve learned from V404 Cygs awakening!Sudden OutburstV404 Cyg is a black hole of roughly nine solar masses, and its in a binary system with a low-mass star. The black hole pulls a stream of gas from the star, which then spirals in around the black hole, forming an accretion disk. Sometimes the material simply accumulates in the disk but every two or three decades, the build-up of gas suddenly rushes toward the black hole as if a dam were bursting.The sudden accretion in these events causes outbursts of activity from the black hole, its flaring easily visible to us. The last time V404 Cyg exhibited such activity was in 1989, and its been rather quiet since then. Our telescopes are of course much more powerful and sensitive now, nearly three decades later so when the black hole woke up and began flaring in June, scientists were delighted at the chance to observe it.The high variability of V404 Cyg is evident in this example set of spectra, where time increases from the bottom panel to the top. [King et al. 2015]Led by Ashley King (Einstein Fellow at Stanford University), a team of scientists observed V404 Cyg with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, obtaining spectra of the black hole during its outbursts. The black hole flared so brightly during its activity that the team had to take precautions to protect the CCDs in their detector from radiation damage! Now the group has released the first results from their analysis.Windy DiskThe primary surprise from V404 Cyg is its winds. Many stellar-mass black holes have outflows of mass, either in the form of directed jets emitted from their centers, or in the form of high-energy winds isotropically emitted from their accretion disks. But V404

Searching for Signatures of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Ayers, Megan; Gezari, Suvi; Liu, Tingting

2018-01-01

Theoretical studies suggest that supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are an inevitable consequence of major galaxy mergers. Additionally, as SMBHBs coalesce they are expected to be sources of tremendous gravitational wave emission. Interest in these sources motivates the search for detection of the first definitive SMBHB and observational signatures to methodize the search. We present spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for a sample of candidate SMBHBs selected from quasars demonstrating optical periodic variability from the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey. The SEDs were constructed using existing archival data spanning from radio to X-ray emission. For each candidate SMBHB, we also present models of the theoretical spectrum emitted from the circumbinary and minidisks of the SMBHB system using the predictions of Roedig et al. (2014) and inferred parameters of the candidates (combined mass, mass ratio, binary separation, accretion rate). We compare the observational SED for each source to its respective binary model as well as to the expected mean SED of a normal non-binary system quasar to look for supporting evidence of a SMBHB system. This project was supported in part by the NSF REU grant AST-1358980 and by the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association.

Monopole Black Hole Skyrmions

OpenAIRE

Moss, Ian G; Shiiki, N; Winstanley, E

2000-01-01

Charged black hole solutions with pion hair are discussed. These can be\\ud used to study monopole black hole catalysis of proton decay.\\ud There also exist\\ud multi-black hole skyrmion solutions with BPS monopole behaviour.

Radio-loudness in black hole transients: evidence for an inclination effect

Science.gov (United States)

Motta, S. E.; Casella, P.; Fender, R.

2018-06-01

Accreting stellar-mass black holes appear to populate two branches in a radio:X-ray luminosity plane. We have investigated the X-ray variability properties of a large number of black hole low-mass X-ray binaries, with the aim of unveiling the physical reasons underlying the radio-loud/radio-quiet nature of these sources, in the context of the known accretion-ejection connection. A reconsideration of the available radio and X-ray data from a sample of black hole X-ray binaries confirms that being radio-quiet is the more normal mode of behaviour for black hole binaries. In the light of this we chose to test, once more, the hypothesis that radio loudness could be a consequence of the inclination of the X-ray binary. We compared the slope of the `hard-line' (an approximately linear correlation between X-ray count rate and rms variability, visible in the hard states of active black holes), the orbital inclination, and the radio-nature of the sources of our sample. We found that high-inclination objects show steeper hard-lines than low-inclination objects, and tend to display a radio-quiet nature (with the only exception of V404 Cyg), as opposed to low-inclination objects, which appear to be radio-loud(er). While in need of further confirmation, our results suggest that - contrary to what has been believed for years - the radio-loud/quiet nature of black-hole low mass X-ray binaries might be an inclination effect, rather than an intrinsic source property. This would solve an important issue in the context of the inflow-outflow connection, thus providing significant constraints to the models for the launch of hard-state compact jets.

Skyrmion black hole hair: Conservation of baryon number by black holes and observable manifestations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dvali, Gia [Arnold Sommerfeld Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 München (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut für Physik, Werner-Heisenberg-Institut, 80805 München (Germany); Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Gußmann, Alexander, E-mail: alexander.gussmann@physik.uni-muenchen.de [Arnold Sommerfeld Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 München (Germany)

2016-12-15

We show that the existence of black holes with classical skyrmion hair invalidates standard proofs that global charges, such as the baryon number, cannot be conserved by a black hole. By carefully analyzing the standard arguments based on a Gedankenexperiment in which a black hole is seemingly-unable to return the baryon number that it swallowed, we identify inconsistencies in this reasoning, which does not take into the account neither the existence of skyrmion black holes nor the baryon/skyrmion correspondence. We then perform a refined Gedankenexperiment by incorporating the new knowledge and show that no contradiction with conservation of baryon number takes place at any stage of black hole evolution. Our analysis also indicates no conflict between semi-classical black holes and the existence of baryonic gauge interaction arbitrarily-weaker than gravity. Next, we study classical cross sections of a minimally-coupled massless probe scalar field scattered by a skyrmion black hole. We investigate how the skyrmion hair manifests itself by comparing this cross section with the analogous cross section caused by a Schwarzschild black hole which has the same ADM mass as the skyrmion black hole. Here we find an order-one difference in the positions of the characteristic peaks in the cross sections. The peaks are shifted to smaller scattering angles when the skyrmion hair is present. This comes from the fact that the skyrmion hair changes the near horizon geometry of the black hole when compared to a Schwarzschild black hole with same ADM mass. We keep the study of this second aspect general so that the qualitative results which we obtain can also be applied to black holes with classical hair of different kind.

Black holes without firewalls

Science.gov (United States)

Larjo, Klaus; Lowe, David A.; Thorlacius, Larus

2013-05-01

The postulates of black hole complementarity do not imply a firewall for infalling observers at a black hole horizon. The dynamics of the stretched horizon, that scrambles and reemits information, determines whether infalling observers experience anything out of the ordinary when entering a large black hole. In particular, there is no firewall if the stretched horizon degrees of freedom retain information for a time of the order of the black hole scrambling time.

No tension between assembly models of super massive black hole binaries and pulsar observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, Hannah; Chen, Siyuan; Del Pozzo, Walter; Sesana, Alberto; Vecchio, Alberto

2018-02-08

Pulsar timing arrays are presently the only means to search for the gravitational wave stochastic background from super massive black hole binary populations, considered to be within the grasp of current or near-future observations. The stringent upper limit from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array has been interpreted as excluding (>90% confidence) the current paradigm of binary assembly through galaxy mergers and hardening via stellar interaction, suggesting evolution is accelerated or stalled. Using Bayesian hierarchical modelling we consider implications of this upper limit for a range of astrophysical scenarios, without invoking stalling, nor more exotic physical processes. All scenarios are fully consistent with the upper limit, but (weak) bounds on population parameters can be inferred. Recent upward revisions of the black hole-galaxy bulge mass relation are disfavoured at 1.6σ against lighter models. Once sensitivity improves by an order of magnitude, a non-detection will disfavour the most optimistic scenarios at 3.9σ.

Naked black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horowitz, G.T.; Ross, S.F.

1997-01-01

It is shown that there are large static black holes for which all curvature invariants are small near the event horizon, yet any object which falls in experiences enormous tidal forces outside the horizon. These black holes are charged and near extremality, and exist in a wide class of theories including string theory. The implications for cosmic censorship and the black hole information puzzle are discussed. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

The Extreme Spin of the Black Hole in Cygnus X-1

Science.gov (United States)

Gou, Lijun; McClintock, Jeffrey E.; Reid, Mark J.; Orosz, Jerome A.; Steiner, James F.; Narayan, Ramesh; Xiang, Jingen; Remillard, Ronald A.; Arnaud, Keith A.; Davis, Shane W.

2011-01-01

The compact primary in the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 was the first black hole to be established via dynamical observations. We have recently determined accurate values for its mass and distance, and for the orbital inclination angle of the binary. Building on these results, which are based on our favored (asynchronous) dynamical model, we have measured the radius of the inner edge of the black hole s accretion disk by fitting its thermal continuum spectrum to a fully relativistic model of a thin accretion disk. Assuming that the spin axis of the black hole is aligned with the orbital angular momentum vector, we have determined that Cygnus X-1 contains a near-extreme Kerr black hole with a spin parameter a* > 0.95 (3(sigma)). For a less probable (synchronous) dynamical model, we find a. > 0.92 (3 ). In our analysis, we include the uncertainties in black hole mass, orbital inclination angle, and distance, and we also include the uncertainty in the calibration of the absolute flux via the Crab. These four sources of uncertainty totally dominate the error budget. The uncertainties introduced by the thin-disk model we employ are particularly small in this case given the extreme spin of the black hole and the disk s low luminosity.

Directly comparing GW150914 with numerical solutions of Einstein's equations for binary black hole coalescence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Bejger, M.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, M.J.; Birney, R.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, A.L.S.; Bock, O.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bond, T.C; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Broida, J. E.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, A.D.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Brunett, S.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderon; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Cheeseboro, B. D.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Qian; Chua, S. E.; Chung, E.S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, A.C.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, A.L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dasgupta, A.; Costa, C. F. Da Silva; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; De, S.; Debra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dergachev, V.A.; Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Devine, R. C.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M.G.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, T. M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fan, X.M.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Fenyvesi, E.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fournier, J. -D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Geng, P.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; Gonzalez, Idelmis G.; Castro, J. M. Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Buffoni-Hall, R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.L.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hanson, P.J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Henry, J.A.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, D.H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jian, L.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.H.; Kanner, J. B.; Kapadia, S. J.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kefelian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.E.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chi-Woong; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Namjun; Kim, W.; Kim, Y.M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kissel, J. S.; Klein, B.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krolak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Lewis, J. B.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lueck, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Zertuche, L. Magana; Magee, R. M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, B.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, J.C.; Moraru, D.; Gutierrez Moreno, M.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P.G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton-Howes, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M. B.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pankow, C.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Perri, L. M.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poe, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Qiu, S.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, D.M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.A.; Sachdev, P.S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O. E. S.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schoenbeck, A.; Schreiber, K.E.C.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, M.S.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Setyawati, Y.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T. J.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, António Dias da; Singer, A; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith, N.D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stone, J.R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepanczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.D.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tapai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, W.R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Toyra, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifiro, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; van Bakel, N.; Van Beuzekom, Martin; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasuth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J. -Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, MT; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L. -W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.M.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, D.R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Worden, J.; Wright, J.L.; Wu, D.S.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrozny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J. -P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.; Boyle, M.; Campanelli, M.; Chu, I.W.T.; Clark, M.; Fauchon-Jones, E. J.; Fong, H.; Healy, J.; Hemberger, D.; Hinder, I.; Husa, S.; Kalaghati, C.; Khan., S.; Kidder, L. E.; Kinsey, M.; Laguna, P.; London, L. T.; Lousto, C. O.; Lovelace, G.; Ossokine, S.; Pannarale, F.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Scheel, M.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Szilagyi, B.; Teukolsky, S.; Vinuales, A. Vano; Zlochower, Y.

2016-01-01

We compare GW150914 directly to simulations of coalescing binary black holes in full general relativity, including several performed specifically to reproduce this event. Our calculations go beyond existing semianalytic models, because for all simulations—including sources with two independent,

Can the graviton have a large mass near black holes?

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jun; Zhou, Shuang-Yong

2018-04-01

The mass of the graviton, if nonzero, is usually considered to be very small, e.g., of the Hubble scale, from several observational constraints. In this paper, we propose a gravity model where the graviton mass is very small in the usual weak gravity environments, below all the current graviton mass bounds, but becomes much larger in the strong gravity regime such as a black hole's vicinity. For black holes in this model, significant deviations from general relativity emerge very close to the black hole horizon and alter the black hole quasinormal modes, which can be extracted from the ringdown wave form of black hole binary mergers. Also, the enhancement of the graviton mass near the horizon can result in echoes in the late-time ringdown, which can be verified in the upcoming gravitational wave observations of higher sensitivity.

Tidal deformations of spinning black holes in Bowen–York initial data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabero, Miriam; Krishnan, Badri

2015-01-01

We study the tidal deformations of the shape of a spinning black hole horizon due to a binary companion in the Bowen–York initial data set. We use the framework of quasi-local horizons and identify a black hole by marginally outer trapped surfaces. The intrinsic horizon geometry is specified by a set of mass and angular-momentum multipole moments M n and J n , respectively. The tidal deformations are described by the change in these multipole moments caused by an external perturbation. This leads us to define two sets of dimensionless numbers, the tidal coefficients for M n and J n , which specify the deformations of a black hole with a binary companion. We compute these tidal coefficients in a specific model problem, namely the Bowen–York initial data set for binary black holes. We restrict ourselves to axisymmetric situations and to small spins. Within this approximation, we analytically compute the conformal factor, the location of the marginally trapped surfaces, and finally the multipole moments and the tidal coefficients. (paper)

Over spinning a black hole?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouhmadi-Lopez, Mariam; Cardoso, Vitor; Nerozzi, Andrea; Rocha, Jorge V, E-mail: mariam.bouhmadi@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: vitor.cardoso@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: andrea.nerozzi@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: jorge.v.rocha@ist.utl.pt [CENTRA, Department de Fisica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049 Lisboa (Portugal)

2011-09-22

A possible process to destroy a black hole consists on throwing point particles with sufficiently large angular momentum into the black hole. In the case of Kerr black holes, it was shown by Wald that particles with dangerously large angular momentum are simply not captured by the hole, and thus the event horizon is not destroyed. Here we reconsider this gedanken experiment for black holes in higher dimensions. We show that this particular way of destroying a black hole does not succeed and that Cosmic Censorship is preserved.

Black and white holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeldovich, Ya.; Novikov, I.; Starobinskij, A.

1978-01-01

The theory is explained of the origination of white holes as a dual phenomenon with regard to the formation of black holes. Theoretically it is possible to derive the white hole by changing the sign of time in solving the general theory of relativity equation implying the black hole. The white hole represents the amount of particles formed in the vicinity of a singularity. For a distant observer, matter composed of these particles expands and the outer boundaries of this matter approach from the inside the gravitational radius Rsub(r). At t>>Rsub(r)/c all radiation or expulsion of matter terminates. For the outside observer the white hole exists for an unlimited length of time. In fact, however, it acquires the properties of a black hole and all processes in it cease. The qualitative difference between a white hole and a black hole is in that a white hole is formed as the result of an inner quantum explosion from the singularity to the gravitational radius and not as the result of a gravitational collapse, i.e., the shrinkage of diluted matter towards the gravitational radius. (J.B.)

Black and white holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeldovich, Ya; Novikov, I; Starobinskii, A

1978-07-01

The theory is explained of the origination of white holes as a dual phenomenon with regard to the formation of black holes. Theoretically it is possible to derive the white hole by changing the sign of time in solving the general theory of relativity equation implying the black hole. The white hole represents the amount of particles formed in the vicinity of a singularity. For a distant observer, matter composed of these particles expands and the outer boundaries of this matter approach from the inside the gravitational radius R/sub r/. At t>>R/sub r//c all radiation or expulsion of matter terminates. For the outside observer the white hole exists for an unlimited length of time. In fact, however, it acquires the properties of a black hole and all processes in it cease. The qualitative difference between a white hole and a black hole is in that a white hole is formed as the result of an inner quantum explosion from the singularity to the gravitational radius and not as the result of a gravitational collapse, i.e., the shrinkage of diluted matter towards the gravitational radius.

Black holes are hot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbons, G.

1976-01-01

Recent work, which has been investigating the use of the concept of entropy with respect to gravitating systems, black holes and the universe as a whole, is discussed. The resulting theory of black holes assigns a finite temperature to them -about 10 -7 K for ordinary black holes of stellar mass -which is in complete agreement with thermodynamical concepts. It is also shown that black holes must continuously emit particles just like ordinary bodies which have a certain temperature. (U.K.)

Production of high stellar-mass primordial black holes in trapped inflation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Shu-Lin; Lee, Wolung [Department of Physics, National Taiwan Normal University,Taipei 11677, Taiwan (China); Ng, Kin-Wang [Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica,Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica,Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China)

2017-02-01

Trapped inflation has been proposed to provide a successful inflation with a steep potential. We discuss the formation of primordial black holes in the trapped inflationary scenario. We show that primordial black holes are naturally produced during inflation with a steep trapping potential. In particular, we have given a recipe for an inflaton potential with which particle production can induce large non-Gaussian curvature perturbation that leads to the formation of high stellar-mass primordial black holes. These primordial black holes could be dark matter observed by the LIGO detectors through a binary black-hole merger. At the end, we have given an attempt to realize the required inflaton potential in the axion monodromy inflation, and discussed the gravitational waves sourced by the particle production.

ACCRETION DISKS AROUND KICKED BLACK HOLES: POST-KICK DYNAMICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponce, Marcelo; Faber, Joshua A.; Lombardi, James C.

2012-01-01

Numerical calculations of merging black hole binaries indicate that asymmetric emission of gravitational radiation can kick the merged black hole at up to thousands of km s –1 , and a number of systems have been observed recently whose properties are consistent with an active galactic nucleus containing a supermassive black hole moving with substantial velocity with respect to its broader accretion disk. We study here the effect of an impulsive kick delivered to a black hole on the dynamical evolution of its accretion disk using a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code, focusing attention on the role played by the kick angle with respect to the orbital angular momentum vector of the pre-kicked disk. We find that for more vertical kicks, for which the angle between the kick and the normal vector to the disk θ ∼ 45°, matter rapidly accretes toward the black hole. There is a systematic trend for higher potential luminosities for more oblique kick angles for a given black hole mass, disk mass, and kick velocity, and we find large amplitude oscillations in time in the case of a kick oriented 60° from the vertical.

Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, M. Coleman; Colbert, E. J. M.

2004-01-01

The mathematical simplicity of black holes, combined with their links to some of the most energetic events in the universe, means that black holes are key objects for fundamental physics and astrophysics. Until recently, it was generally believed that black holes in nature appear in two broad mass ranges: stellar-mass (M~3 20 M⊙), which are produced by the core collapse of massive stars, and supermassive (M~106 1010 M⊙), which are found in the centers of galaxies and are produced by a still uncertain combination of processes. In the last few years, however, evidence has accumulated for an intermediate-mass class of black holes, with M~102 104 M⊙. If such objects exist they have important implications for the dynamics of stellar clusters, the formation of supermassive black holes, and the production and detection of gravitational waves. We review the evidence for intermediate-mass black holes and discuss future observational and theoretical work that will help clarify numerous outstanding questions about these objects.

Recoil velocity at second post-Newtonian order for spinning black hole binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Racine, Etienne; Buonanno, Alessandra; Kidder, Larry

2009-01-01

We compute the flux of linear momentum carried by gravitational waves emitted from spinning binary black holes at second post-Newtonian (2PN) order for generic orbits. In particular we provide explicit expressions of three new types of terms, namely, next-to-leading order spin-orbit terms at 1.5 post-Newtonian (1.5PN) order, spin-orbit tail terms at 2PN order, and spin-spin terms at 2PN order. Restricting ourselves to quasicircular orbits, we integrate the linear-momentum flux over time to obtain the recoil velocity as function of orbital frequency. We find that in the so-called superkick configuration the higher-order spin corrections can increase the recoil velocity up to a factor ∼3 with respect to the leading-order PN prediction. Whereas the recoil velocity computed in PN theory within the adiabatic approximation can accurately describe the early inspiral phase, we find that its fast increase during the late inspiral and plunge, and the arbitrariness in determining until when it should be trusted, makes the PN predictions for the total recoil not very accurate and robust. Nevertheless, the linear-momentum flux at higher PN orders can be employed to build more reliable resummed expressions aimed at capturing the nonperturbative effects until merger. Furthermore, we provide expressions valid for generic orbits, and accurate at 2PN order, for the energy and angular momentum carried by gravitational waves emitted from spinning binary black holes. Specializing to quasicircular orbits we compute the spin-spin terms at 2PN order in the expression for the evolution of the orbital frequency and found agreement with Mikoczi, Vasuth, and Gergely. We also verified that in the limit of extreme mass ratio our expressions for the energy and angular momentum fluxes match the ones of Tagoshi, Shibata, Tanaka, and Sasaki obtained in the context of black hole perturbation theory.

Black hole multiplicity at particle colliders (Do black holes radiate mainly on the brane?)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavaglia, Marco

2003-01-01

If gravity becomes strong at the TeV scale, we may have the chance to produce black holes at particle colliders. In this Letter we revisit some phenomenological signatures of black hole production in TeV-gravity theories. We show that the bulk-to-brane ratio of black hole energy loss during the Hawking evaporation phase depends crucially on the black hole greybody factors and on the particle degrees of freedom. Since the greybody factors have not yet been calculated in the literature, and the particle content at trans-Planckian energies is not known, it is premature to claim that the black hole emits mainly on the brane. We also revisit the decay time and the multiplicity of the decay products of black hole evaporation. We give general formulae for black hole decay time and multiplicity. We find that the number of particles produced during the evaporation phase may be significantly lower than the average multiplicity which has been used in the past literature

Decoding Mode-mixing in Black-hole Merger Ringdown

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bernard J.; Baker, John G.

2013-01-01

Optimal extraction of information from gravitational-wave observations of binary black-hole coalescences requires detailed knowledge of the waveforms. Current approaches for representing waveform information are based on spin-weighted spherical harmonic decomposition. Higher-order harmonic modes carrying a few percent of the total power output near merger can supply information critical to determining intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the binary. One obstacle to constructing a full multi-mode template of merger waveforms is the apparently complicated behavior of some of these modes; instead of settling down to a simple quasinormal frequency with decaying amplitude, some |m| = modes show periodic bumps characteristic of mode-mixing. We analyze the strongest of these modes the anomalous (3, 2) harmonic mode measured in a set of binary black-hole merger waveform simulations, and show that to leading order, they are due to a mismatch between the spherical harmonic basis used for extraction in 3D numerical relativity simulations, and the spheroidal harmonics adapted to the perturbation theory of Kerr black holes. Other causes of mode-mixing arising from gauge ambiguities and physical properties of the quasinormal ringdown modes are also considered and found to be small for the waveforms studied here.

String-Corrected Black Holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hubeny, V.

2005-01-12

We investigate the geometry of four dimensional black hole solutions in the presence of stringy higher curvature corrections to the low energy effective action. For certain supersymmetric two charge black holes these corrections drastically alter the causal structure of the solution, converting seemingly pathological null singularities into timelike singularities hidden behind a finite area horizon. We establish, analytically and numerically, that the string-corrected two-charge black hole metric has the same Penrose diagram as the extremal four-charge black hole. The higher derivative terms lead to another dramatic effect--the gravitational force exerted by a black hole on an inertial observer is no longer purely attractive. The magnitude of this effect is related to the size of the compactification manifold.

Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first observing run of Advanced LIGO

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Afrough, M.; Agarwal, B.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Allen, B.; Allen, G; Allocca, A.; Almoubayyed, H.; Altin, P. A.; Amato, A.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Antier, S.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; AultONeal, K.; Avila-Alvarez, A.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Bae, S.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Banagiri, S.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bawaj, M.; Bazzan, M.; Becsy, B.; Beer, C.; Bejger, M.; Belahcene, I.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Billman, C. R.; Birch, D J; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackman, J.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, S.; Bock, O.; Bode, N.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bohe, A.; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Broida, J. E.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, A.D.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Brunett, S.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderon; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Canepa, M.; Canizares, P.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, H.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Carney, M. F.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chatterjee, D.; Cheeseboro, B. D.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, H. -P.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Chmiel, T.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, A. J. K.; Chua, S. S. Y.; Chung, A. K. W.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Ciolfi, R.; Cirelli, C. E.; Cirone, A.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Cocchieri, C.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L. R.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conti, L.; Cooper, S. J.; Corban, P.; Corbitt, T. R.; Corley, K. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Covas, P. B.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cullen, T. J.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, Laura; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dasgupta, A.; Costa, C. F. Da Silva; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Davis, D.; Daw, E. J.; Day, B.; De, S.; Debra, D.; Deelman, E; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dergachev, V.A.; Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Devenson, J.; Devine, R. C.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M. Di; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Renzo, F.; Doctor, Z.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Dorrington, I.; Douglas, R.; Alvarez, M. Dovale; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Duncan, J.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Eisenstein, R. A.; Essick, R. C.; Etienne, Z. B.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T. M.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Fauchon-Jones, E. J.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Feicht, J.; Fejer, M. M.; Fernandez-Galiana, A.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fong, H.; Forsyth, P. W. F.; Forsyth, S. S.; Fournier, J. -D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fries, E. M.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H.; Gabel, M.; Gadre, B. U.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Ganija, M. R.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gaudio, S.; Gaur, G.; Gayathri, V.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, D.J.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghonge, S.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glover, L.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gomes, A.S.P.; Gonzalez, Idelmis G.; Castro, J. M. Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Gruning, P.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hall, B. R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hannuksela, O. A.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Henry, J.A.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Horst, C.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Intini, G.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Junker, J.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katolik, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kawabe, K.; Kefelian, F.; Keitel, D.; Kemball, A. J.; Kennedy, R.E.; Kent, C.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J. C.; Kim, W.; Kim, S.W.; Kim, Y.M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kirchhoff, R.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koch, P.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kraemer, H.C.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Krolak, A.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kumar, S.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Kwang-Cheol, S.; Lackey, B. D.; Lai, K. H.; Landry, M.; Lang, R. N.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lanza, R. K.; Lartaux-Vollard, A.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, W. H.; Lee, K.; Lehmann, J.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Liu, J.; Lockerbie, N. A.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C. O.; Lovelace, G.; Lueck, H.; Lumaca, D.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Macfoy, S.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Hernandez, I. Magana; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Zertuche, L. Magana; Magee, R. M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Man, N.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markakis, C.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matas, A.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mayani, R.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McCuller, L.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Mejuto-Villa, E.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, A.; Miller, B. B.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minazzoli, O.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Muniz, E. A. M.; Murray, P.G.; Napier, K.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Nery, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newport, J. M.; Newton, G.; Ng, K. K. Y.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nichols, D.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Noack, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; Ormiston, R.; Ortega, L. F.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pace, A. E.; Page, J.; Page, M. A.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pang, B.; Pang, P. T. H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Castro-Perez, J.; Perreca, A.; Perri, L. M.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Porter, E. K.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Pratt, J. W. W.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Qiu, S.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Ramirez, K. E.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Read, J.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Ricker, P. M.; Rieger, S.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, R.; Romel, C. L.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Ross, M. P.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Rynge, M.; Sachdev, Perminder S; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sampson, L. M.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Scheuer, J.; Schmidt, E.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schoenbeck, A.; Schreiber, K.E.C.; Schuette, D.; Schulte, B. W.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwalbe, S. G.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Seidel, E.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T. J.; Shah, A.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shao, L.P.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, António Dias da; Singer, A; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, B.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sonnenberg, J. A.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Spencer, A. P.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Stratta, G.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepanczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tapai, M.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, J. A.; Taylor, W.R.; Theeg, T.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torrie, C. I.; Toyra, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifiro, D.; Trinastic, J.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tsang, K. W.; Tse, M.; Tso, R.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ueno, K.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahi, K.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; van Bakel, N.; Van Beuzekom, Martin; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Varma, V.; Vass, S.; Vasuth, M.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.J.; Venkateswara, K.; Venugopalan, G.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Viets, A. D.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J. -Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, MT; Walet, R.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, J. Z.; Wang, M.; Wang, Y. -F.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Watchi, J.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L. -W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Wessel, E. K.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whiting, B. F.; Whittle, C.; Williams, D.; Williams, D.R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Wofford, J.; Wong, G.W.K.; Worden, J.; Wright, J.L.; Wu, D.S.; Wu, G.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yap, M. J.; Yu, Hang; Yu, Haocun; Yvert, M.; Zadrozny, A.; Zanolin, M.; Zelenova, T.; Zendri, J. -P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, T.; Zhang, Y. -H.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.

2017-01-01

During their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems. This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves

GRAVITATIONAL MEMORY IN BINARY BLACK HOLE MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollney, Denis; Reisswig, Christian

2011-01-01

In addition to the dominant oscillatory gravitational wave signals produced during binary inspirals, a non-oscillatory component arises from the nonlinear 'memory' effect, sourced by the emitted gravitational radiation. The memory grows significantly during the late-inspiral and merger, modifying the signal by an almost step-function profile, and making it difficult to model by approximate methods. We use numerical evolutions of binary black holes (BHs) to evaluate the nonlinear memory during late-inspiral, merger, and ringdown. We identify two main components of the signal: the monotonically growing portion corresponding to the memory, and an oscillatory part which sets in roughly at the time of merger and is due to the BH ringdown. Counterintuitively, the ringdown is most prominent for models with the lowest total spin. Thus, the case of maximally spinning BHs anti-aligned to the orbital angular momentum exhibits the highest signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for interferometric detectors. The largest memory offset, however, occurs for highly spinning BHs, with an estimated value of h tot 20 ≅ 0.24 in the maximally spinning case. These results are central to determining the detectability of nonlinear memory through pulsar timing array measurements.

Internal structure of black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cvetic, Mirjam

2013-01-01

Full text: We review recent progress that sheds light on the internal structure of general black holes. We first summarize properties of general multi-charged rotating black holes both in four and five dimensions. We show that the asymptotic boundary conditions of these general asymptotically flat black holes can be modified such that a conformal symmetry emerges. These subtracted geometries preserve the thermodynamic properties of the original black holes and are of the Lifshitz type, thus describing 'a black hole in the asymptotically conical box'. Recent efforts employ solution generating techniques to construct interpolating geometries between the original black hole and their subtracted geometries. Upon lift to one dimension higher, these geometries lift to AdS 3 times a sphere, and thus provide a microscopic interpretation of the black hole entropy in terms of dual two-dimensional conformal field theory. (author)

Merger rate of primordial black-hole binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Ali-Haïmoud, Yacine; Kovetz, Ely D.; Kamionkowski, Marc

2017-12-01

Primordial black holes (PBHs) have long been a candidate for the elusive dark matter (DM), and remain poorly constrained in the ˜20 - 100 M⊙ mass range. PBH binaries were recently suggested as the possible source of LIGO's first detections. In this paper, we thoroughly revisit existing estimates of the merger rate of PBH binaries. We compute the probability distribution of orbital parameters for PBH binaries formed in the early Universe, accounting for tidal torquing by all other PBHs, as well as standard large-scale adiabatic perturbations. We then check whether the orbital parameters of PBH binaries formed in the early Universe can be significantly affected between formation and merger. Our analytic estimates indicate that the tidal field of halos and interactions with other PBHs, as well as dynamical friction by unbound standard DM particles, do not do significant work on nor torque PBH binaries. We estimate the torque due to baryon accretion to be much weaker than previous calculations, albeit possibly large enough to significantly affect the eccentricity of typical PBH binaries. We also revisit the PBH-binary merger rate resulting from gravitational capture in present-day halos, accounting for Poisson fluctuations. If binaries formed in the early Universe survive to the present time, as suggested by our analytic estimates, they dominate the total PBH merger rate. Moreover, this merger rate would be orders of magnitude larger than LIGO's current upper limits if PBHs make a significant fraction of the dark matter. As a consequence, LIGO would constrain ˜10 - 300 M⊙ PBHs to constitute no more than ˜1 % of the dark matter. To make this conclusion fully robust, though, numerical study of several complex astrophysical processes—such as the formation of the first PBH halos and how they may affect PBH binaries, as well as the accretion of gas onto an extremely eccentric binary—is needed.

The Ultracompact Nature of the Black Hole Candidate X-Ray Binary 47 Tuc X9

Science.gov (United States)

Bahramian, Arash; Heinke, Craig O.; Tudor, Vlad; Miller-Jones, James C. A.; Bogdanov, Slavko; Maccarone, Thomas J.; Knigge, Christian; Sivakoff, Gregory R.; Chomiuk, Laura; Strader, J.;

What is black hole?

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. What is black hole? Possible end phase of a star: A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma having continuous nuclear burning. Star exhausts nuclear fuel →. White Dwarf, Neutron Star, Black Hole. Black hole's gravitational field is so powerful that even ...

Black-hole driven winds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Punsly, B.M.

1988-01-01

This dissertation is a study of the physical mechanism that allows a large scale magnetic field to torque a rapidly rotating, supermassive black hole. This is an interesting problem as it has been conjectured that rapidly rotating black holes are the central engines that power the observed extragalactic double radio sources. Axisymmetric solutions of the curved space-time version of Maxwell's equations in the vacuum do not torque black holes. Plasma must be introduced for the hole to mechanically couple to the field. The dynamical aspect of rotating black holes that couples the magnetic field to the hole is the following. A rotating black hole forces the external geometry of space-time to rotate (the dragging of inertial frames). Inside of the stationary limit surface, the ergosphere, all physical particle trajectories must appear to rotate in the same direction as the black hole as viewed by the stationary observers at asymptotic infinity. In the text, it is demonstrated how plasma that is created on field lines that thread both the ergosphere and the equatorial plane will be pulled by gravity toward the equator. By the aforementioned properties of the ergosphere, the disk must rotate. Consequently, the disk acts like a unipolar generator. It drives a global current system that supports the toroidal magnetic field in an outgoing, magnetically dominated wind. This wind carries energy (mainly in the form of Poynting flux) and angular momentum towards infinity. The spin down of the black hole is the ultimate source of this energy and angular momentum flux

Massive black-hole binary inspirals: results from the LISA parameter estimation taskforce

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arun, K G; Babak, Stas; Porter, Edward K; Sintes, Alicia M; Berti, Emanuele; Cutler, Curt; Cornish, Neil; Gair, Jonathan; Hughes, Scott A; Lang, Ryan N; Iyer, Bala R; Sinha, Siddhartha; Mandel, Ilya; Sathyaprakash, Bangalore S; Van Den Broeck, Chris; Trias, Miquel; Volonteri, Marta

2009-01-01

The LISA Parameter Estimation Taskforce was formed in September 2007 to provide the LISA Project with vetted codes, source distribution models and results related to parameter estimation. The Taskforce's goal is to be able to quickly calculate the impact of any mission design changes on LISA's science capabilities, based on reasonable estimates of the distribution of astrophysical sources in the universe. This paper describes our Taskforce's work on massive black-hole binaries (MBHBs). Given present uncertainties in the formation history of MBHBs, we adopt four different population models, based on (i) whether the initial black-hole seeds are small or large and (ii) whether accretion is efficient or inefficient at spinning up the holes. We compare four largely independent codes for calculating LISA's parameter-estimation capabilities. All codes are based on the Fisher-matrix approximation, but in the past they used somewhat different signal models, source parametrizations and noise curves. We show that once these differences are removed, the four codes give results in extremely close agreement with each other. Using a code that includes both spin precession and higher harmonics in the gravitational-wave signal, we carry out Monte Carlo simulations and determine the number of events that can be detected and accurately localized in our four population models.

Accuracy of Binary Black Hole Waveform Models for Advanced LIGO

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Prayush; Fong, Heather; Barkett, Kevin; Bhagwat, Swetha; Afshari, Nousha; Chu, Tony; Brown, Duncan; Lovelace, Geoffrey; Pfeiffer, Harald; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela; Simulating Extreme Spacetimes (SXS) Team

2016-03-01

Coalescing binaries of compact objects, such as black holes and neutron stars, are the primary targets for gravitational-wave (GW) detection with Advanced LIGO. Accurate modeling of the emitted GWs is required to extract information about the binary source. The most accurate solution to the general relativistic two-body problem is available in numerical relativity (NR), which is however limited in application due to computational cost. Current searches use semi-analytic models that are based in post-Newtonian (PN) theory and calibrated to NR. In this talk, I will present comparisons between contemporary models and high-accuracy numerical simulations performed using the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC), focusing at the questions: (i) How well do models capture binary's late-inspiral where they lack a-priori accurate information from PN or NR, and (ii) How accurately do they model binaries with parameters outside their range of calibration. These results guide the choice of templates for future GW searches, and motivate future modeling efforts.

Quantum effects in black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frolov, V.P.

1979-01-01

A strict definition of black holes is presented and some properties with regard to their mass are enumerated. The Hawking quantum effect - the effect of vacuum instability in the black hole gravitational field, as a result of shich the black hole radiates as a heated body is analyzed. It is shown that in order to obtain results on the black hole radiation it is sufficient to predetermine the in-vacuum state at a time moment in the past, when the collapsing body has a large size, and its gravitational field can be neglected. The causes and the place of particle production by the black hole, and also the space-time inside the black hole, are considered

Precessing Black Hole Binaries and Their Gravitational Radiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

László Á. Gergely

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The first and second observational runs of Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO have marked the first direct detections of gravitational waves, either from black hole binaries or, in one case, from coalescing neutron stars. These observations opened up the era of gravitational wave astronomy, but also of gravitational wave cosmology, in the form of an independent derivation of the Hubble constant. They were equally important to prove false a plethora of modified gravity theories predicting gravitational wave propagation speed different from that of light. For a continued and improved testing of general relativity, the precise description of compact binary dynamics, not only in the final coalescence phase but also earlier, when precessional effects dominate, are required. We report on the derivation of the full secular dynamics for compact binaries, valid over the precessional time-scale, in the form of an autonomous closed system of differential equations for the set of spin angles and periastron. The system can be applied for mapping the parameter space for the occurrence of the spin flip-flop effect and for more accurately analyzing the spin-flip effect, which could explain the formation of X-shaped radio galaxies.

Repetitive patterns in rapid optical variations in the nearby black-hole binary V404 Cygni.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Mariko; Isogai, Keisuke; Kato, Taichi; Ueda, Yoshihiro; Nakahira, Satoshi; Shidatsu, Megumi; Enoto, Teruaki; Hori, Takafumi; Nogami, Daisaku; Littlefield, Colin; Ishioka, Ryoko; Chen, Ying-Tung; King, Sun-Kun; Wen, Chih-Yi; Wang, Shiang-Yu; Lehner, Matthew J; Schwamb, Megan E; Wang, Jen-Hung; Zhang, Zhi-Wei; Alcock, Charles; Axelrod, Tim; Bianco, Federica B; Byun, Yong-Ik; Chen, Wen-Ping; Cook, Kem H; Kim, Dae-Won; Lee, Typhoon; Marshall, Stuart L; Pavlenko, Elena P; Antonyuk, Oksana I; Antonyuk, Kirill A; Pit, Nikolai V; Sosnovskij, Aleksei A; Babina, Julia V; Baklanov, Aleksei V; Pozanenko, Alexei S; Mazaeva, Elena D; Schmalz, Sergei E; Reva, Inna V; Belan, Sergei P; Inasaridze, Raguli Ya; Tungalag, Namkhai; Volnova, Alina A; Molotov, Igor E; de Miguel, Enrique; Kasai, Kiyoshi; Stein, William L; Dubovsky, Pavol A; Kiyota, Seiichiro; Miller, Ian; Richmond, Michael; Goff, William; Andreev, Maksim V; Takahashi, Hiromitsu; Kojiguchi, Naoto; Sugiura, Yuki; Takeda, Nao; Yamada, Eiji; Matsumoto, Katsura; James, Nick; Pickard, Roger D; Tordai, Tamás; Maeda, Yutaka; Ruiz, Javier; Miyashita, Atsushi; Cook, Lewis M; Imada, Akira; Uemura, Makoto

2016-01-07

How black holes accrete surrounding matter is a fundamental yet unsolved question in astrophysics. It is generally believed that matter is absorbed into black holes via accretion disks, the state of which depends primarily on the mass-accretion rate. When this rate approaches the critical rate (the Eddington limit), thermal instability is supposed to occur in the inner disk, causing repetitive patterns of large-amplitude X-ray variability (oscillations) on timescales of minutes to hours. In fact, such oscillations have been observed only in sources with a high mass-accretion rate, such as GRS 1915+105 (refs 2, 3). These large-amplitude, relatively slow timescale, phenomena are thought to have physical origins distinct from those of X-ray or optical variations with small amplitudes and fast timescales (less than about 10 seconds) often observed in other black-hole binaries-for example, XTE J1118+480 (ref. 4) and GX 339-4 (ref. 5). Here we report an extensive multi-colour optical photometric data set of V404 Cygni, an X-ray transient source containing a black hole of nine solar masses (and a companion star) at a distance of 2.4 kiloparsecs (ref. 8). Our data show that optical oscillations on timescales of 100 seconds to 2.5 hours can occur at mass-accretion rates more than ten times lower than previously thought. This suggests that the accretion rate is not the critical parameter for inducing inner-disk instabilities. Instead, we propose that a long orbital period is a key condition for these large-amplitude oscillations, because the outer part of the large disk in binaries with long orbital periods will have surface densities too low to maintain sustained mass accretion to the inner part of the disk. The lack of sustained accretion--not the actual rate--would then be the critical factor causing large-amplitude oscillations in long-period systems.

Numerical Relativity Simulations for Black Hole Merger Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, John G.

2010-01-01

Massive black hole mergers are perhaps the most energetic astronomical events, establishing their importance as gravitational wave sources for LISA, and also possibly leading to observable influences on their local environments. Advances in numerical relativity over the last five years have fueled the development of a rich physical understanding of general relativity's predictions for these events. Z will overview the understanding of these event emerging from numerical simulation studies. These simulations elucidate the pre-merger dynamics of the black hole binaries, the consequent gravitational waveform signatures ' and the resulting state, including its kick velocity, for the final black hole produced by the merger. Scenarios are now being considered for observing each of these aspects of the merger, involving both gravitational-wave and electromagnetic astronomy.

Black Hole Hunters Set New Distance Record

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

around each other in a diabolic waltz, with a period of about 32 hours. The astronomers also found that the black hole is stripping matter away from the star as they orbit each other. "This is indeed a very 'intimate' couple," notes collaborator Robin Barnard. "How such a tightly bound system has been formed is still a mystery." Only one other system of this type has previously been seen, but other systems comprising a black hole and a companion star are not unknown to astronomers. Based on these systems, the astronomers see a connection between black hole mass and galactic chemistry. "We have noticed that the most massive black holes tend to be found in smaller galaxies that contain less 'heavy' chemical elements," says Crowther [2]. "Bigger galaxies that are richer in heavy elements, such as the Milky Way, only succeed in producing black holes with smaller masses." Astronomers believe that a higher concentration of heavy chemical elements influences how a massive star evolves, increasing how much matter it sheds, resulting in a smaller black hole when the remnant finally collapses. In less than a million years, it will be the Wolf-Rayet star's turn to go supernova and become a black hole. "If the system survives this second explosion, the two black holes will merge, emitting copious amounts of energy in the form of gravitational waves as they combine [3]," concludes Crowther. However, it will take some few billion years until the actual merger, far longer than human timescales. "Our study does however show that such systems might exist, and those that have already evolved into a binary black hole might be detected by probes of gravitational waves, such as LIGO or Virgo [4]." Notes [1] Stellar-mass black holes are the extremely dense, final remnants of the collapse of very massive stars. These black holes have masses up to around twenty times the mass of the Sun, as opposed to supermassive black holes, found in the centre of most galaxies, which can weigh a million to a

WATCHDOG: A COMPREHENSIVE ALL-SKY DATABASE OF GALACTIC BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tetarenko, B. E.; Sivakoff, G. R.; Heinke, C. O.; Gladstone, J. C.

2016-01-01

With the advent of more sensitive all-sky instruments, the transient universe is being probed in greater depth than ever before. Taking advantage of available resources, we have established a comprehensive database of black hole (and black hole candidate) X-ray binary (BHXB) activity between 1996 and 2015 as revealed by all-sky instruments, scanning surveys, and select narrow-field X-ray instruments on board the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, Monitor of All-Sky X-ray Image, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, and Swift telescopes; the Whole-sky Alberta Time-resolved Comprehensive black-Hole Database Of the Galaxy or WATCHDOG. Over the past two decades, we have detected 132 transient outbursts, tracked and classified behavior occurring in 47 transient and 10 persistently accreting BHs, and performed a statistical study on a number of outburst properties across the Galactic population. We find that outbursts undergone by BHXBs that do not reach the thermally dominant accretion state make up a substantial fraction (∼40%) of the Galactic transient BHXB outburst sample over the past ∼20 years. Our findings suggest that this “hard-only” behavior, observed in transient and persistently accreting BHXBs, is neither a rare nor recent phenomenon and may be indicative of an underlying physical process, relatively common among binary BHs, involving the mass-transfer rate onto the BH remaining at a low level rather than increasing as the outburst evolves. We discuss how the larger number of these “hard-only” outbursts and detected outbursts in general have significant implications for both the luminosity function and mass-transfer history of the Galactic BHXB population

The Fate of Massive Black Holes in Gas-Rich Galaxy Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Escala, A.; Larson, R. B.; Coppi, P. S.; Mardones, D.

2006-06-01

Using SPH numerical simulations, we investigate the effects of gas on the inspiral and merger of a massive black hole binary. This study is motivated by the very massive nuclear gas disks observed in the central regions of merging galaxies. Here we present results that expand on the treatment in previous works (Escala et al. 2004, 2005), by studying the evolution of a binary with different black holes masses in a massive gas disk.

Black hole decay as geodesic motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Kumar S.; Sen, Siddhartha

2003-01-01

We show that a formalism for analyzing the near-horizon conformal symmetry of Schwarzschild black holes using a scalar field probe is capable of describing black hole decay. The equation governing black hole decay can be identified as the geodesic equation in the space of black hole masses. This provides a novel geometric interpretation for the decay of black holes. Moreover, this approach predicts a precise correction term to the usual expression for the decay rate of black holes

Lifshitz topological black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, R.B.

2009-01-01

I find a class of black hole solutions to a (3+1) dimensional theory gravity coupled to abelian gauge fields with negative cosmological constant that has been proposed as the dual theory to a Lifshitz theory describing critical phenomena in (2+1) dimensions. These black holes are all asymptotic to a Lifshitz fixed point geometry and depend on a single parameter that determines both their area (or size) and their charge. Most of the solutions are obtained numerically, but an exact solution is also obtained for a particular value of this parameter. The thermodynamic behaviour of large black holes is almost the same regardless of genus, but differs considerably for small black holes. Screening behaviour is exhibited in the dual theory for any genus, but the critical length at which it sets in is genus-dependent for small black holes.

Criteria for retrograde rotation of accreting black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Mikhailov, A. G.; Piotrovich, M. Yu; Gnedin, Yu N.; Natsvlishvili, T. M.; Buliga, S. D.

2018-06-01

Rotating supermassive black holes produce jets and their origin is connected to the magnetic field that is generated by accreting matter flow. There is a point of view that electromagnetic fields around rotating black holes are brought to the hole by accretion. In this situation the prograde accreting discs produce weaker large-scale black hole threading magnetic fields, implying weaker jets than in retrograde regimes. The basic goal of this paper is to find the best candidates for retrograde accreting systems in observed active galactic nuclei. We show that active galactic nuclei with low Eddington ratio are really the best candidates for retrograde systems. This conclusion is obtained for kinetically dominated Fanaroff-Riley class II radio galaxies, flat-spectrum radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert I galaxies and a number of nearby galaxies. Our conclusion is that the best candidates for retrograde systems are the noticeable population of active galactic nuclei in the Universe. This result corresponds to the conclusion that in the merging process the interaction of merging black holes with a retrograde circumbinary disc is considerably more effective for shrinking the binary system.

GRS 1758–258: RXTE Monitoring of a Rare Persistent Hard State Black Hole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Obst

2011-01-01

Full Text Available GRS 1758–258 is the least studied of the three persistent black hole X-ray binaries in our Galaxy. It is also one of only two known black hole candidates, including all black hole transients, which shows a decrease of its 3-10 keV flux when entering the thermally dominated soft state, rather than an increase.We present the spectral evolution of GRS 1758–258 from RXTE-PCA observations spanning a time of about 11 years from 1996 to 2007. During this time, seven dim soft states are detected. We also consider INTEGRAL monitoring observations of the source and compare the long-term behavior to that of the bright persistent black hole X-ray binary Cygnus X-1. We discuss the observed state transitions in the light of physical scenarios for black hole transitions.

An explicit harmonic code for black-hole evolution using excision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szilagyi, Bela; Pollney, Denis; Rezzolla, Luciano; Thornburg, Jonathan; Winicour, Jeffrey

2007-01-01

We describe an explicit in time, finite-difference code designed to simulate black holes by using the excision method. The code is based upon the harmonic formulation of the Einstein equations and incorporates several features regarding the well-posedness and numerical stability of the initial-boundary problem for the quasilinear wave equation. After a discussion of the equations solved and of the techniques employed, we present a series of testbeds carried out to validate the code. Such tests range from the evolution of isolated black holes to the head-on collision of two black holes and then to a binary black hole inspiral and merger. Besides assessing the accuracy of the code, the inspiral and merger test has revealed that the marginally trapped surfaces contained within the common apparent horizon of the merged black hole can touch and even intersect. This novel feature in the dynamics of the marginally trapped surfaces is unexpected but consistent with theorems on the properties of these surfaces

An explicit harmonic code for black-hole evolution using excision

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szilagyi, Bela [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Golm (Germany); Pollney, Denis [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Golm (Germany); Rezzolla, Luciano [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Golm (Germany); Thornburg, Jonathan [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Golm (Germany); Winicour, Jeffrey [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Golm (Germany)

2007-06-21

We describe an explicit in time, finite-difference code designed to simulate black holes by using the excision method. The code is based upon the harmonic formulation of the Einstein equations and incorporates several features regarding the well-posedness and numerical stability of the initial-boundary problem for the quasilinear wave equation. After a discussion of the equations solved and of the techniques employed, we present a series of testbeds carried out to validate the code. Such tests range from the evolution of isolated black holes to the head-on collision of two black holes and then to a binary black hole inspiral and merger. Besides assessing the accuracy of the code, the inspiral and merger test has revealed that the marginally trapped surfaces contained within the common apparent horizon of the merged black hole can touch and even intersect. This novel feature in the dynamics of the marginally trapped surfaces is unexpected but consistent with theorems on the properties of these surfaces.

Acceleration of black hole universe

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, T. X.; Frederick, C.

2014-01-01

Recently, Zhang slightly modified the standard big bang theory and developed a new cosmological model called black hole universe, which is consistent with Mach's principle, governed by Einstein's general theory of relativity, and able to explain all observations of the universe. Previous studies accounted for the origin, structure, evolution, expansion, and cosmic microwave background radiation of the black hole universe, which grew from a star-like black hole with several solar masses through a supermassive black hole with billions of solar masses to the present state with hundred billion-trillions of solar masses by accreting ambient matter and merging with other black holes. This paper investigates acceleration of the black hole universe and provides an alternative explanation for the redshift and luminosity distance measurements of type Ia supernovae. The results indicate that the black hole universe accelerates its expansion when it accretes the ambient matter in an increasing rate. In other words, i.e., when the second-order derivative of the mass of the black hole universe with respect to the time is positive . For a constant deceleration parameter , we can perfectly explain the type Ia supernova measurements with the reduced chi-square to be very close to unity, χ red˜1.0012. The expansion and acceleration of black hole universe are driven by external energy.

Curvature invariant characterization of event horizons of four-dimensional black holes conformal to stationary black holes

Science.gov (United States)

McNutt, David D.

2017-11-01

We introduce three approaches to generate curvature invariants that transform covariantly under a conformal transformation of a four-dimensional spacetime. For any black hole conformally related to a stationary black hole, we show how a set of conformally covariant invariants can be combined to produce a conformally covariant invariant that detects the event horizon of the conformally related black hole. As an application we consider the rotating dynamical black holes conformally related to the Kerr-Newman-Unti-Tamburino-(anti)-de Sitter spacetimes and construct an invariant that detects the conformal Killing horizon along with a second invariant that detects the conformal stationary limit surface. In addition, we present necessary conditions for a dynamical black hole to be conformally related to a stationary black hole and apply these conditions to the ingoing Kerr-Vaidya and Vaidya black hole solutions to determine if they are conformally related to stationary black holes for particular choices of the mass function. While two of the three approaches cannot be generalized to higher dimensions, we discuss the existence of a conformally covariant invariant that will detect the event horizon for any higher dimensional black hole conformally related to a stationary black hole which admits at least two conformally covariant invariants, including all vacuum spacetimes.

Statistical mechanics of black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harms, B.; Leblanc, Y.

1992-01-01

We analyze the statistical mechanics of a gas of neutral and charged black holes. The microcanonical ensemble is the only possible approach to this system, and the equilibrium configuration is the one for which most of the energy is carried by a single black hole. Schwarzschild black holes are found to obey the statistical bootstrap condition. In all cases, the microcanonical temperature is identical to the Hawking temperature of the most massive black hole in the gas. U(1) charges in general break the bootstrap property. The problems of black-hole decay and of quantum coherence are also addressed

NASA Observatory Confirms Black Hole Limits

Science.gov (United States)

2005-02-01

The very largest black holes reach a certain point and then grow no more, according to the best survey to date of black holes made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Scientists have also discovered many previously hidden black holes that are well below their weight limit. These new results corroborate recent theoretical work about how black holes and galaxies grow. The biggest black holes, those with at least 100 million times the mass of the Sun, ate voraciously during the early Universe. Nearly all of them ran out of 'food' billions of years ago and went onto a forced starvation diet. Focus on Black Holes in the Chandra Deep Field North Focus on Black Holes in the Chandra Deep Field North On the other hand, black holes between about 10 and 100 million solar masses followed a more controlled eating plan. Because they took smaller portions of their meals of gas and dust, they continue growing today. "Our data show that some supermassive black holes seem to binge, while others prefer to graze", said Amy Barger of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the University of Hawaii, lead author of the paper describing the results in the latest issue of The Astronomical Journal (Feb 2005). "We now understand better than ever before how supermassive black holes grow." One revelation is that there is a strong connection between the growth of black holes and the birth of stars. Previously, astronomers had done careful studies of the birthrate of stars in galaxies, but didn't know as much about the black holes at their centers. DSS Optical Image of Lockman Hole DSS Optical Image of Lockman Hole "These galaxies lose material into their central black holes at the same time that they make their stars," said Barger. "So whatever mechanism governs star formation in galaxies also governs black hole growth." Astronomers have made an accurate census of both the biggest, active black holes in the distance, and the relatively smaller, calmer ones closer by. Now, for the first

Regular black hole in three dimensions

OpenAIRE

Myung, Yun Soo; Yoon, Myungseok

2008-01-01

We find a new black hole in three dimensional anti-de Sitter space by introducing an anisotropic perfect fluid inspired by the noncommutative black hole. This is a regular black hole with two horizons. We compare thermodynamics of this black hole with that of non-rotating BTZ black hole. The first-law of thermodynamics is not compatible with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.

Super-horizon primordial black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harada, Tomohiro; Carr, B.J.

2005-01-01

We discuss a new class of solutions to the Einstein equations which describe a primordial black hole (PBH) in a flat Friedmann background. Such solutions arise if a Schwarzschild black hole is patched onto a Friedmann background via a transition region. They are possible providing the black hole event horizon is larger than the cosmological apparent horizon. Such solutions have a number of strange features. In particular, one has to define the black hole and cosmological horizons carefully and one then finds that the mass contained within the black hole event horizon decreases when the black hole is larger than the Friedmann cosmological apparent horizon, although its area always increases. These solutions involve two distinct future null infinities and are interpreted as the conversion of a white hole into a black hole. Although such solutions may not form from gravitational collapse in the same way as standard PBHs, there is nothing unphysical about them, since all energy and causality conditions are satisfied. Their conformal diagram is a natural amalgamation of the Kruskal diagram for the extended Schwarzschild solution and the conformal diagram for a black hole in a flat Friedmann background. In this paper, such solutions are obtained numerically for a spherically symmetric universe containing a massless scalar field, but it is likely that they exist for more general matter fields and less symmetric systems

The Dynamical Evolution of Stellar-Mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Morscher, Maggie

Globular clusters are gravitationally bound systems containing up to millions of stars, and are found ubiquitously in massive galaxies, including the Milky Way. With densities as high as a million stars per cubic parsec, they are one of the few places in the Universe where stars interact with one another. They therefore provide us with a unique laboratory for studying how gravitational interactions can facilitate the formation of exotic systems, such as X-ray binaries containing black holes, and merging double black hole binaries, which are produced much less efficiently in isolation. While telescopes can provide us with a snapshot of what these dense clusters look like at present, we must rely on detailed numerical simulations to learn about their evolution. These simulations are quite challenging, however, since dense star clusters are described by a complicated set of physical processes occurring on many different length and time scales, including stellar and binary evolution, weak gravitational scattering encounters, strong resonant binary interactions, and tidal stripping by the host galaxy. Until very recently, it was not possible to model the evolution of systems with millions of stars, the actual number contained in the largest clusters, including all the relevant physics required describe these systems accurately. The Northwestern Group's Henon Monte Carlo code, CMC, which has been in development for over a decade, is a powerful tool that can be used to construct detailed evolutionary models of large star clusters. With its recent parallelization, CMC is now capable of addressing a particularly interesting unsolved problem in astrophysics: the dynamical evolution of stellar black holes in dense star clusters. Our current understanding of the stellar initial mass function and massive star evolution suggests that young globular clusters may have formed hundreds to thousands of stellar-mass black holes, the remnants of stars with initial masses from 20 - 100

Geometry of deformed black holes. II. Schwarzschild hole surrounded by a Bach-Weyl ring

Science.gov (United States)

Basovník, M.; Semerák, O.

2016-08-01

We continue to study the response of black-hole space-times on the presence of additional strong sources of gravity. Restricting ourselves to static and axially symmetric (electro)vacuum exact solutions of Einstein's equations, we first considered the Majumdar-Papapetrou solution for a binary of extreme black holes in a previous paper, while here we deal with a Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by a concentric thin ring described by the Bach-Weyl solution. The geometry is again revealed on the simplest invariants determined by the metric (lapse function) and its gradient (gravitational acceleration), and by curvature (Kretschmann scalar). Extending the metric inside the black hole along null geodesics tangent to the horizon, we mainly focus on the black-hole interior (specifically, on its sections at constant Killing time) where the quantities behave in a way indicating a surprisingly strong influence of the external source. Being already distinct on the level of potential and acceleration, this is still more pronounced on the level of curvature: for a sufficiently massive and/or nearby (small) ring, the Kretschmann scalar even becomes negative in certain toroidal regions mostly touching the horizon from inside. Such regions have been interpreted as those where magnetic-type curvature dominates, but here we deal with space-times which do not involve rotation and the negative value is achieved due to the electric-type components of the Riemann/Weyl tensor. The Kretschmann scalar also shapes rather nontrivial landscapes outside the horizon.

ON THE MASS RADIATED BY COALESCING BLACK HOLE BINARIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barausse, E.; Morozova, V.; Rezzolla, L.

2012-01-01

We derive an analytic phenomenological expression that predicts the final mass of the black hole (BH) remnant resulting from the merger of a generic binary system of BHs on quasi-circular orbits. Besides recovering the correct test-particle limit for extreme mass-ratio binaries, our formula reproduces well the results of all the numerical-relativity simulations published so far, both when applied at separations of a few gravitational radii and when applied at separations of tens of thousands of gravitational radii. These validations make our formula a useful tool in a variety of contexts ranging from gravitational-wave (GW) physics to cosmology. As representative examples, we first illustrate how it can be used to decrease the phase error of the effective-one-body waveforms during the ringdown phase. Second, we show that, when combined with the recently computed self-force correction to the binding energy of nonspinning BH binaries, it provides an estimate of the energy emitted during the merger and ringdown. Finally, we use it to calculate the energy radiated in GWs by massive BH binaries as a function of redshift, using different models for the seeds of the BH population.

Black hole levitron

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arsiwalla, X.D.; Verlinde, E.P.

2010-01-01

We study the problem of spatially stabilizing four dimensional extremal black holes in background electric/magnetic fields. Whilst looking for stationary stable solutions describing black holes placed in external fields we find that taking a continuum limit of Denef et al.’s multicenter

Massive disc formation in the tidal disruption of a neutron star by a nearly extremal black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovelace, Geoffrey; Kidder, Lawrence E; Duez, Matthew D; Foucart, Francois; Pfeiffer, Harald P; Scheel, Mark A; Szilágyi, Béla

2013-01-01

Black hole–neutron star (BHNS) binaries are important sources of gravitational waves for second-generation interferometers, and BHNS mergers are also a proposed engine for short, hard gamma-ray bursts. The behavior of both the spacetime (and thus the emitted gravitational waves) and the neutron-star matter in a BHNS merger depend strongly and nonlinearly on the black hole's spin. While there is a significant possibility that astrophysical black holes could have spins that are nearly extremal (i.e. near the theoretical maximum), to date fully relativistic simulations of BHNS binaries have included black-hole spins only up to S/M 2 = 0.9, which corresponds to the black hole having approximately half as much rotational energy as possible, given the black hole's mass. In this paper, we present a new simulation of a BHNS binary with a mass ratio q = 3 and black-hole spin S/M 2 = 0.97, the highest simulated to date. We find that the black hole's large spin leads to the most massive accretion disc and the largest tidal tail outflow of any fully relativistic BHNS simulations to date, even exceeding the results implied by extrapolating results from simulations with lower black-hole spin. The disc appears to be remarkably stable. We also find that the high black-hole spin persists until shortly before the time of merger; afterward, both merger and accretion spin down the black hole. (paper)

Inspiral, merger, and ring-down of equal-mass black-hole binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buonanno, Alessandra; Cook, Gregory B.; Pretorius, Frans

2007-01-01

We investigate the dynamics and gravitational-wave (GW) emission in the binary merger of equal-mass black holes as obtained from numerical relativity simulations. The simulations were performed with an evolution code based on generalized harmonic coordinates developed by Pretorius, and used quasiequilibrium initial-data sets constructed by Cook and Pfeiffer. Results from the evolution of three sets of initial data are explored in detail, corresponding to different initial separations of the black holes, and exhibit between 2-8 GW cycles before coalescence. We find that to a good approximation the inspiral phase of the evolution is quasicircular, followed by a 'blurred, quasicircular plunge' lasting for about 1-1.5 GW cycles. After this plunge the GW frequency decouples from the orbital frequency, and we define this time to be the start of the merger phase. Roughly 10-15 M separates the time between the beginning of the merger phase and when we are able to extract quasinormal ring-down modes from gravitational waves emitted by the newly formed black hole. This suggests that the merger lasts for a correspondingly short amount of time, approximately 0.5-0.75 of a full GW cycle. We present first-order comparisons between analytical models of the various stages of the merger and the numerical results--more detailed and accurate comparisons will need to await numerical simulations with higher accuracy, better control of systemic errors (including coordinate artifacts), and initial configurations where the binaries are further separated. During the inspiral, we find that if the orbital phase is well modeled, the leading order Newtonian quadrupole formula is able to match both the amplitude and phase of the numerical GW quite accurately until close to the point of merger. We provide comparisons between the numerical results and analytical predictions based on the adiabatic post-Newtonian (PN) and nonadiabatic resummed-PN models (effective-one-body and Pade models). For all

Black Hole Grabs Starry Snack

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Poster Version This artist's concept shows a supermassive black hole at the center of a remote galaxy digesting the remnants of a star. NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer had a 'ringside' seat for this feeding frenzy, using its ultraviolet eyes to study the process from beginning to end. The artist's concept chronicles the star being ripped apart and swallowed by the cosmic beast over time. First, the intact sun-like star (left) ventures too close to the black hole, and its own self-gravity is overwhelmed by the black hole's gravity. The star then stretches apart (middle yellow blob) and eventually breaks into stellar crumbs, some of which swirl into the black hole (cloudy ring at right). This doomed material heats up and radiates light, including ultraviolet light, before disappearing forever into the black hole. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer was able to watch this process unfold by observing changes in ultraviolet light. The area around the black hole appears warped because the gravity of the black hole acts like a lens, twisting and distorting light.

A nonsingular rotating black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Sushant G.

2015-01-01

The spacetime singularities in classical general relativity are inevitable, as predicated by the celebrated singularity theorems. However, it is a general belief that singularities do not exist in Nature and that they are the limitations of the general relativity. In the absence of a welldefined quantum gravity, models of regular black holes have been studied. We employ a probability distribution inspired mass function m(r) to replace the Kerr black hole mass M to represent a nonsingular rotating black hole that is identified asymptotically (r >> k, k > 0 constant) exactly as the Kerr-Newman black hole, and as the Kerr black hole when k = 0. The radiating counterpart renders a nonsingular generalization of Carmeli's spacetime as well as Vaidya's spacetime, in the appropriate limits. The exponential correction factor changing the geometry of the classical black hole to remove the curvature singularity can also be motivated by quantum arguments. The regular rotating spacetime can also be understood as a black hole of general relativity coupled to nonlinear electrodynamics. (orig.)

Thermodynamic theory of black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davies, P C.W. [King' s Coll., London (UK). Dept. of Mathematics

1977-04-21

The thermodynamic theory underlying black hole processes is developed in detail and applied to model systems. It is found that Kerr-Newman black holes undergo a phase transition at a = 0.68M or Q = 0.86M, where the heat capacity has an infinite discontinuity. Above the transition values the specific heat is positive, permitting isothermal equilibrium with a surrounding heat bath. Simple processes and stability criteria for various black hole situations are investigated. The limits for entropically favoured black hole formation are found. The Nernst conditions for the third law of thermodynamics are not satisfied fully for black holes. There is no obvious thermodynamic reason why a black hole may not be cooled down below absolute zero and converted into a naked singularity. Quantum energy-momentum tensor calculations for uncharged black holes are extended to the Reissner-Nordstrom case, and found to be fully consistent with the thermodynamic picture for Q < M. For Q < M the model predicts that 'naked' collapse also produces radiation, with such intensity that the collapsing matter is entirely evaporated away before a naked singularity can form.

Modelling binary black-hole coalescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, John

2003-01-01

The final burst of radiation from the coalescence of two supermassive black holes produces extraordinary gravitational wave luminosity making these events visible to LISA even out to large redshift. Interpreting such observations will require detailed theoretical models, based on general relativity. The effort to construct these models is just beginning to produce results. I describe the Lazarus approach to modelling these radiation bursts, and present recent results which indicate that the system loses, in the last few wave cycles, about 3% of its mass-energy as strongly polarized gravitational radiation

Erratic Black Hole Regulates Itself

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-01

New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have made a major advance in explaining how a special class of black holes may shut off the high-speed jets they produce. These results suggest that these black holes have a mechanism for regulating the rate at which they grow. Black holes come in many sizes: the supermassive ones, including those in quasars, which weigh in at millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, and the much smaller stellar-mass black holes which have measured masses in the range of about 7 to 25 times the Sun's mass. Some stellar-mass black holes launch powerful jets of particles and radiation, like seen in quasars, and are called "micro-quasars". The new study looks at a famous micro-quasar in our own Galaxy, and regions close to its event horizon, or point of no return. This system, GRS 1915+105 (GRS 1915 for short), contains a black hole about 14 times the mass of the Sun that is feeding off material from a nearby companion star. As the material swirls toward the black hole, an accretion disk forms. This system shows remarkably unpredictable and complicated variability ranging from timescales of seconds to months, including 14 different patterns of variation. These variations are caused by a poorly understood connection between the disk and the radio jet seen in GRS 1915. Chandra, with its spectrograph, has observed GRS 1915 eleven times since its launch in 1999. These studies reveal that the jet in GRS 1915 may be periodically choked off when a hot wind, seen in X-rays, is driven off the accretion disk around the black hole. The wind is believed to shut down the jet by depriving it of matter that would have otherwise fueled it. Conversely, once the wind dies down, the jet can re-emerge. "We think the jet and wind around this black hole are in a sort of tug of war," said Joseph Neilsen, Harvard graduate student and lead author of the paper appearing in the journal Nature. "Sometimes one is winning and then, for reasons we don

BLACK HOLE FORAGING: FEEDBACK DRIVES FEEDING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dehnen, Walter; King, Andrew

2013-01-01

We suggest a new picture of supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth in galaxy centers. Momentum-driven feedback from an accreting hole gives significant orbital energy, but little angular momentum to the surrounding gas. Once central accretion drops, the feedback weakens and swept-up gas falls back toward the SMBH on near-parabolic orbits. These intersect near the black hole with partially opposed specific angular momenta, causing further infall and ultimately the formation of a small-scale accretion disk. The feeding rates into the disk typically exceed Eddington by factors of a few, growing the hole on the Salpeter timescale and stimulating further feedback. Natural consequences of this picture include (1) the formation and maintenance of a roughly toroidal distribution of obscuring matter near the hole; (2) random orientations of successive accretion disk episodes; (3) the possibility of rapid SMBH growth; (4) tidal disruption of stars and close binaries formed from infalling gas, resulting in visible flares and ejection of hypervelocity stars; (5) super-solar abundances of the matter accreting on to the SMBH; and (6) a lower central dark-matter density, and hence annihilation signal, than adiabatic SMBH growth implies. We also suggest a simple subgrid recipe for implementing this process in numerical simulations

Measuring Parameters of Massive Black Hole Binaries with Partially-Aligned Spins

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Ryan N.; Hughes, Scott A.; Cornish, Neil J.

2010-01-01

It is important to understand how well the gravitational-wave observatory LISA can measure parameters of massive black hole binaries. It has been shown that including spin precession in the waveform breaks degeneracies and produces smaller expected parameter errors than a simpler, precession-free analysis. However, recent work has shown that gas in binaries can partially align the spins with the orbital angular momentum, thus reducing the precession effect. We show how this degrades the earlier results, producing more pessimistic errors in gaseous mergers. However, we then add higher harmonics to the signal model; these also break degeneracies, but they are not affected by the presence of gas. The harmonics often restore the errors in partially-aligned binaries to the same as, or better than/ those that are obtained for fully precessing binaries with no harmonics. Finally, we investigate what LISA measurements of spin alignment can tell us about the nature of gas around a binary,

Nonsingular black hole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chamseddine, Ali H. [American University of Beirut, Physics Department, Beirut (Lebanon); I.H.E.S., Bures-sur-Yvette (France); Mukhanov, Viatcheslav [Niels Bohr Institute, Niels Bohr International Academy, Copenhagen (Denmark); Ludwig-Maximilians University, Theoretical Physics, Munich (Germany); MPI for Physics, Munich (Germany)

2017-03-15

We consider the Schwarzschild black hole and show how, in a theory with limiting curvature, the physical singularity ''inside it'' is removed. The resulting spacetime is geodesically complete. The internal structure of this nonsingular black hole is analogous to Russian nesting dolls. Namely, after falling into the black hole of radius r{sub g}, an observer, instead of being destroyed at the singularity, gets for a short time into the region with limiting curvature. After that he re-emerges in the near horizon region of a spacetime described by the Schwarzschild metric of a gravitational radius proportional to r{sub g}{sup 1/3}. In the next cycle, after passing the limiting curvature, the observer finds himself within a black hole of even smaller radius proportional to r{sub g}{sup 1/9}, and so on. Finally after a few cycles he will end up in the spacetime where he remains forever at limiting curvature. (orig.)

GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Camp, Jordan B.;

GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T D; Abernathy, M R; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Adya, V B; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Aiello, L; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Altin, P A; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Arceneaux, C C; Areeda, J S; Arnaud, N; Arun, K G; Ascenzi, S; Ashton, G; Ast, M; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Babak, S; Bacon, P; Bader, M K M; Baker, P T; Baldaccini, F; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barclay, S E; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barta, D; Bartlett, J; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Baune, C; Bavigadda, V; Bazzan, M; Bejger, M; Bell, A S; Berger, B K; Bergmann, G; Berry, C P L; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Bhagwat, S; Bhandare, R; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Birch, J; Birney, R; Birnholtz, O; Biscans, S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bogan, C; Bohe, A; Bond, C; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Broida, J E; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Brunett, S; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cabero, M; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Calderón Bustillo, J; Callister, T; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Cannon, K C; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Casanueva Diaz, J; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Cerboni Baiardi, L; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Cheeseboro, B D; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, C; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conte, A; Conti, L; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Craig, K; Creighton, J D E; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Dal Canton, T; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Darman, N S; Dasgupta, A; Da Silva Costa, C F; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Daw, E J; Day, R; De, S; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dergachev, V; De Rosa, R; DeRosa, R T; DeSalvo, R; Devine, R C; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Girolamo, T; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Douglas, R; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Engels, W; Essick, R C; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Fang, Q; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Fenyvesi, E; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fong, H; Fournier, J-D; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H A G; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gaur, G; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Geng, P; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, K; Glaefke, A; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Gonzalez Castro, J M; Gopakumar, A; Gordon, N A; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S E; Gosselin, M; Gouaty, R; Grado, A; Graef, C; Graff, P B; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greco, G; Green, A C; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guo, X; Gupta, A; Gupta, M K; Gushwa, K E; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hacker, J J; Hall, B R; Hall, E D; Hamilton, H; Hammond, G; Haney, M; Hanke, M M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hannam, M D; Hanson, J; Hardwick, T; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Hart, M J; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Healy, J; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M C; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Hennig, J; Henry, J; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hofman, D; Holt, K; Holz, D E; Hopkins, P; Hough, J; Houston, E A; Howell, E J; Hu, Y M; Huang, S; Huerta, E A; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacqmin, T; Jang, H; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jian, L; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Johnson-McDaniel, N K; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; K, Haris; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Kapadia, S J; Karki, S; Karvinen, K S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kéfélian, F; Kehl, M S; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kells, W; Kennedy, R; Key, J S; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, Chi-Woong; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J; Kim, K; Kim, N; Kim, W; Kim, Y-M; Kimbrell, S J; King, E J; King, P J; Kissel, J S; Klein, B; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koehlenbeck, S M; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Kringel, V; Krishnan, B; Królak, A; Krueger, C; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kumar, R; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lasky, P D; Laxen, M; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Lewis, J B; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Lockerbie, N A; Lombardi, A L; London, L T; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lousto, C O; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Magaña Zertuche, L; Magee, R M; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martynov, D V; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Mastrogiovanni, S; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McRae, T; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E L; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Metzdorff, R; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, A L; Miller, A; Miller, B B; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D J; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Nedkova, K; Nelemans, G; Nelson, T J N; Neri, M; Neunzert, A; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Oberling, J; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Oelker, E; Ogin, G H; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oliver, M; Oppermann, P; Oram, Richard J; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pai, A; Pai, S A; Palamos, J R; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pal-Singh, A; Pan, H; Pankow, C; Pannarale, F; Pant, B C; Paoletti, F; Paoli, A; Papa, M A; Paris, H R; Parker, W; Pascucci, D; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patricelli, B; Patrick, Z; Pearlstone, B L; Pedraza, M; Pedurand, R; Pekowsky, L; Pele, A; Penn, S; Perreca, A; Perri, L M; Pfeiffer, H P; Phelps, M; Piccinni, O J; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pillant, G; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poe, M; Poggiani, R; Popolizio, P; Post, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Predoi, V; Prestegard, T; Price, L R; Prijatelj, M; Principe, M; Privitera, S; Prix, R; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Pürrer, M; Qi, H; Qin, J; Qiu, S; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E A; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rajan, C; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Re, V; Read, J; Reed, C M; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rew, H; Reyes, S D; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Rizzo, M; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; 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2016-06-17

We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5σ. The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3.4_{-0.9}^{+0.7}×10^{-22}. The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2_{-3.7}^{+8.3}M_{⊙} and 7.5_{-2.3}^{+2.3}M_{⊙}, and the final black hole mass is 20.8_{-1.7}^{+6.1}M_{⊙}. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 440_{-190}^{+180}  Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.09_{-0.04}^{+0.03}. All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.

GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

Science.gov (United States)

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A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O. E. S.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schönbeck, A.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Setyawati, Y.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, N. D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson, S. P.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepańczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tápai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Töyrä, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifirò, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, M.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Weßels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, R. D.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Worden, J.; Wright, J. L.; Wu, D. S.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrożny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.; Boyle, M.; Hemberger, D.; Kidder, L. E.; Lovelace, G.; Ossokine, S.; Scheel, M.; Szilagyi, B.; Teukolsky, S.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; VIRGO Collaboration

2016-06-01

We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5 σ . The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3. 4-0.9+0.7×10-22 . The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2-3.7+8.3 M⊙ and 7. 5-2.3+2.3 M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 20.8-1.7+6.1 M⊙. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 44 0-190+180 Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.0 9-0.04+0.03. All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.

Revelations of X-ray spectral analysis of the enigmatic black hole binary GRS 1915+105

Science.gov (United States)

Peris, Charith; Remillard, Ronald A.; Steiner, James; Vrtilek, Saeqa Dil; Varniere, Peggy; Rodriguez, Jerome; Pooley, Guy

2016-01-01

Of the black hole binaries discovered thus far, GRS 1915+105 stands out as an exceptional source primarily due to its wild X-ray variability, the diversity of which has not been replicated in any other stellar-mass black hole. Although extreme variability is commonplace in its light-curve, about half of the observations of GRS1915+105 show fairly steady X-ray intensity. We report on the X-ray spectral behavior within these steady observations. Our work is based on a vast RXTE/PCA data set obtained on GRS 1915+105 during the course of its entire mission and 10 years of radio data from the Ryle Telescope, which overlap the X-ray data. We find that the steady observations within the X-ray data set naturally separate into two regions in a color-color diagram, which we refer to as steady-soft and steady-hard. GRS 1915+105 displays significant curvature in the Comptonization component within the PCA band pass suggesting significantly heating from a hot disk present in all states. A new Comptonization model 'simplcut' was developed in order to model this curvature to best effect. A majority of the steady-soft observations display a roughly constant inner radius; remarkably reminiscent of canonical soft state black hole binaries. In contrast, the steady-hard observations display a growing disk truncation that is correlated to the mass accretion rate through the disk, which suggests a magnetically truncated disk. A comparison of X-ray model parameters to the canonical state definitions show that almost all steady-soft observations match the criteria of either thermal or steep power law state, while the thermal state observations dominate the constant radius branch. A large portion (80%) of the steady-hard observations matches the hard state criteria when the disk fraction constraint is neglected. These results suggest that within the complexity of this source is a simpler underlying basis of states, which map to those observed in canonical black hole binaries. When

Gamma Ray Bursts and the Birth of Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Gehrels, Neil

2009-01-01

Black holes have been predicted since the 1940's from solutions of Einstein's general relativity field equation. There is strong evidence of their existence from astronomical observations, but their origin has remained an open question of great interest. Gamma-ray bursts may the clue. They are powerful explosions, visible to high redshift, and appear to be the birth cries of black holes. The Swift and Fermi missions are two powerful NASA observatories currently in orbit that are discovering how gamma-ray bursts work. Evidence is building that the long and short duration subcategories of GRBs have very different origins: massive star core collapse to a black hole for long bursts and binary neutron star coalescence to a black hole for short bursts. The similarity to Type II and Ia supernovae originating from young and old stellar progenitors is striking. Bursts are tremendously luminous and are providing a new tool to study the high redshift universe. One Swift burst at z=8.3 is the most distant object known in the universe. The talk will present the latest gamma-ray burst results from Swift and Fermi and will highlight what they are teaching us about black holes and jet outflows.

Is there life inside black holes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dokuchaev, V I

2011-01-01

Bound inside rotating or charged black holes, there are stable periodic planetary orbits, which neither come out nor terminate at the central singularity. Stable periodic orbits inside black holes exist even for photons. These bound orbits may be defined as orbits of the third kind, following the Chandrasekhar classification of particle orbits in the black hole gravitational field. The existence domain for the third-kind orbits is rather spacious, and thus there is place for life inside supermassive black holes in the galactic nuclei. Interiors of the supermassive black holes may be inhabited by civilizations, being invisible from the outside. In principle, one can get information from the interiors of black holes by observing their white hole counterparts. (paper)

Samurai project: Verifying the consistency of black-hole-binary waveforms for gravitational-wave detection

OpenAIRE

Hannam, Mark; Husa, Sascha; Baker, John G.; Boyle, Michael; Brügmann, Bernd; Chu, Tony; Dorband, Nils; Herrmann, Frank; Hinder, Ian; Kelly, Bernard J.; Kidder, Lawrence E.; Laguna, Pablo; Matthews, Keith D.; van-Meter, James R.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.

2009-01-01

We quantify the consistency of numerical-relativity black-hole-binary waveforms for use in gravitational-wave (GW) searches with current and planned ground-based detectors. We compare previously published results for the (center dot=2,vertical bar m vertical bar=2) mode of the gravitational waves from an equal-mass nonspinning binary, calculated by five numerical codes. We focus on the 1000M (about six orbits, or 12 GW cycles) before the peak of the GW amplitude and the subsequent ringdown. W...

Axion-dilation black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kallosh, R.

1993-01-01

In this talk some essential features of stringy black holes are described. The author considers charged U(1) and U(1) x U(1) four-dimensional axion-dilaton black holes. The Hawking temperature and the entropy of all solutions are shown to be simple functions of the squares of supercharges, defining the positivity bounds. Spherically symmetric and multi black hole solutions are presented. The extreme solutions with zero entropy (holons) represent a ground state of the theory and are characterized by elementary dilaton, axion, electric, and magnetic charges. The attractive gravitational and axion-dilaton force is balanced by the repulsive electromagnetic force. The author discusses the possibility of splitting of nearly extreme black holes. 11 refs

Implications of Binary Black Hole Detections on the Merger Rates of Double Neutron Stars and Neutron Star–Black Holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Anuradha; Arun, K. G.; Sathyaprakash, B. S., E-mail: axg645@psu.edu, E-mail: kgarun@cmi.ac.in, E-mail: bss25@psu.edu [Institute for Gravitation and Cosmos, Physics Department, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

2017-11-01

We show that the inferred merger rate and chirp masses of binary black holes (BBHs) detected by advanced LIGO (aLIGO) can be used to constrain the rate of double neutron star (DNS) and neutron star–black hole (NSBH) mergers in the universe. We explicitly demonstrate this by considering a set of publicly available population synthesis models of Dominik et al. and show that if all the BBH mergers, GW150914, LVT151012, GW151226, and GW170104, observed by aLIGO arise from isolated binary evolution, the predicted DNS merger rate may be constrained to be 2.3–471.0 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1} and that of NSBH mergers will be constrained to 0.2–48.5 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1}. The DNS merger rates are not constrained much, but the NSBH rates are tightened by a factor of ∼4 as compared to their previous rates. Note that these constrained DNS and NSBH rates are extremely model-dependent and are compared to the unconstrained values 2.3–472.5 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1} and 0.2–218 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1}, respectively, using the same models of Dominik et al. (2012a). These rate estimates may have implications for short Gamma Ray Burst progenitor models assuming they are powered (solely) by DNS or NSBH mergers. While these results are based on a set of open access population synthesis models, which may not necessarily be the representative ones, the proposed method is very general and can be applied to any number of models, thereby yielding more realistic constraints on the DNS and NSBH merger rates from the inferred BBH merger rate and chirp mass.

Implications of Binary Black Hole Detections on the Merger Rates of Double Neutron Stars and Neutron Star–Black Holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Anuradha; Arun, K. G.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.

2017-01-01

We show that the inferred merger rate and chirp masses of binary black holes (BBHs) detected by advanced LIGO (aLIGO) can be used to constrain the rate of double neutron star (DNS) and neutron star–black hole (NSBH) mergers in the universe. We explicitly demonstrate this by considering a set of publicly available population synthesis models of Dominik et al. and show that if all the BBH mergers, GW150914, LVT151012, GW151226, and GW170104, observed by aLIGO arise from isolated binary evolution, the predicted DNS merger rate may be constrained to be 2.3–471.0 Gpc −3 yr −1 and that of NSBH mergers will be constrained to 0.2–48.5 Gpc −3 yr −1 . The DNS merger rates are not constrained much, but the NSBH rates are tightened by a factor of ∼4 as compared to their previous rates. Note that these constrained DNS and NSBH rates are extremely model-dependent and are compared to the unconstrained values 2.3–472.5 Gpc −3 yr −1 and 0.2–218 Gpc −3 yr −1 , respectively, using the same models of Dominik et al. (2012a). These rate estimates may have implications for short Gamma Ray Burst progenitor models assuming they are powered (solely) by DNS or NSBH mergers. While these results are based on a set of open access population synthesis models, which may not necessarily be the representative ones, the proposed method is very general and can be applied to any number of models, thereby yielding more realistic constraints on the DNS and NSBH merger rates from the inferred BBH merger rate and chirp mass.

In what sense a neutron star-black hole binary is the holy grail for testing gravity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagchi, Manjari; Torres, Diego F.

2014-01-01

Pulsars in binary systems have been very successful to test the validity of general relativity in the strong field regime [1-4]. So far, such binaries include neutron star-white dwarf (NS-WD) and neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) systems. It is commonly believed that a neutron star-black hole (NS-BH) binary will be much superior for this purpose. But in what sense is this true? Does it apply to all possible deviations?

Stationary black holes: large D analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Ryotaku; Tanabe, Kentaro

2015-01-01

We consider the effective theory of large D stationary black holes. By solving the Einstein equations with a cosmological constant using the 1/D expansion in near zone of the black hole we obtain the effective equation for the stationary black hole. The effective equation describes the Myers-Perry black hole, bumpy black holes and, possibly, the black ring solution as its solutions. In this effective theory the black hole is represented as an embedded membrane in the background, e.g., Minkowski or Anti-de Sitter spacetime and its mean curvature is given by the surface gravity redshifted by the background gravitational field and the local Lorentz boost. The local Lorentz boost property of the effective equation is observed also in the metric itself. In fact we show that the leading order metric of the Einstein equation in the 1/D expansion is generically regarded as a Lorentz boosted Schwarzschild black hole. We apply this Lorentz boost property of the stationary black hole solution to solve perturbation equations. As a result we obtain an analytic formula for quasinormal modes of the singly rotating Myers-Perry black hole in the 1/D expansion.

Black holes and the multiverse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garriga, Jaume; Vilenkin, Alexander; Zhang, Jun

2016-01-01

Vacuum bubbles may nucleate and expand during the inflationary epoch in the early universe. After inflation ends, the bubbles quickly dissipate their kinetic energy; they come to rest with respect to the Hubble flow and eventually form black holes. The fate of the bubble itself depends on the resulting black hole mass. If the mass is smaller than a certain critical value, the bubble collapses to a singularity. Otherwise, the bubble interior inflates, forming a baby universe, which is connected to the exterior FRW region by a wormhole. A similar black hole formation mechanism operates for spherical domain walls nucleating during inflation. As an illustrative example, we studied the black hole mass spectrum in the domain wall scenario, assuming that domain walls interact with matter only gravitationally. Our results indicate that, depending on the model parameters, black holes produced in this scenario can have significant astrophysical effects and can even serve as dark matter or as seeds for supermassive black holes. The mechanism of black hole formation described in this paper is very generic and has important implications for the global structure of the universe. Baby universes inside super-critical black holes inflate eternally and nucleate bubbles of all vacua allowed by the underlying particle physics. The resulting multiverse has a very non-trivial spacetime structure, with a multitude of eternally inflating regions connected by wormholes. If a black hole population with the predicted mass spectrum is discovered, it could be regarded as evidence for inflation and for the existence of a multiverse

Black holes and the multiverse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garriga, Jaume [Departament de Fisica Fonamental i Institut de Ciencies del Cosmos, Universitat de Barcelona, Marti i Franques, 1, Barcelona, 08028 Spain (Spain); Vilenkin, Alexander; Zhang, Jun, E-mail: jaume.garriga@ub.edu, E-mail: vilenkin@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu, E-mail: jun.zhang@tufts.edu [Institute of Cosmology, Tufts University, 574 Boston Ave, Medford, MA, 02155 (United States)

2016-02-01

Vacuum bubbles may nucleate and expand during the inflationary epoch in the early universe. After inflation ends, the bubbles quickly dissipate their kinetic energy; they come to rest with respect to the Hubble flow and eventually form black holes. The fate of the bubble itself depends on the resulting black hole mass. If the mass is smaller than a certain critical value, the bubble collapses to a singularity. Otherwise, the bubble interior inflates, forming a baby universe, which is connected to the exterior FRW region by a wormhole. A similar black hole formation mechanism operates for spherical domain walls nucleating during inflation. As an illustrative example, we studied the black hole mass spectrum in the domain wall scenario, assuming that domain walls interact with matter only gravitationally. Our results indicate that, depending on the model parameters, black holes produced in this scenario can have significant astrophysical effects and can even serve as dark matter or as seeds for supermassive black holes. The mechanism of black hole formation described in this paper is very generic and has important implications for the global structure of the universe. Baby universes inside super-critical black holes inflate eternally and nucleate bubbles of all vacua allowed by the underlying particle physics. The resulting multiverse has a very non-trivial spacetime structure, with a multitude of eternally inflating regions connected by wormholes. If a black hole population with the predicted mass spectrum is discovered, it could be regarded as evidence for inflation and for the existence of a multiverse.

Anyon black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Aghaei Abchouyeh, Maryam; Mirza, Behrouz; Karimi Takrami, Moein; Younesizadeh, Younes

2018-05-01

We propose a correspondence between an Anyon Van der Waals fluid and a (2 + 1) dimensional AdS black hole. Anyons are particles with intermediate statistics that interpolates between a Fermi-Dirac statistics and a Bose-Einstein one. A parameter α (0 quasi Fermi-Dirac statistics for α >αc, but a quasi Bose-Einstein statistics for α quasi Bose-Einstein statistics. For α >αc and a range of values of the cosmological constant, there is, however, no event horizon so there is no black hole solution. Thus, for these values of cosmological constants, the AdS Anyon Van der Waals black holes have only quasi Bose-Einstein statistics.

Reconstructing the massive black hole cosmic history through gravitational waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sesana, Alberto; Gair, Jonathan; Berti, Emanuele; Volonteri, Marta

2011-01-01

The massive black holes we observe in galaxies today are the natural end-product of a complex evolutionary path, in which black holes seeded in proto-galaxies at high redshift grow through cosmic history via a sequence of mergers and accretion episodes. Electromagnetic observations probe a small subset of the population of massive black holes (namely, those that are active or those that are very close to us), but planned space-based gravitational wave observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) can measure the parameters of 'electromagnetically invisible' massive black holes out to high redshift. In this paper we introduce a Bayesian framework to analyze the information that can be gathered from a set of such measurements. Our goal is to connect a set of massive black hole binary merger observations to the underlying model of massive black hole formation. In other words, given a set of observed massive black hole coalescences, we assess what information can be extracted about the underlying massive black hole population model. For concreteness we consider ten specific models of massive black hole formation, chosen to probe four important (and largely unconstrained) aspects of the input physics used in structure formation simulations: seed formation, metallicity ''feedback'', accretion efficiency and accretion geometry. For the first time we allow for the possibility of 'model mixing', by drawing the observed population from some combination of the 'pure' models that have been simulated. A Bayesian analysis allows us to recover a posterior probability distribution for the ''mixing parameters'' that characterize the fractions of each model represented in the observed distribution. Our work shows that LISA has enormous potential to probe the underlying physics of structure formation.

Massive Black Hole Mergers: Can we see what LISA will hear?

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2009-01-01

Coalescing massive black hole binaries are formed when galaxies merge. The final stages of this coalescence produce strong gravitational wave signals that can be detected by the space-borne LISA. When the black holes merge in the presence of gas and magnetic fields, various types of electromagnetic signals may also be produced. Modeling such electromagnetic counterparts requires evolving the behavior of both gas and fields in the strong-field regions around the black holes. We have taken a first step towards this problem by mapping the flow of pressureless matter in the dynamic, 3-D general relativistic spacetime around the merging black holes. We report on the results of these initial simulations and discuss their likely importance for future hydrodynamical simulations.

Electromagnetic radiation accompanying gravitational waves from black hole binaries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dolgov, A. [Dept. of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 2, 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Postnov, K., E-mail: dolgov@fe.infn.it, E-mail: kpostnov@gmail.com [Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University, Universitetskij pr. 13, 119234 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2017-09-01

The transition of powerful gravitational waves, created by the coalescence of massive black hole binaries, into electromagnetic radiation in external magnetic fields is considered. In contrast to the previous calculations of the similar effect we study the realistic case of the gravitational radiation frequency below the plasma frequency of the surrounding medium. The gravitational waves propagating in the plasma constantly create electromagnetic radiation dragging it with them, despite the low frequency. The plasma heating by the unattenuated electromagnetic wave may be significant in hot rarefied plasma with strong magnetic field and can lead to a noticeable burst of electromagnetic radiation with higher frequency. The graviton-to-photon conversion effect in plasma is discussed in the context of possible electromagnetic counterparts of GW150914 and GW170104.

Electromagnetic radiation accompanying gravitational waves from black hole binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolgov, A.; Postnov, K.

2017-01-01

The transition of powerful gravitational waves, created by the coalescence of massive black hole binaries, into electromagnetic radiation in external magnetic fields is considered. In contrast to the previous calculations of the similar effect we study the realistic case of the gravitational radiation frequency below the plasma frequency of the surrounding medium. The gravitational waves propagating in the plasma constantly create electromagnetic radiation dragging it with them, despite the low frequency. The plasma heating by the unattenuated electromagnetic wave may be significant in hot rarefied plasma with strong magnetic field and can lead to a noticeable burst of electromagnetic radiation with higher frequency. The graviton-to-photon conversion effect in plasma is discussed in the context of possible electromagnetic counterparts of GW150914 and GW170104.

When Supermassive Black Holes Wander

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-05-01

Are supermassive black holes found only at the centers of galaxies? Definitely not, according to a new study in fact, galaxies like the Milky Way may harbor several such monsters wandering through their midst.Collecting Black Holes Through MergersIts generally believed that galaxies are built up hierarchically, growing in size through repeated mergers over time. Each galaxy in a major merger likely hosts a supermassive black hole a black hole of millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun at its center. When a pair of galaxies merges, their supermassive black holes will often sink to the center of the merger via a process known as dynamical friction. There the supermassive black holes themselves will eventually merge in a burst of gravitational waves.Spatial distribution and velocities of wandering supermassive black holes in three of the authors simulated galaxies, shown in edge-on (left) and face-on (right) views of the galaxy disks. Click for a closer look. [Tremmel et al. 2018]But if a galaxy the size of the Milky Way was built through a history of many major galactic mergers, are we sure that all its accumulated supermassive black holes eventually merged at the galactic center? A new study suggests that some of these giants might have escaped such a fate and they now wander unseen on wide orbits through their galaxies.Black Holes in an Evolving UniverseLed by Michael Tremmel (Yale Center for Astronomy Astrophysics), a team of scientists has used data from a large-scale cosmological simulation, Romulus25, to explore the possibility of wandering supermassive black holes. The Romulus simulations are uniquely suited to track the formation and subsequent orbital motion of supermassive black holes as galactic halos are built up through mergers over the history of the universe.From these simulations, Tremmel and collaborators find an end total of 316 supermassive black holes residing within the bounds of 26 Milky-Way-mass halos. Of these, roughly a third are

Black Hole Mergers and Gravitational Waves: Opening the New Frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2012-01-01

The final merger of two black holes produces a powerful burst of gravitational waves, emitting more energy than all the stars in the observable universe combined. Since these mergers take place in the regime of strong dynamical gravity, computing the gravitational waveforms requires solving the full Einstein equations of general relativity on a computer. For more than 30 years, scientists tried to simulate these mergers using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes were plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. In the past several years, this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of remarkable breakthroughs. This talk will highlight these breakthroughs and the resulting 'gold rush' of new results that is revealing the dynamics of binary black hole mergers, and their applications in gravitational wave detection, testing general relativity, and astrophysics.

Gravitational waves from quasicircular black-hole binaries in dynamical Chern-Simons gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Yagi, Kent; Yunes, Nicolás; Tanaka, Takahiro

2012-12-21

Dynamical Chern-Simons gravity cannot be strongly constrained with current experiments because it reduces to general relativity in the weak-field limit. This theory, however, introduces modifications in the nonlinear, dynamical regime, and thus it could be greatly constrained with gravitational waves from the late inspiral of black-hole binaries. We complete the first self-consistent calculation of such gravitational waves in this theory. For favorable spin orientations, advanced ground-based detectors may improve existing solar system constraints by 6 orders of magnitude.

Black holes a very short introduction

CERN Document Server

Blundell, Katherine

2015-01-01

Black holes are a constant source of fascination to many due to their mysterious nature. Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction addresses a variety of questions, including what a black hole actually is, how they are characterized and discovered, and what would happen if you came too close to one. It explains how black holes form and grow—by stealing material that belongs to stars—as well as how many there may be in the Universe. It also explores the large black holes found in the centres of galaxies, and how black holes power quasars and lie behind other spectacular phenomena in the cosmos.

"Iron-Clad" Evidence For Spinning Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2003-09-01

Telltale X-rays from iron may reveal if black holes are spinning or not, according to astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton Observatory. The gas flows and bizarre gravitational effects observed near stellar black holes are similar to those seen around supermassive black holes. Stellar black holes, in effect, are convenient `scale models' of their much larger cousins. Black holes come in at least two different sizes. Stellar black holes are between five and 20 times the mass of the Sun. At the other end of the size scale, supermassive black holes contain millions or billions times the mass of our Sun. The Milky Way contains both a supermassive black hole at its center, as well as a number of stellar black holes sprinkled throughout the Galaxy. At a press conference at the "Four Years of Chandra" symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Jon Miller of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. discussed recent results on the X-ray spectra, or distribution of X-rays with energy, from the iron atoms in gas around three stellar black holes in the Milky Way. "Discovering the high degree of correspondence between stellar and supermassive black holes is a real breakthrough," said Miller. "Because stellar black holes are smaller, everything happens about a million times faster, so they can be used as a test-bed for theories of how spinning black holes affect the space and matter around them." X-rays from a stellar black hole are produced when gas from a nearby companion star is heated to tens of millions of degrees as it swirls toward the black hole. Iron atoms in this gas produce distinctive X-ray signals that can be used to study the orbits of particles around the black hole. For example, the gravity of a black hole can shift the X-rays to lower energies. "The latest work provides the most precise measurements yet of the X-ray spectra for stellar black holes," said Miller. "These data help rule out

Particle creation by black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawking, S.W.

1975-01-01

In the classical theory black holes can only absorb and not emit particles. However it is shown that quantum mechanical effects cause black holes to create and emit particles. This thermal emission leads to a slow decrease in the mass of the black hole and to its eventual disappearance: any primordial black hole of mass less than about 10 15 g would have evaporated by now. Although these quantum effects violate the classical law that the area of the event horizon of a black hole cannot decrease, there remains a Generalized Second Law: S + 1/4 A never decreases where S is the entropy of matter outside black holes and A is the sum of the surface areas of the event horizons. This shows that gravitational collapse converts the baryons and leptons in the collapsing body into entropy. It is tempting to speculate that this might be the reason why the Universe contains so much entropy per baryon. (orig.) [de

Black Hole's 1/N Hair

CERN Document Server

Dvali, Gia

2013-01-01

According to the standard view classically black holes carry no hair, whereas quantum hair is at best exponentially weak. We show that suppression of hair is an artifact of the semi-classical treatment and that in the quantum picture hair appears as an inverse mass-square effect. Such hair is predicted in the microscopic quantum description in which a black hole represents a self-sustained leaky Bose-condensate of N soft gravitons. In this picture the Hawking radiation is the quantum depletion of the condensate. Within this picture we show that quantum black hole physics is fully compatible with continuous global symmetries and that global hair appears with the strength B/N, where B is the global charge swallowed by the black hole. For large charge this hair has dramatic effect on black hole dynamics. Our findings can have interesting astrophysical consequences, such as existence of black holes with large detectable baryonic and leptonic numbers.

Stability of squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Masashi; Ishihara, Hideki; Murata, Keiju; Soda, Jiro

2008-01-01

The stability of squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes is studied. The squashed Kaluza-Klein black hole looks like a five-dimensional black hole in the vicinity of horizon and looks like a four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime with a circle at infinity. In this sense, squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes can be regarded as black holes in the Kaluza-Klein spacetimes. Using the symmetry of squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes, SU(2)xU(1)≅U(2), we obtain master equations for a part of the metric perturbations relevant to the stability. The analysis based on the master equations gives strong evidence for the stability of squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes. Hence, the squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes deserve to be taken seriously as realistic black holes in the Kaluza-Klein spacetime.

Nonextremal stringy black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, K.

1997-01-01

We construct a four-dimensional BPS saturated heterotic string solution from the Taub-NUT solution. It is a nonextremal black hole solution since its Euler number is nonzero. We evaluate its black hole entropy semiclassically. We discuss the relation between the black hole entropy and the degeneracy of string states. The entropy of our string solution can be understood as the microscopic entropy which counts the elementary string states without any complications. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

The search for black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torn, K.

1976-01-01

Conceivable experimental investigations to prove the existence of black holes are discussed. Double system with a black hole turning around a star-satellite are in the spotlight. X-radiation emmited by such systems and resulting from accretion of the stellar gas by a black hole, and the gas heating when falling on the black hole might prove the model suggested. A source of strong X-radiation observed in the Cygnus star cluster and referred to as Cygnus X-1 may be thus identified as a black hole. Direct registration of short X-ray pulses with msec intervals might prove the suggestion. The lack of appropriate astrophysic facilities is pointed out to be the major difficulty on the way of experimental verifications

Quantum capacity of quantum black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Adami, Chris; Bradler, Kamil

2014-03-01

The fate of quantum entanglement interacting with a black hole has been an enduring mystery, not the least because standard curved space field theory does not address the interaction of black holes with matter. We discuss an effective Hamiltonian of matter interacting with a black hole that has a precise analogue in quantum optics and correctly reproduces both spontaneous and stimulated Hawking radiation with grey-body factors. We calculate the quantum capacity of this channel in the limit of perfect absorption, as well as in the limit of a perfectly reflecting black hole (a white hole). We find that the white hole is an optimal quantum cloner, and is isomorphic to the Unruh channel with positive quantum capacity. The complementary channel (across the horizon) is entanglement-breaking with zero capacity, avoiding a violation of the quantum no-cloning theorem. The black hole channel on the contrary has vanishing capacity, while its complement has positive capacity instead. Thus, quantum states can be reconstructed faithfully behind the black hole horizon, but not outside. This work sheds new light on black hole complementarity because it shows that black holes can both reflect and absorb quantum states without violating the no-cloning theorem, and makes quantum firewalls obsolete.

Late inspiral and merger of binary black holes in scalar–tensor theories of gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Healy, James; Bode, Tanja; Laguna, Pablo; Shoemaker, Deirdre M; Haas, Roland; Pazos, Enrique; Yunes, Nicolás

2012-01-01

Gravitational wave observations will probe nonlinear gravitational interactions and thus enable strong tests of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. We present a numerical relativity study of the late inspiral and merger of binary black holes in scalar–tensor theories of gravity. We consider binaries inside a scalar field bubble, including in some cases a potential. We demonstrate how an evolving scalar field is able to trigger detectable differences between gravitational waves in scalar–tensor gravity and the corresponding waves in general relativity. (fast track communication)

Spectroscopy of Kerr Black Holes with Earth- and Space-Based Interferometers.