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.

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.)

Supermassive Black Holes as the Regulators of Star Formation in Central Galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terrazas, Bryan A.; Bell, Eric F. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Woo, Joanna; Henriques, Bruno M. B. [Department of Physics, Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

2017-08-01

We present the relationship between the black hole mass, stellar mass, and star formation rate (SFR) of a diverse group of 91 galaxies with dynamically measured black hole masses. For our sample of galaxies with a variety of morphologies and other galactic properties, we find that the specific SFR is a smoothly decreasing function of the ratio between black hole mass and stellar mass, or what we call the specific black hole mass. In order to explain this relation, we propose a physical framework where the gradual suppression of a galaxy’s star formation activity results from the adjustment to an increase in specific black hole mass, and accordingly, an increase in the amount of heating. From this framework, it follows that at least some galaxies with intermediate specific black hole masses are in a steady state of partial quiescence with intermediate specific SFRs, implying that both transitioning and steady-state galaxies live within this region that is known as the “green valley.” With respect to galaxy formation models, our results present an important diagnostic with which to test various prescriptions of black hole feedback and its effects on star formation activity.

Supermassive Black Holes as the Regulators of Star Formation in Central Galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terrazas, Bryan A.; Bell, Eric F.; Woo, Joanna; Henriques, Bruno M. B.

2017-01-01

We present the relationship between the black hole mass, stellar mass, and star formation rate (SFR) of a diverse group of 91 galaxies with dynamically measured black hole masses. For our sample of galaxies with a variety of morphologies and other galactic properties, we find that the specific SFR is a smoothly decreasing function of the ratio between black hole mass and stellar mass, or what we call the specific black hole mass. In order to explain this relation, we propose a physical framework where the gradual suppression of a galaxy’s star formation activity results from the adjustment to an increase in specific black hole mass, and accordingly, an increase in the amount of heating. From this framework, it follows that at least some galaxies with intermediate specific black hole masses are in a steady state of partial quiescence with intermediate specific SFRs, implying that both transitioning and steady-state galaxies live within this region that is known as the “green valley.” With respect to galaxy formation models, our results present an important diagnostic with which to test various prescriptions of black hole feedback and its effects on star formation activity.

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

Are Nuclear Star Clusters the Precursors of Massive Black Holes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadine Neumayer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We present new upper limits for black hole masses in extremely late type spiral galaxies. We confirm that this class of galaxies has black holes with masses less than 106M⊙, if any. We also derive new upper limits for nuclear star cluster masses in massive galaxies with previously determined black hole masses. We use the newly derived upper limits and a literature compilation to study the low mass end of the global-to-nucleus relations. We find the following. (1 The MBH-σ relation cannot flatten at low masses, but may steepen. (2 The MBH-Mbulge relation may well flatten in contrast. (3 The MBH-Sersic n relation is able to account for the large scatter in black hole masses in low-mass disk galaxies. Outliers in the MBH-Sersic n relation seem to be dwarf elliptical galaxies. When plotting MBH versus MNC we find three different regimes: (a nuclear cluster dominated nuclei, (b a transition region, and (c black hole-dominated nuclei. This is consistent with the picture, in which black holes form inside nuclear clusters with a very low-mass fraction. They subsequently grow much faster than the nuclear cluster, destroying it when the ratio MBH/MNC grows above 100. Nuclear star clusters may thus be the precursors of massive black holes in galaxy nuclei.

Electromagnetic Chirps from Neutron Star-Black Hole Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Schnittman, Jeremy D.; Dal Canton, Tito; Camp, Jordan B.; Tsang, David; Kelly, Bernard J.

2018-01-01

We calculate the electromagnetic signal of a gamma-ray flare coming from the surface of a neutron star shortly before merger with a black hole companion. Using a new version of the Monte Carlo radiation transport code Pandurata that incorporates dynamic spacetimes, we integrate photon geodesics from the neutron star surface until they reach a distant observer or are captured by the black hole. The gamma-ray light curve is modulated by a number of relativistic effects, including Doppler beaming and gravitational lensing. Because the photons originate from the inspiraling neutron star, the light curve closely resembles the corresponding gravitational waveform: a chirp signal characterized by a steadily increasing frequency and amplitude. We propose to search for these electromagnetic chirps using matched filtering algorithms similar to those used in LIGO data analysis.

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 holes, white dwarfs and neutron stars: The physics of compact objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shapiro, S.L.; Teukolsky, S.A.

1983-01-01

The contents include: Star deaths and the formation of compact objects; White dwarfs; Rotation and magnetic fields; Cold equation of state above neutron drip; Pulsars; Accretion onto black holes; Supermassive stars and black holes; Appendices; and Indexes. This book discusses one aspect, compact objects, of astronomy and provides information of astrophysics or general relativity

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.)

NuSTAR Observations of the Black Hole GS 1354-645: Evidence of Rapid Black Hole Spin

Science.gov (United States)

El-Batal, A. M.; Miller, J. M.; Reynolds, M. T.; Boggs, S. E.; Christensen, F. E.; Craig, W. W.; Fuerst, F.; Hailey, C. J.; Harrison, F. A.; Stern, D. K.;

Relating follicly-challenged compact stars to bald black holes: A link between two no-hair properties

Science.gov (United States)

Yagi, Kent; Yunes, Nicolás

2015-05-01

Compact stars satisfy certain no-hair relations through which their multipole moments are given by their mass, spin and quadrupole moment. These relations are approximately independent of their equation of state, relating pressure to density. Such relations are similar to the black hole no-hair theorems, but these possess event horizons inside which information that led to their formation can hide. Compact stars do not possess horizons, so whether their no-hair relations are related to the black hole ones is unclear. We investigate how the two relations are related by studying relations among multipole moments for compact stars with anisotropic pressure as a toy model, which allows such stars to be more compact than those with isotropic pressure. We here show numerically that the compact star no-hair relations approach the black hole ones as the compactness approaches that of a black hole. We also prove analytically that the current dipole moment exactly reaches the black hole limit quadratically in compactness as strongly anisotropic stars approach the black hole limit. We moreover show that compact stars become progressively oblate in this limit, even if prolate at low compactness due to strong anisotropies.

Neutron Stars and Black Holes New clues from Chandra and XMM-Newton

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva. Audiovisual Unit

2002-01-01

Neutron stars and black holes, the most compact astrophysical objects, have become observable in many different ways during the last few decades. We will first review the phenomenology and properties of neutron stars and black holes (stellar and supermassive) as derived from multiwavelength observatories. Recently much progress has been made by means of the new powerful X-ray observatories Chandra and XMM-Newton which provide a substantial increase in sensitivity as well as spectral and angular resolution compared with previous satellites like ROSAT and ASCA. We shall discuss in more detail two recent topics: (1) The attempts to use X-ray spectroscopy for measuring the radii of neutron stars which depend on the equation of state at supranuclear densities. Have quark stars been detected? (2) The diagnostics of the strong gravity regions around supermassive black holes using X-ray spectroscopy.

Star's death and rebirth. White dwarfs, supernovae, pulsars, black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otzen Petersen, J [Copenhagen Univ. (Denmark)

1975-01-01

The evolution of a star from a main sequence star of approximately solar mass, first to a red giant, thereafter to a white dwarf is described in detail. The evolution of more massive stars to supernovae, neutron stars and pulsars is then discussed with special reference to the Crab Nebula. Black holes and X-ray sources are also discussed, in this case with reference to the Cygnus X-1 system. In conclusion, it is pointed out that after their active phase white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes may exist as dead bodies in space, and only be observeable through their gravitational fields. It is possible that a great number of such bodies may exist, and contribute to the stability of galaxies, also possibly facilitating the explanation of the galaxies' red shifts by means of simple universe models.

Quasi-Normal Modes of Stars and Black Holes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kokkotas Kostas

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Perturbations of stars and black holes have been one of the main topics of relativistic astrophysics for the last few decades. They are of particular importance today, because of their relevance to gravitational wave astronomy. In this review we present the theory of quasi-normal modes of compact objects from both the mathematical and astrophysical points of view. The discussion includes perturbations of black holes (Schwarzschild, Reissner-Nordström, Kerr and Kerr-Newman and relativistic stars (non-rotating and slowly-rotating. The properties of the various families of quasi-normal modes are described, and numerical techniques for calculating quasi-normal modes reviewed. The successes, as well as the limits, of perturbation theory are presented, and its role in the emerging era of numerical relativity and supercomputers is discussed.

Gravitational waves from the collision of tidally disrupted stars with massive black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

East, William E.

2014-01-01

We use simulations of hydrodynamics coupled with full general relativity to investigate the gravitational waves produced by a star colliding with a massive black hole when the star's tidal disruption radius lies far outside of the black hole horizon. We consider both main-sequence and white-dwarf compaction stars, and nonspinning black holes, as well as those with near-extremal spin. We study the regime in between where the star can be accurately modeled by a point particle, and where tidal effects completely suppress the gravitational wave signal. We find that nonnegligible gravitational waves can be produced even when the star is strongly affected by tidal forces, as well as when it collides with large angular momentum. We discuss the implications that these results have for the potential observation of gravitational waves from these sources with future detectors.

The StarDate Black Hole Encyclopedia Website blackholes.stardate.org

Science.gov (United States)

Gebhardt, Karl; Benningfield, D.; Preston, S.

2013-01-01

The StarDate Black Hole Encyclopedia website was developed over the past seven years to provide an extensive but easy-to-read resource for the public and students. A Spanish-language version, Enciclopedia de agujeros negros, is also available at blackholes.radiouniverso.org. Evaluation shows that the sites are used by the public, students, and astronomy professionals, and the site is among the top references in most web searches for individual black holes. The site comprises seven major subsections: Basics, Directory, Research, History, Pop Culture, News, and Resources. The Basics section introduces black holes, explains how they are discovered and studied, and covers their basis in the theory of gravity. This section also includes a six-minute video introduction, “Black Holes: Stranger than Fiction.” The Directory section contains extensive descriptions of more than 80 well-known stellar, intermediate, and supermassive black holes as well as images and vital statistics of each. The Research section takes a look at three NSF-funded projects, including the work of Andrea Ghez, Karl Gebhardt and Jenny Greene, and the LIGO project. The History section provides a timeline of black holes from Isaac Newton to the present. Some of the best and worst roles played by black holes in films, TV shows, and books are included in the Pop Culture section (and pop culture references and images are sprinkled through the rest of the site). An archive of news reports about black holes is available in the News section, which provides links to the original stories or press releases. And the Resources section offers FAQs, articles from StarDate magazine and radio programs, activities for students that are tied to national standards, a glossary, and a reading list of books and websites. We have conducted both quantitative and qualitative evaluation on the black hole websites. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0935841. Any

The Aftermath of GW170817: Neutron Star or Black Hole?

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-06-01

When two neutron stars merged in August of last year, leading to the first simultaneous detection of gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals, we knew this event was going to shed new light on compact-object mergers.A team of scientists says we now have an answer to one of the biggest mysteries of GW170817: after the neutron stars collided, what object was formed?Artists illustration of the black hole that resulted from GW170817. Some of the material accreting onto the black hole is flung out in a tightly collimated jet. [NASA/CXC/M.Weiss]A Fuzzy DivisionBased on gravitational-wave observations, we know that two neutron stars of about 1.48 and 1.26 solar masses merged in GW170817. But the result an object of 2.7 solar masses doesnt have a definitive identity; the remnant formed in the merger is either the most massive neutron star known or the least massive black hole known.The theoretical mass division between neutron stars and black holes is fuzzy, depending strongly on what model you use to describe the physics of these objects. Observations fall short as well: the most massive neutron star known is perhaps 2.3 solar masses, and the least massive black hole is perhaps 4 or 5, leaving the location of the dividing line unclear. For this reason, determining the nature of GW170817s remnant is an important target as we analyze past observations of the remnant and continue to make new ones.Chandra images of the field of GW170817 during three separate epochs. Each image is 30 x 30. [Adapted from Pooley et al. 2018]Luckily, we may not have long to wait! Led by David Pooley (Trinity University and Eureka Scientific, Inc.), a team of scientists has obtained new Chandra X-ray observations of the remnant of GW170817. By combining this new data with previous observations, the authors have drawn conclusions about what object was left behind after this fateful merger.X-Rays Provide AnswersX-ray radiation is generated in a merger of two neutron stars when the mergers

Tidal stripping of stars near supermassive black holes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blandford R.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In a binary system composed of a supermassive black hole and a star orbiting the hole in an equatorial, circular orbit, the stellar orbit will shrink due to the action of gravitational radiation, until the star fills its Roche lobe outside the Innermost Stable Circular Orbit (ISCO of the hole or plunges into the hole. In the former case, gas will flow through the inner Lagrange point (L1 to the hole. If this tidal stripping process happens on a time scale faster than the thermal time scale but slower than the dynamical time scale, the entropy as a function of the interior mass is conserved. The star will evolve adiabatically, and, in most cases, will recede from the hole while filling its Roche lobe. We calculate how the stellar equilibrium properties change, which determines how the stellar orbital period and mass-transfer rate change through the “Roche evolution” for various types of stars in the relativistic regime. We envisage that the mass stream eventually hits the accretion disc, where it forms a hot spot orbiting the hole and may ultimately modulate the luminosity with the stellar orbital frequency. The ultimate goal is to probe the mass and spin of the hole and provide a test of general relativity in the strong-field regime from the resultant quasi-periodic signals. The observability of such a modulation is discussed along with a possible interpretation of an intermittent 1 hour period in the X-ray emission of RE J1034+ 396.

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.

Super massive black hole in galactic nuclei with tidal disruption of stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong, Shiyan; Berczik, Peter; Spurzem, Rainer

2014-01-01

Tidal disruption of stars by super massive central black holes from dense star clusters is modeled by high-accuracy direct N-body simulation. The time evolution of the stellar tidal disruption rate, the effect of tidal disruption on the stellar density profile, and, for the first time, the detailed origin of tidally disrupted stars are carefully examined and compared with classic papers in the field. Up to 128k particles are used in simulation to model the star cluster around a super massive black hole, and we use the particle number and the tidal radius of the black hole as free parameters for a scaling analysis. The transition from full to empty loss-cone is analyzed in our data, and the tidal disruption rate scales with the particle number, N, in the expected way for both cases. For the first time in numerical simulations (under certain conditions) we can support the concept of a critical radius of Frank and Rees, which claims that most stars are tidally accreted on highly eccentric orbits originating from regions far outside the tidal radius. Due to the consumption of stars moving on radial orbits, a velocity anisotropy is found inside the cluster. Finally we estimate the real galactic center based on our simulation results and the scaling analysis.

Super Massive Black Hole in Galactic Nuclei with Tidal Disruption of Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Shiyan; Berczik, Peter; Spurzem, Rainer

2014-09-01

Tidal disruption of stars by super massive central black holes from dense star clusters is modeled by high-accuracy direct N-body simulation. The time evolution of the stellar tidal disruption rate, the effect of tidal disruption on the stellar density profile, and, for the first time, the detailed origin of tidally disrupted stars are carefully examined and compared with classic papers in the field. Up to 128k particles are used in simulation to model the star cluster around a super massive black hole, and we use the particle number and the tidal radius of the black hole as free parameters for a scaling analysis. The transition from full to empty loss-cone is analyzed in our data, and the tidal disruption rate scales with the particle number, N, in the expected way for both cases. For the first time in numerical simulations (under certain conditions) we can support the concept of a critical radius of Frank & Rees, which claims that most stars are tidally accreted on highly eccentric orbits originating from regions far outside the tidal radius. Due to the consumption of stars moving on radial orbits, a velocity anisotropy is found inside the cluster. Finally we estimate the real galactic center based on our simulation results and the scaling analysis.

The distribution of stars around the Milky Way's central black hole. I. Deep star counts

Science.gov (United States)

Gallego-Cano, E.; Schödel, R.; Dong, H.; Nogueras-Lara, F.; Gallego-Calvente, A. T.; Amaro-Seoane, P.; Baumgardt, H.

2018-01-01

Context. The existence of dynamically relaxed stellar density cusps in dense clusters around massive black holes is a long-standing prediction of stellar dynamics, but it has so far escaped unambiguous observational confirmation. Aims: In this paper we aim to revisit the problem of inferring the innermost structure of the Milky Way's nuclear star cluster via star counts, to clarify whether it displays a core or a cusp around the central black hole. Methods: We used judiciously selected adaptive optics assisted high angular resolution images obtained with the NACO instrument at the ESO VLT. Through image stacking and improved point spread function fitting we pushed the completeness limit about one magnitude deeper than in previous, comparable work. Crowding and extinction corrections were derived and applied to the surface density estimates. Known young, and therefore dynamically not relaxed stars, are excluded from the analysis. Contrary to previous work, we analyse the stellar density in well-defined magnitude ranges in order to be able to constrain stellar masses and ages. Results: We focus on giant stars, with observed magnitudes K = 12.5-16, and on stars with observed magnitudes K ≈ 18, which may have similar mean ages and masses than the former. The giants display a core-like surface density profile within a projected radius R ≤ 0.3 pc of the central black hole, in agreement with previous studies, but their 3D density distribution is not inconsistent with a shallow cusp if we take into account the extent of the entire cluster, beyond the radius of influence of the central black hole. The surface density of the fainter stars can be described well by a single power-law at R cluster structure. Conclusions: We conclude that the observed density of the faintest stars detectable with reasonable completeness at the Galactic centre, is consistent with the existence of a stellar cusp around the Milky Way's central black hole, Sagittarius A*. This cusp is well

Chandra Sees Wealth Of Black Holes In Star-Forming Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

2001-06-01

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found new populations of suspected mid-mass black holes in several starburst galaxies, where stars form and explode at an unusually high rate. Although a few of these objects had been found previously, this is the first time they have been detected in such large numbers and could help explain their relationship to star formation and the production of even more massive black holes. At the 198th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, California, three independent teams of scientists reported finding dozens of X-ray sources in galaxies aglow with star formation. These X-ray objects appear point-like and are ten to a thousand times more luminous in X-rays than similar sources found in our Milky Way and the M81 galaxy. "Chandra gives us the ability to study the populations of individual bright X-ray sources in nearby galaxies in extraordinary detail," said Andreas Zezas, lead author from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics team that observed The Antennae, a pair of colliding galaxies, and M82, a well-known starburst galaxy. "This allows us to build on earlier detections of these objects and better understand their relationship to starburst galaxies." Antennae-True Color Image True Color Image of Antennae Credit: NASA/SAO/G.Fabbiano et al. Press Image and Caption Kimberly Weaver, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, lead scientist of the team that studied the starburst galaxy NGC 253, discussed the importance of the unusual concentration of these very luminous X-ray sources near the center of that galaxy. Four sources, which are tens to thousands of times more massive than the Sun, are located within 3,000 light years of the galaxy core. "This may imply that these black holes are gravitating toward the center of the galaxy where they could coalesce to form a single supermassive black hole," Weaver suggested. "It could be that this starburst galaxy is transforming itself into a quasar

Axisymmetric general relativistic hydrodynamics: Long-term evolution of neutron stars and stellar collapse to neutron stars and black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibata, Masaru

2003-01-01

We report a new implementation for axisymmetric simulation in full general relativity. In this implementation, the Einstein equations are solved using the Nakamura-Shibata formulation with the so-called cartoon method to impose an axisymmetric boundary condition, and the general relativistic hydrodynamic equations are solved using a high-resolution shock-capturing scheme based on an approximate Riemann solver. As tests, we performed the following simulations: (i) long-term evolution of nonrotating and rapidly rotating neutron stars, (ii) long-term evolution of neutron stars of a high-amplitude damping oscillation accompanied with shock formation, (iii) collapse of unstable neutron stars to black holes, and (iv) stellar collapses to neutron stars. Tests (i)-(iii) were carried out with the Γ-law equation of state, and test (iv) with a more realistic parametric equation of state for high-density matter. We found that this new implementation works very well: It is possible to perform the simulations for stable neutron stars for more than 10 dynamical time scales, to capture strong shocks formed at stellar core collapses, and to accurately compute the mass of black holes formed after the collapse and subsequent accretion. In conclusion, this implementation is robust enough to apply to astrophysical problems such as stellar core collapse of massive stars to a neutron star, and black hole, phase transition of a neutron star to a high-density star, and accretion-induced collapse of a neutron star to a black hole. The result for the first simulation of stellar core collapse to a neutron star started from a realistic initial condition is also presented

The shortest-known-period star orbiting our Galaxy's supermassive black hole.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, L; Ghez, A M; Schödel, R; Yelda, S; Boehle, A; Lu, J R; Do, T; Morris, M R; Becklin, E E; Matthews, K

2012-10-05

Stars with short orbital periods at the center of our Galaxy offer a powerful probe of a supermassive black hole. Over the past 17 years, the W. M. Keck Observatory has been used to image the galactic center at the highest angular resolution possible today. By adding to this data set and advancing methodologies, we have detected S0-102, a star orbiting our Galaxy's supermassive black hole with a period of just 11.5 years. S0-102 doubles the number of known stars with full phase coverage and periods of less than 20 years. It thereby provides the opportunity, with future measurements, to resolve degeneracies in the parameters describing the central gravitational potential and to test Einstein's theory of general relativity in an unexplored regime.

Gamma ray bursts of black hole universe

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, T. X.

2015-07-01

Slightly modifying the standard big bang theory, Zhang recently developed a new cosmological model called black hole universe, which has only a single postulate but is consistent with Mach's principle, governed by Einstein's general theory of relativity, and able to explain existing observations of the universe. In the previous studies, we have explained the origin, structure, evolution, expansion, cosmic microwave background radiation, quasar, and acceleration of 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 study investigates gamma ray bursts of black hole universe and provides an alternative explanation for the energy and spectrum measurements of gamma ray bursts according to the black hole universe model. The results indicate that gamma ray bursts can be understood as emissions of dynamic star-like black holes. A black hole, when it accretes its star or merges with another black hole, becomes dynamic. A dynamic black hole has a broken event horizon and thus cannot hold the inside hot (or high-frequency) blackbody radiation, which flows or leaks out and produces a GRB. A star when it collapses into its core black hole produces a long GRB and releases the gravitational potential energy of the star as gamma rays. A black hole that merges with another black hole produces a short GRB and releases a part of their blackbody radiation as gamma rays. The amount of energy obtained from the emissions of dynamic star-like black holes are consistent with the measurements of energy from GRBs. The GRB energy spectra derived from this new emission mechanism are also consistent with the measurements.

Spontaneous Scalarization of Black Holes and Compact Stars from a Gauss-Bonnet Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Hector O; Sakstein, Jeremy; Gualtieri, Leonardo; Sotiriou, Thomas P; Berti, Emanuele

2018-03-30

We identify a class of scalar-tensor theories with coupling between the scalar and the Gauss-Bonnet invariant that exhibit spontaneous scalarization for both black holes and compact stars. In particular, these theories formally admit all of the stationary solutions of general relativity, but these are not dynamically preferred if certain conditions are satisfied. Remarkably, black holes exhibit scalarization if their mass lies within one of many narrow bands. We find evidence that scalarization can occur in neutron stars as well.

From the sun to the Galactic Center: dust, stars and black hole(s)

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Fritz, Tobias

2013-07-01

The centers of galaxies are their own ultimate gravitational sinks. Massive black holes and star clusters as well as gas are especially likely to fall into the centers of galaxies by dynamical friction or dissipation. Many galactic centers harbor supermassive black holes (SMBH) and dense nuclear (star) clusters which possibly arrived there by these processes. Nuclear clusters can be formed in situ from gas, or from smaller star clusters which fall to the center. Since the Milky Way harbors both an SMBH and a nuclear cluster, both can be studied best in the Galactic Center (GC), which is the closest galactic nucleus to us. In Chapter 1, I introduce the different components of the Milky Way, and put these into the context of the GC. I then give an overview of relevant properties (e.g. star content and distribution) of the GC. Afterwards, I report the results of four different studies about the GC. In Chapter 2, I analyze the limitations of astrometry, one of the most useful methods for the study of the GC. Thanks to the high density of stars and its relatively small distance from us it is possible to measure the motions of thousands of stars in the GC with images, separated by few years only. I find two main limitations to this method: (1) for bright stars the not perfectly correctable distortion of the camera limits the accuracy, and (2) for the majority of the fainter stars, the main limitation is crowding from the other stars in the GC. The position uncertainty of faint stars is mainly caused by the seeing halos of bright stars. In the very center faint unresolvable stars are also important for the position uncertainty. In Chapter 3, I evaluate the evidence for an intermediate mass black hole in the small candidate cluster IRS13E within the GC. Intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) have a mass between the two types of confirmed black hole: the stellar remnants and the supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. One possibility for! their formation is the

Seeding black holes in cosmological simulations

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Taylor, P.; Kobayashi, C.

2014-08-01

We present a new model for the formation of black holes in cosmological simulations, motivated by the first star formation. Black holes form from high density peaks of primordial gas, and grow via both gas accretion and mergers. Massive black holes heat the surrounding material, suppressing star formation at the centres of galaxies, and driving galactic winds. We perform an investigation into the physical effects of the model parameters, and obtain a `best' set of these parameters by comparing the outcome of simulations to observations. With this best set, we successfully reproduce the cosmic star formation rate history, black hole mass-velocity dispersion relation, and the size-velocity dispersion relation of galaxies. The black hole seed mass is ˜103 M⊙, which is orders of magnitude smaller than that which has been used in previous cosmological simulations with active galactic nuclei, but suggests that the origin of the seed black holes is the death of Population III stars.

Tidal disruption of stars by supermassive black holes: The X-ray view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Komossa S.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The tidal disruption of stars by supermassive black holes produces luminous soft X-ray accretion flares in otherwise inactive galaxies. First events have been discovered in X-rays with the ROSAT observatory, and have more recently been detected with XMM-Newton, Chandra and Swift, and at other wavelengths. In X-rays, they typically appear as very soft, exceptionally luminous outbursts of radiation, which decline consistent with L ∝ t−5/3 on the timescale of months to years. They reach total amplitudes of decline up to factors 1000–6000 more than a decade after their initial high-states, and in low-state, their host galaxies are essentially X-ray inactive, optically inactive, and radio inactive. X-ray luminous tidal disruption events (TDEs represent a powerful new probe of accretion physics near the event horizon, and of relativistic effects. TDEs offer a new way of estimating black hole spin, and they are signposts of supermassive binary black holes and recoiling black holes. Once discovered in the thousands in upcoming sky surveys, their rates will probe stellar dynamics in distant galaxies, and they will uncover the – so far elusive – population of intermediate mass black holes in the universe, if they do exist. Further, the reprocessing of the flare into IR, optical and UV emission lines provides us with multiple new diagnostics of the properties of any gaseous material in the vicinity of the black hole (including the disrupted star itself and in the host galaxy. First candidate events of this kind have been reported recently.

Collisions Around a Black Hole Mean Mealtime

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-08-01

When a normally dormant supermassive black hole burps out a brief flare, its assumed that a star was torn apart and fell into the black hole. But a new study suggests that some of these flares might have a slightly different cause.Not a Disruption?Artists impression of a tidal disruption event, in which a star has been pulled apart and its gas feeds the supermassive black hole. [NASA/JPL-Caltech]When a star swings a little too close by a supermassive black hole, the black holes gravity can pull the star apart, completely disrupting it. The resulting gas can then accrete onto the black hole, feeding it and causing it to flare. The predicted frequency of these tidal disruption events and their expected light curves dont perfectly match all our observations of flaring black holes, however.This discrepancy has led two scientists from the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Brian Metzger and Nicholas Stone, to wonder if we can explain flares from supermassive black holes in another way. Could a differentevent masquerade as a tidal disruption?Evolution of a stars semimajor axis (top panel) and radius (bottom panel) as a function of time since Roche-lobe overflow began onto a million-solar-mass black hole. Curves show stars of different masses. [Metzger Stone 2017]Inspirals and OutspiralsIn the dense nuclear star cluster surrounding a supermassive black hole, various interactions can send stars on new paths that take them close to the black hole. In many of these interactions, the stars will end up on plunging orbits, often resulting in tidal disruption. But sometimes stars can approach the black hole on tightly bound orbits with lower eccentricities.A main-sequence star on such a path, in what is known as an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI), slowly approaches the black hole over a period of millions of years, eventually overflowing its Roche lobe and losing mass. Theradius of the star inflates, driving more mass loss and halting the stars inward progress. The star then

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, Exploding Stars, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, David J.

2010-01-01

Since August, 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been scanning the sky, producing a full-sky image every three hours. These cosmic gamma-rays come from extreme astrophysical phenomena, many related to exploding stars (supernovae) or what these explosions leave behind: supernova remnants, neutron stars, and black holes. This talk uses sample Fermi results, plus simple demonstrations, to illustrate the exotic properties of these endpoints of stellar evolution.

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.)

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

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.

Compact Objects in Astrophysics White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes

CERN Document Server

Camenzind, Max

2007-01-01

Compact objects are an important class of astronomical objects in current research. Supermassive black holes play an important role in the understanding of the formation of galaxies in the early Universe. Old white dwarfs are nowadays used to calibrate the age of the Universe. Mergers of neutron stars and black holes are the sources of intense gravitational waves which will be measured in the next ten years by gravitational wave detectors. Camenzind's Compact Objects in Astrophysics gives a comprehensive introduction and up-to-date overview about the physical processes behind these objects, covering the field from the beginning to most recent results, including all relevant observations. After a presentation of the taxonomy of compact objects, the basic principles of general relativity are given. The author then discusses in detail the physics and observations of white dwarfs and neutron stars (including the most recent equations of state for neutron star matter), the gravitational field of rapidly rotating c...

Suppressing star formation in quiescent galaxies with supermassive black hole winds.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Edmond; Bundy, Kevin; Cappellari, Michele; Peirani, Sébastien; Rujopakarn, Wiphu; Westfall, Kyle; Yan, Renbin; Bershady, Matthew; Greene, Jenny E; Heckman, Timothy M; Drory, Niv; Law, David R; Masters, Karen L; Thomas, Daniel; Wake, David A; Weijmans, Anne-Marie; Rubin, Kate; Belfiore, Francesco; Vulcani, Benedetta; Chen, Yan-mei; Zhang, Kai; Gelfand, Joseph D; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Roman-Lopes, A; Schneider, Donald P

2016-05-26

Quiescent galaxies with little or no ongoing star formation dominate the population of galaxies with masses above 2 × 10(10) times that of the Sun; the number of quiescent galaxies has increased by a factor of about 25 over the past ten billion years (refs 1-4). Once star formation has been shut down, perhaps during the quasar phase of rapid accretion onto a supermassive black hole, an unknown mechanism must remove or heat the gas that is subsequently accreted from either stellar mass loss or mergers and that would otherwise cool to form stars. Energy output from a black hole accreting at a low rate has been proposed, but observational evidence for this in the form of expanding hot gas shells is indirect and limited to radio galaxies at the centres of clusters, which are too rare to explain the vast majority of the quiescent population. Here we report bisymmetric emission features co-aligned with strong ionized-gas velocity gradients from which we infer the presence of centrally driven winds in typical quiescent galaxies that host low-luminosity active nuclei. These galaxies are surprisingly common, accounting for as much as ten per cent of the quiescent population with masses around 2 × 10(10) times that of the Sun. In a prototypical example, we calculate that the energy input from the galaxy's low-level active supermassive black hole is capable of driving the observed wind, which contains sufficient mechanical energy to heat ambient, cooler gas (also detected) and thereby suppress star formation.

Slowly balding black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; McKinney, Jonathan C.

2011-01-01

The 'no-hair' theorem, a key result in general relativity, states that an isolated black hole is defined by only three parameters: mass, angular momentum, and electric charge; this asymptotic state is reached on a light-crossing time scale. We find that the no-hair theorem is not formally applicable for black holes formed from the collapse of a rotating neutron star. Rotating neutron stars can self-produce particles via vacuum breakdown forming a highly conducting plasma magnetosphere such that magnetic field lines are effectively ''frozen in'' the star both before and during collapse. In the limit of no resistivity, this introduces a topological constraint which prohibits the magnetic field from sliding off the newly-formed event horizon. As a result, during collapse of a neutron star into a black hole, the latter conserves the number of magnetic flux tubes N B =eΦ ∞ /(πc(ℎ/2π)), where Φ ∞ ≅2π 2 B NS R NS 3 /(P NS c) is the initial magnetic flux through the hemispheres of the progenitor and out to infinity. We test this theoretical result via 3-dimensional general relativistic plasma simulations of rotating black holes that start with a neutron star dipole magnetic field with no currents initially present outside the event horizon. The black hole's magnetosphere subsequently relaxes to the split-monopole magnetic field geometry with self-generated currents outside the event horizon. The dissipation of the resulting equatorial current sheet leads to a slow loss of the anchored flux tubes, a process that balds the black hole on long resistive time scales rather than the short light-crossing time scales expected from the vacuum no-hair theorem.

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)

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.

THE TIDAL DISRUPTION OF GIANT STARS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FLARING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE POPULATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacLeod, Morgan; Guillochon, James; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico

2012-01-01

Sun-like stars are thought to be regularly disrupted by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) within galactic nuclei. Yet, as stars evolve off the main sequence their vulnerability to tidal disruption increases drastically as they develop a bifurcated structure consisting of a dense core and a tenuous envelope. Here we present the first hydrodynamic simulations of the tidal disruption of giant stars and show that the core has a substantial influence on the star's ability to survive the encounter. Stars with more massive cores retain large fractions of their envelope mass, even in deep encounters. Accretion flares resulting from the disruption of giant stars should last for tens to hundreds of years. Their characteristic signature in transient searches would not be the t –5/3 decay typically associated with tidal disruption events, but a correlated rise over many orders of magnitude in brightness on timescales of months to years. We calculate the relative disruption rates of stars of varying evolutionary stages in typical galactic centers, then use our results to produce Monte Carlo realizations of the expected flaring event populations. We find that the demographics of tidal disruption flares are strongly dependent on both stellar and black hole mass, especially near the limiting SMBH mass scale of ∼10 8 M ☉ . At this black hole mass, we predict a sharp transition in the SMBH flaring diet beyond which all observable disruptions arise from evolved stars, accompanied by a dramatic cutoff in the overall tidal disruption flaring rate. Black holes less massive than this limiting mass scale will show observable flares from both main-sequence and evolved stars, with giants contributing up to 10% of the event rate. The relative fractions of stars disrupted at different evolutionary states can constrain the properties and distributions of stars in galactic nuclei other than our own.

Cosmic microwave background radiation of black hole universe

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, T. X.

2010-11-01

Modifying slightly the big bang theory, the author has recently developed a new cosmological model called black hole universe. This new cosmological model is consistent with the Mach principle, Einsteinian general theory of relativity, and observations of the universe. The origin, structure, evolution, and expansion of the black hole universe have been presented in the recent sequence of American Astronomical Society (AAS) meetings and published recently in a scientific journal: Progress in Physics. This paper explains the observed 2.725 K 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 universe with hundred billion-trillions of solar masses. According to the black hole universe model, the observed cosmic microwave background radiation can be explained as the black body radiation of the black hole universe, which can be considered as an ideal black body. When a hot and dense star-like black hole accretes its ambient materials and merges with other black holes, it expands and cools down. A governing equation that expresses the possible thermal history of the black hole universe is derived from the Planck law of black body radiation and radiation energy conservation. The result obtained by solving the governing equation indicates that the radiation temperature of the present universe can be ˜2.725 K if the universe originated from a hot star-like black hole, and is therefore consistent with the observation of the cosmic microwave background radiation. A smaller or younger black hole universe usually cools down faster. The characteristics of the original star-like or supermassive black hole are not critical to the physical properties of the black hole universe at present, because matter and radiation are mainly from the outside space, i.e., the mother universe.

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.

Tidal capture of a primordial black hole by a neutron star: implications for constraints on dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pani, Paolo [CENTRA, Departamento de Física, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, Lisboa, 1049 Portugal (Portugal); Loeb, Abraham, E-mail: paolo.pani@tecnico.ulisboa.pt, E-mail: aloeb@cfa.harvard.edu [Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138 (United States)

2014-06-01

In a close encounter with a neutron star, a primordial black hole can get gravitationally captured by depositing a considerable amount of energy into nonradial stellar modes of very high angular number l. If the neutron-star equation of state is sufficiently stiff, we show that the total energy loss in the point-particle approximation is formally divergent. Various mechanisms — including viscosity, finite-size effects and the elasticity of the crust — can damp high-l modes and regularize the total energy loss. Within a short time, the black hole is trapped inside the star and disrupts it by rapid accretion. Estimating these effects, we predict that the existence of old neutron stars in regions where the dark-matter density ρ{sub DM}∼>10{sup 2}(σ/km s{sup −1}) GeV cm{sup −3} (where σ is the dark-matter velocity dispersion) limits the abundance of primordial black holes in the mass range 10{sup 17} g∼black holes cannot be the dominant dark matter constituent.

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

Boson stars driven to the brink of black hole formation

OpenAIRE

Hawley, Scott H.; Choptuik, Matthew W.

2000-01-01

We present a study of black hole threshold phenomena for a self-gravitating, massive complex scalar field in spherical symmetry. We construct Type I critical solutions dynamically by tuning a one-parameter family of initial data composed of a boson star and a massless real scalar field. The real field is used to perturb the boson star via a gravitational interaction which results in a {\\em significant} transfer of energy. The resulting critical solutions, which show great similarity with unst...

"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

3-D collapse of rotating stars to Kerr black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baiotti, L; Hawke, I; Montero, P J; Loeffler, F L; Rezzolla, L; Stergioulas, N; Font, J A; Seidel, E

2005-01-01

We study gravitational collapse of uniformly rotating neutron stars to Kerr black holes, using a new three-dimensional, fully general relativistic hydrodynamics code, which uses high-resolution shock-capturing techniques and a conformal traceless formulation of the Einstein equations. We investigate the gravitational collapse by carefully studying not only the dynamics of the matter, but also that of the trapped surfaces, i.e. of both the apparent and event horizons formed during the collapse. The use of these surfaces, together with the dynamical horizon framework, allows for a precise measurement of the black-hole mass and spin. The ability to successfully perform these simulations for sufficiently long times relies on excising a region of the computational domain which includes the singularity and is within the apparent horizon. The dynamics of the collapsing matter is strongly influenced by the initial amount of angular momentum in the progenitor star and, for initial models with sufficiently high angular velocities, the collapse can lead to the formation of an unstable disc in differential rotation

MASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN STELLAR SYSTEMS: 'QUIESCENT' ACCRETION AND LUMINOSITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volonteri, M.; Campbell, D.; Mateo, M.; Dotti, M.

2011-01-01

Only a small fraction of local galaxies harbor an accreting black hole, classified as an active galactic nucleus. However, many stellar systems are plausibly expected to host black holes, from globular clusters to nuclear star clusters, to massive galaxies. The mere presence of stars in the vicinity of a black hole provides a source of fuel via mass loss of evolved stars. In this paper, we assess the expected luminosities of black holes embedded in stellar systems of different sizes and properties, spanning a large range of masses. We model the distribution of stars and derive the amount of gas available to a central black hole through a geometrical model. We estimate the luminosity of the black holes under simple, but physically grounded, assumptions on the accretion flow. Finally, we discuss the detectability of 'quiescent' black holes in the local universe.

Quasar Formation and Energy Emission in Black Hole Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang T. X.

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Formation and energy emission of quasars are investigated in accord with the black hole universe, a new cosmological model recently developed by Zhang. According to this new cosmological model, the universe originated from a star-like black hole and grew through a supermassive black hole to the present universe by accreting ambient matter and merging with other black holes. The origin, structure, evolution, expansion, and cosmic microwave background radiation of the black hole universe have been fully ex- plained in Paper I and II. This study as Paper III explains how a quasar forms, ignites and releases energy as an amount of that emitted by dozens of galaxies. A main sequence star, after its fuel supply runs out, will, in terms of its mass, form a dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. A normal galaxy, after its most stars have run out of their fuels and formed dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, will eventually shrink its size and collapse towards the center by gravity to form a supermassive black hole with billions of solar masses. This collapse leads to that extremely hot stellar black holes merge each other and further into the massive black hole at the center and meantime release a huge amount of radiation energy that can be as great as that of a quasar. Therefore, when the stellar black holes of a galaxy collapse and merge into a supermassive black hole, the galaxy is activated and a quasar is born. In the black hole universe, the observed dis- tant quasars powered by supermassive black holes can be understood as donuts from the mother universe. They were actually formed in the mother universe and then swallowed into our universe. The nearby galaxies are still very young and thus quiet at the present time. They will be activated and further evolve into quasars after billions of years. At that time, they will enter the universe formed by the currently observed distant quasars as similar to the distant quasars entered our universe

Backreaction of Hawking radiation on a gravitationally collapsing star I: Black holes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mersini-Houghton, Laura

2014-01-01

Particle creation leading to Hawking radiation is produced by the changing gravitational field of the collapsing star. The two main initial conditions in the far past placed on the quantum field from which particles arise, are the Hartle–Hawking vacuum and the Unruh vacuum. The former leads to a time-symmetric thermal bath of radiation, while the latter to a flux of radiation coming out of the collapsing star. The energy of Hawking radiation in the interior of the collapsing star is negative and equal in magnitude to its value at future infinity. This work investigates the backreaction of Hawking radiation on the interior of a gravitationally collapsing star, in a Hartle–Hawking initial vacuum. It shows that due to the negative energy Hawking radiation in the interior, the collapse of the star stops at a finite radius, before the singularity and the event horizon of a black hole have a chance to form. That is, the star bounces instead of collapsing to a black hole. A trapped surface near the last stage of the star's collapse to its minimum size may still exist temporarily. Its formation depends on the details of collapse. Results for the case of Hawking flux of radiation with the Unruh initial state, will be given in a companion paper II

Relativistic hydrodynamic evolutions with black hole excision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duez, Matthew D.; Shapiro, Stuart L.; Yo, H.-J.

2004-01-01

We present a numerical code designed to study astrophysical phenomena involving dynamical spacetimes containing black holes in the presence of relativistic hydrodynamic matter. We present evolutions of the collapse of a fluid star from the onset of collapse to the settling of the resulting black hole to a final stationary state. In order to evolve stably after the black hole forms, we excise a region inside the hole before a singularity is encountered. This excision region is introduced after the appearance of an apparent horizon, but while a significant amount of matter remains outside the hole. We test our code by evolving accurately a vacuum Schwarzschild black hole, a relativistic Bondi accretion flow onto a black hole, Oppenheimer-Snyder dust collapse, and the collapse of nonrotating and rotating stars. These systems are tracked reliably for hundreds of M following excision, where M is the mass of the black hole. We perform these tests both in axisymmetry and in full 3+1 dimensions. We then apply our code to study the effect of the stellar spin parameter J/M 2 on the final outcome of gravitational collapse of rapidly rotating n=1 polytropes. We find that a black hole forms only if J/M 2 2 >1, the collapsing star forms a torus which fragments into nonaxisymmetric clumps, capable of generating appreciable 'splash' gravitational radiation

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

Black holes - a way out of the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartvigsen, Y.

1975-01-01

Following a general discussion of the phenomenon of gravitational collapse and the formation of dwarf stars, neutron stars and black holes, the characteristics of black holes are discussed in more detail. The nature of a black hole in the space-time continuum of the general relativity theory is described and the 'Einstein-Rosen bridge', or 'snake-pit', is presented. The concept that matter drawn into a black hole in our universe may be emitted from a 'white hole' on the 'other side' is also presented. Evidence for the existence of black holes in the universe is discussed and the X-ray source in Cygnus X-1 is cited as a possible example. Finally the interesting possibility is mentioned that our universe itself may be a black hole, having its origin in a white hole, which mathematically could represent the 'big bang' theory. (JIW)

Black holes - a way out of the universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartvigsen, Y [Oslo Univ. (Norway). Institutt for Teoretisk Fysikk

1975-01-01

Following a general discussion of the phenomenon of gravitational collapse and the formation of dwarf stars, neutron stars and black holes, the characteristics of black holes are discussed in more detail. The nature of a black hole in the space-time continuum of the general relativity theory is described and the 'Einstein-Rosen bridge', or 'snake-pit', is presented. The concept that matter drawn into a black hole in our universe may be emitted from a 'white hole' on the 'other side' is also presented. Evidence for the existence of black holes in the universe is discussed and the X-ray source in Cygnus X-1 is cited as a possible example. Finally the interesting possibility is mentioned that our universe itself may be a black hole, having its origin in a white hole, which mathematically could represent the 'big bang' theory.

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.

The cosmic merger rate of neutron stars and black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Mapelli, Michela; Giacobbo, Nicola

2018-06-01

Six gravitational wave detections have been reported so far, providing crucial insights on the merger rate of double compact objects. We investigate the cosmic merger rate of double neutron stars (DNSs), neutron star-black hole binaries (NSBHs) and black hole binaries (BHBs) by means of population-synthesis simulations coupled with the Illustris cosmological simulation. We have performed six different simulations, considering different assumptions for the efficiency of common envelope (CE) ejection and exploring two distributions for the supernova (SN) kicks. The current BHB merger rate derived from our simulations spans from ˜150 to ˜240 Gpc-3 yr-1 and is only mildly dependent on CE efficiency. In contrast, the current merger rates of DNSs (ranging from ˜20 to ˜600 Gpc-3 yr-1) and NSBHs (ranging from ˜10 to ˜100 Gpc-3 yr-1) strongly depend on the assumptions on CE and natal kicks. The merger rate of DNSs is consistent with the one inferred from the detection of GW170817 only if a high efficiency of CE ejection and low SN kicks (drawn from a Maxwellian distribution with one dimensional root mean square σ = 15 km s-1) are assumed.

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.

A luminous X-ray outburst from an intermediate-mass black hole in an off-centre star cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Dacheng; Strader, Jay; Carrasco, Eleazar R.; Page, Dany; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Homan, Jeroen; Irwin, Jimmy A.; Remillard, Ronald A.; Godet, Olivier; Webb, Natalie A.; Baumgardt, Holger; Wijnands, Rudy; Barret, Didier; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Brodie, Jean P.; Gwyn, Stephen D. J.

2018-06-01

A unique signature for the presence of massive black holes in very dense stellar regions is occasional giant-amplitude outbursts of multi-wavelength radiation from tidal disruption and subsequent accretion of stars that make a close approach to the black holes1. Previous strong tidal disruption event (TDE) candidates were all associated with the centres of largely isolated galaxies2-6. Here, we report the discovery of a luminous X-ray outburst from a massive star cluster at a projected distance of 12.5 kpc from the centre of a large lenticular galaxy. The luminosity peaked at 1043 erg s-1 and decayed systematically over 10 years, approximately following a trend that supports the identification of the event as a TDE. The X-ray spectra were all very soft, with emission confined to be ≲3.0 keV, and could be described with a standard thermal disk. The disk cooled significantly as the luminosity decreased—a key thermal-state signature often observed in accreting stellar-mass black holes. This thermal-state signature, coupled with very high luminosities, ultrasoft X-ray spectra and the characteristic power-law evolution of the light curve, provides strong evidence that the source contains an intermediate-mass black hole with a mass tens of thousand times that of the solar mass. This event demonstrates that one of the most effective means of detecting intermediate-mass black holes is through X-ray flares from TDEs in star clusters.

ELECTROMAGNETIC EXTRACTION OF ENERGY FROM BLACK-HOLE–NEUTRON-STAR BINARIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McWilliams, Sean T.; Levin, Janna

2011-01-01

The coalescence of black-hole-neutron-star binaries is expected to be a principal source of gravitational waves for the next generation of detectors, Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. For black hole masses not much larger than the neutron star mass, the tidal disruption of the neutron star by the black hole provides one avenue for generating an electromagnetic counterpart. However, in this work, we demonstrate that, for all black-hole-neutron-star binaries observable by Advanced LIGO/Virgo, the interaction of the black hole with the magnetic field of the neutron star will generate copious luminosity, comparable to supernovae and active galactic nuclei. This novel effect may have already been observed as a new class of very short gamma-ray bursts by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Telescope. These events may be observable to cosmological distances, so that any black-hole-neutron-star coalescence detectable with gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO/Virgo could also be detectable electromagnetically.

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

Sizes of Black Holes Throughout the Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-05-01

What is the distribution of sizes of black holes in our universe? Can black holes of any mass exist, or are there gaps in their possible sizes? The shape of this black-hole mass function has been debated for decades and the dawn of gravitational-wave astronomy has only spurred further questions.Mind the GapsThe starting point for the black-hole mass function lies in the initial mass function (IMF) for stellar black holes the beginning size distribution of black holes after they are born from stars. Instead of allowing for the formation of stellar black holes of any mass, theoretical models propose two gaps in the black-hole IMF:An upper mass gap at 50130 solar masses, due to the fact that stellar progenitors of black holes in this mass range are destroyed by pair-instability supernovae.A lower mass gap below 5 solar masses, which is argued to arise naturally from the mechanics of supernova explosions.Missing black-hole (BH) formation channels due to the existence of the lower gap (LG) and the upper gap (UG) in the initial mass function. a) The number of BHs at all scales are lowered because no BH can merge with BHs in the LG to form a larger BH. b) The missing channel responsible for the break at 10 solar masses, resulting from the LG. c) The missing channel responsible for the break at 60 solar masses, due to the interaction between the LG and the UG. [Christian et al. 2018]We can estimate the IMF for black holes by scaling a typical IMF for stars and then adding in these theorized gaps. But is this initial distribution of black-hole masses the same as the distribution that we observe in the universe today?The Influence of MergersBased on recent events, the answer appears to be no! Since the first detections of gravitational waves in September 2015, we now know that black holes can merge to form bigger black holes. An initial distribution of black-hole masses must therefore evolve over time, as mergers cause the depletion of low-mass black holes and an increase in

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

The disk wind in the rapidly spinning stellar-mass black hole 4U 1630-472 observed with NuSTAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

King, Ashley L.; Walton, Dominic J.; Miller, Jon M.

2014-01-01

We present an analysis of a short NuSTAR observation of the stellar-mass black hole and low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1630-472. Reflection from the inner accretion disk is clearly detected for the first time in this source, owing to the sensitivity of NuSTAR. With fits to the reflection spectrum, we...... find evidence for a rapidly spinning black hole, (1σ statistical errors). However, archival data show that the source has relatively low radio luminosity. Recently claimed relationships between jet power and black hole spin would predict either a lower spin or a higher peak radio luminosity. We also...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Enhancing the rate of tidal disruptions of stars by a self-gravitating disc around a massive central black hole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šubr L.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available We further study the idea that a self-gravitating accretion disc around a supermassive black hole can increase the rate of gradual orbital decay of stellar trajectories (and hence tidal disruption events by setting some stars on eccentric trajectories. Cooperation between the gravitational field of the disc and the dissipative environment can provide a mechanism explaining the origin of stars that become bound tightly to the central black hole. We examine this process as a function of the black hole mass and conclude that it is most efficient for intermediate central masses of the order of ∼ 104Mʘ. Members of the cluster experience the stage of orbital decay via collisions with an accretion disc and by other dissipative processes, such as tidal effects, dynamical friction and the emission of gravitational waves. Our attention is concentrated on the region of gravitational dominance of the central body. Mutual interaction between stars and the surrounding environment establishes a non-spherical shape and anisotropy of the nuclear cluster. In some cases, the stellar sub-system acquires ring-type geometry. Stars of the nuclear cluster undergo a tidal disruption event as they plunge below the tidal radius of the supermassive black hole.

UPPER LIMITS ON THE RATES OF BINARY NEUTRON STAR AND NEUTRON STAR-BLACK HOLE MERGERS FROM ADVANCED LIGO'S FIRST OBSERVING RUN

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, E.; 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, E.; 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.; 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.; Casanueva Diaz, J.; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Cerboni Baiardi, L.; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Chen, Y; 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, E.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, E.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -E; 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; 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.; Garunfi, E.; 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.; Gonzalez Castro, J. M.; 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.; 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.; 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, E.; 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., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kusunchoo, 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.; Lazzar, 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.; Luck, 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, E.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, E.; 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'Deill, 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.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, E.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passahieti, 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.; Prix, R.; Prodi, G. A.; Proxhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Purrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Qiu, S.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, E. 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, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Rudiger, 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.; Schonbecx, 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.; Shaltevi, 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.; 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.; Toxmakov, 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, M.G.; van den Brand, J. E. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heuningen, 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, E.; 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.; Yablong, 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

We report here the non-detection of gravitational waves from the merger of binary-neutron star systems and neutron star-black hole systems during the first observing run of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). In particular, we searched for gravitational-wave

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

Black Hole Hunters Set New Distance Record

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have detected, in another galaxy, a stellar-mass black hole much farther away than any other previously known. With a mass above fifteen times that of the Sun, this is also the second most massive stellar-mass black hole ever found. It is entwined with a star that will soon become a black hole itself. The stellar-mass black holes [1] found in the Milky Way weigh up to ten times the mass of the Sun and are certainly not be taken lightly, but, outside our own galaxy, they may just be minor-league players, since astronomers have found another black hole with a mass over fifteen times the mass of the Sun. This is one of only three such objects found so far. The newly announced black hole lies in a spiral galaxy called NGC 300, six million light-years from Earth. "This is the most distant stellar-mass black hole ever weighed, and it's the first one we've seen outside our own galactic neighbourhood, the Local Group," says Paul Crowther, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the paper reporting the study. The black hole's curious partner is a Wolf-Rayet star, which also has a mass of about twenty times as much as the Sun. Wolf-Rayet stars are near the end of their lives and expel most of their outer layers into their surroundings before exploding as supernovae, with their cores imploding to form black holes. In 2007, an X-ray instrument aboard NASA's Swift observatory scrutinised the surroundings of the brightest X-ray source in NGC 300 discovered earlier with the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory. "We recorded periodic, extremely intense X-ray emission, a clue that a black hole might be lurking in the area," explains team member Stefania Carpano from ESA. Thanks to new observations performed with the FORS2 instrument mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have confirmed their earlier hunch. The new data show that the black hole and the Wolf-Rayet star dance

Compressibility of rotating black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolan, Brian P.

2011-01-01

Interpreting the cosmological constant as a pressure, whose thermodynamically conjugate variable is a volume, modifies the first law of black hole thermodynamics. Properties of the resulting thermodynamic volume are investigated: the compressibility and the speed of sound of the black hole are derived in the case of nonpositive cosmological constant. The adiabatic compressibility vanishes for a nonrotating black hole and is maximal in the extremal case--comparable with, but still less than, that of a cold neutron star. A speed of sound v s is associated with the adiabatic compressibility, which is equal to c for a nonrotating black hole and decreases as the angular momentum is increased. An extremal black hole has v s 2 =0.9 c 2 when the cosmological constant vanishes, and more generally v s is bounded below by c/√(2).

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

Mass accretion rate fluctuations in black hole X-ray binaries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rapisarda, S.

2017-01-01

This thesis is about the first systematic and quantitative application of propagating mass accretion rate fluctuations models to black hole X-ray binaries. Black hole X-ray binaries are systems consisting of a solar mass star orbiting around a stellar mass black hole. Eventually, the black hole

Black Hole Paradox Solved By NASA's Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

2006-06-01

Black holes are lighting up the Universe, and now astronomers may finally know how. New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show for the first time that powerful magnetic fields are the key to these brilliant and startling light shows. It is estimated that up to a quarter of the total radiation in the Universe emitted since the Big Bang comes from material falling towards supermassive black holes, including those powering quasars, the brightest known objects. For decades, scientists have struggled to understand how black holes, the darkest objects in the Universe, can be responsible for such prodigious amounts of radiation. Animation of a Black Hole Pulling Matter from Companion Star Animation of a Black Hole Pulling Matter from Companion Star New X-ray data from Chandra give the first clear explanation for what drives this process: magnetic fields. Chandra observed a black hole system in our galaxy, known as GRO J1655-40 (J1655, for short), where a black hole was pulling material from a companion star into a disk. "By intergalactic standards J1655 is in our backyard, so we can use it as a scale model to understand how all black holes work, including the monsters found in quasars," said Jon M. Miller of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, whose paper on these results appears in this week's issue of Nature. Gravity alone is not enough to cause gas in a disk around a black hole to lose energy and fall onto the black hole at the rates required by observations. The gas must lose some of its orbital angular momentum, either through friction or a wind, before it can spiral inward. Without such effects, matter could remain in orbit around a black hole for a very long time. Illustration of Magnetic Fields in GRO J1655-40 Illustration of Magnetic Fields in GRO J1655-40 Scientists have long thought that magnetic turbulence could generate friction in a gaseous disk and drive a wind from the disk that carries angular momentum outward allowing the gas to fall inward

No time for dead time: timing analysis of bright black hole binaries with NuSTAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bachetti, Matteo; Harrison, Fiona A.; Cook, Rick

2015-01-01

Timing of high-count-rate sources with the NuSTAR Small Explorer Mission requires specialized analysis techniques. NuSTAR was primarily designed for spectroscopic observations of sources with relatively low count rates rather than for timing analysis of bright objects. The instrumental dead time ...... techniques. We apply this technique to NuSTAR observations of the black hole binaries GX 339-4, Cyg X-1, and GRS 1915+105....

A New Cosmological Model: Black Hole Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang T. X.

2009-07-01

Full Text Available A new cosmological model called black hole universe is proposed. According to this model, the universe originated from a hot star-like black hole with several solar masses, and gradually grew up through a supermassive black hole with billion solar masses to the present state with hundred billion-trillion solar masses by accreting ambient mate- rials and merging with other black holes. The entire space is structured with infinite layers hierarchically. The innermost three layers are the universe that we are living, the outside called mother universe, and the inside star-like and supermassive black holes called child universes. The outermost layer is infinite in radius and limits to zero for both the mass density and absolute temperature. The relationships among all layers or universes can be connected by the universe family tree. Mathematically, the entire space can be represented as a set of all universes. A black hole universe is a subset of the en- tire space or a subspace. The child universes are null sets or empty spaces. All layers or universes are governed by the same physics - the Einstein general theory of relativity with the Robertson-walker metric of spacetime - and tend to expand outward physically. The evolution of the space structure is iterative. When one universe expands out, a new similar universe grows up from its inside. The entire life of a universe begins from the birth as a hot star-like or supermassive black hole, passes through the growth and cools down, and expands to the death with infinite large and zero mass density and absolute temperature. The black hole universe model is consistent with the Mach principle, the observations of the universe, and the Einstein general theory of relativity. Its various aspects can be understood with the well-developed physics without any difficulty. The dark energy is not required for the universe to accelerate its expansion. The inflation is not necessary because the black hole universe

Surprise: Dwarf Galaxy Harbors Supermassive Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

The surprising discovery of a supermassive black hole in a small nearby galaxy has given astronomers a tantalizing look at how black holes and galaxies may have grown in the early history of the Universe. Finding a black hole a million times more massive than the Sun in a star-forming dwarf galaxy is a strong indication that supermassive black holes formed before the buildup of galaxies, the astronomers said. The galaxy, called Henize 2-10, 30 million light-years from Earth, has been studied for years, and is forming stars very rapidly. Irregularly shaped and about 3,000 light-years across (compared to 100,000 for our own Milky Way), it resembles what scientists think were some of the first galaxies to form in the early Universe. "This galaxy gives us important clues about a very early phase of galaxy evolution that has not been observed before," said Amy Reines, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia. Supermassive black holes lie at the cores of all "full-sized" galaxies. In the nearby Universe, there is a direct relationship -- a constant ratio -- between the masses of the black holes and that of the central "bulges" of the galaxies, leading them to conclude that the black holes and bulges affected each others' growth. Two years ago, an international team of astronomers found that black holes in young galaxies in the early Universe were more massive than this ratio would indicate. This, they said, was strong evidence that black holes developed before their surrounding galaxies. "Now, we have found a dwarf galaxy with no bulge at all, yet it has a supermassive black hole. This greatly strengthens the case for the black holes developing first, before the galaxy's bulge is formed," Reines said. Reines, along with Gregory Sivakoff and Kelsey Johnson of the University of Virginia and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and Crystal Brogan of the NRAO, observed Henize 2-10 with the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope and

Black Hole Universe Model and Dark Energy

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tianxi

2011-01-01

Considering black hole as spacetime and slightly modifying the big bang theory, the author has recently developed a new cosmological model called black hole universe, which is consistent with Mach principle and Einsteinian general relativity and self consistently explains various observations of the universe without difficulties. According to this model, the universe originated from a hot star-like black hole and gradually grew through a supermassive black hole to the present universe by accreting ambient material and merging with other black holes. The entire space is infinitely and hierarchically layered and evolves iteratively. The innermost three layers are the universe that we lives, the outside space called mother universe, and the inside star-like and supermassive black holes called child universes. The outermost layer has an infinite radius and zero limits for both the mass density and absolute temperature. All layers or universes are governed by the same physics, the Einstein general relativity with the Robertson-Walker metric of spacetime, and tend to expand outward physically. When one universe expands out, a new similar universe grows up from its inside black holes. The origin, structure, evolution, expansion, and cosmic microwave background radiation of black hole universe have been presented in the recent sequence of American Astronomical Society (AAS) meetings and published in peer-review journals. This study will show how this new model explains the acceleration of the universe and why dark energy is not required. We will also compare the black hole universe model with the big bang cosmology.

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.

Dynamical ejecta from precessing neutron star-black hole mergers with a hot, nuclear-theory based equation of state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foucart, F; Kasen, D; Desai, D; Brege, W; Duez, M D; Hemberger, D A; Scheel, M A; Kidder, L E; Pfeiffer, H P

2017-01-01

Neutron star-black hole binaries are among the strongest sources of gravitational waves detectable by current observatories. They can also power bright electromagnetic signals (gamma-ray bursts, kilonovae), and may be a significant source of production of r-process nuclei. A misalignment of the black hole spin with respect to the orbital angular momentum leads to precession of that spin and of the orbital plane, and has a significant effect on the properties of the post-merger remnant and of the material ejected by the merger. We present a first set of simulations of precessing neutron star-black hole mergers using a hot, composition dependent, nuclear-theory based equation of state (DD2). We show that the mass of the remnant and of the dynamical ejecta are broadly consistent with the result of simulations using simpler equations of state, while differences arise when considering the dynamics of the merger and the velocity of the ejecta. We show that the latter can easily be understood from assumptions about the composition of low-density, cold material in the different equations of state, and propose an updated estimate for the ejecta velocity which takes those effects into account. We also present an updated mesh-refinement algorithm which allows us to improve the numerical resolution used to evolve neutron star-black hole mergers. (paper)

Continuous creation of matter across the black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manjunath, R

2006-01-01

The mass distribution in a galaxy that gets evolved around a black hole exhibits a certain degree of deterministic abstraction. The present work is based on the outcome of this abstraction. A black hole or a neutron star at the centre of a galaxy emits radiation when the edge of the galaxy gets disintegrated by getting absorbed in to another black hole or becomes a member of another galactic distribution. This is necessary for the existence of the black hole to counter for the surrounding structure with its own internal formation. The radiation is emitted as self similar pulses that exactly resemble the pattern of absorption of the rim of the galaxy. This concept is based on information geometry. An additional term that accounts for the feedback energy is appended to the energy momentum tensor. It has been shown that the mass around the black hole is distributed in bands that exhibit multiple resolutions. This translates on to self similarity in the emission pattern from the black hole. The recent emission of radiation from a neutron star is interpreted as one such phenomenon

Black Hole Event Horizons and Advection-Dominated Accretion

Science.gov (United States)

McClintock, Jeffrey; Mushotzky, Richard F. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The work supported in part by this grant is part of a larger program on the detection of black hole event horizons, which is also partially supported by NASA grant GO0-1105A. This work has been carried out primarily in collaboration with Dr. M. Garcia and Prof. R. Narayan at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and with D. Barret and J. Hameury at Centre d'Etude Spoliate des Rayonnements, France. Our purpose is to confirm the existence of black-hole event horizons by comparing accreting black holes to secreting neutron stars in quiescent X-ray novae. Such a comparison is feasible because black holes and neutron stars are both present in similar environments in X-ray novae. Our second purpose is to assess the nature of accretion flows onto black holes at very low mass transfer rates. Observations of some XMM targets are still pending, whereas most of the Chandra observations have been completed. We anticipate further publications on this work in the future.

Model predictions of the results of interferometric observations for stars under conditions of strong gravitational scattering by black holes and wormholes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shatskiy, A. A., E-mail: shatskiy@asc.rssi.ru; Kovalev, Yu. Yu.; Novikov, I. D. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Astro Space Center, Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation)

2015-05-15

The characteristic and distinctive features of the visibility amplitude of interferometric observations for compact objects like stars in the immediate vicinity of the central black hole in our Galaxy are considered. These features are associated with the specifics of strong gravitational scattering of point sources by black holes, wormholes, or black-white holes. The revealed features will help to determine the most important topological characteristics of the central object in our Galaxy: whether this object possesses the properties of only a black hole or also has characteristics unique to wormholes or black-white holes. These studies can be used to interpret the results of optical, infrared, and radio interferometric observations.

Model predictions of the results of interferometric observations for stars under conditions of strong gravitational scattering by black holes and wormholes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shatskiy, A. A.; Kovalev, Yu. Yu.; Novikov, I. D.

2015-01-01

The characteristic and distinctive features of the visibility amplitude of interferometric observations for compact objects like stars in the immediate vicinity of the central black hole in our Galaxy are considered. These features are associated with the specifics of strong gravitational scattering of point sources by black holes, wormholes, or black-white holes. The revealed features will help to determine the most important topological characteristics of the central object in our Galaxy: whether this object possesses the properties of only a black hole or also has characteristics unique to wormholes or black-white holes. These studies can be used to interpret the results of optical, infrared, and radio interferometric observations

White dwarfs - black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sexl, R.; Sexl, H.

1975-01-01

The physical arguments and problems of relativistic astrophysics are presented in a correct way, but without any higher mathematics. The book is addressed to teachers, experimental physicists, and others with a basic knowledge covering an introductory lecture in physics. The issues dealt with are: fundamentals of general relativity, classical tests of general relativity, curved space-time, stars and planets, pulsars, gravitational collapse and black holes, the search for black holes, gravitational waves, cosmology, cosmogony, and the early universe. (BJ/AK) [de

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?

Massive Black Hole Implicated in Stellar Destruction

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Magellan telescopes suggest that a dense stellar remnant has been ripped apart by a black hole a thousand times as massive as the Sun. If confirmed, this discovery would be a cosmic double play: it would be strong evidence for an intermediate mass black hole, which has been a hotly debated topic, and would mark the first time such a black hole has been caught tearing a star apart. This scenario is based on Chandra observations, which revealed an unusually luminous source of X-rays in a dense cluster of old stars, and optical observations that showed a peculiar mix of elements associated with the X-ray emission. Taken together, a case can be made that the X-ray emission is produced by debris from a disrupted white dwarf star that is heated as it falls towards a massive black hole. The optical emission comes from debris further out that is illuminated by these X-rays. The intensity of the X-ray emission places the source in the "ultraluminous X-ray source" or ULX category, meaning that it is more luminous than any known stellar X-ray source, but less luminous than the bright X-ray sources (active galactic nuclei) associated with supermassive black holes in the nuclei of galaxies. The nature of ULXs is a mystery, but one suggestion is that some ULXs are black holes with masses between about a hundred and several thousand times that of the Sun, a range intermediate between stellar-mass black holes and supermassive black holes located in the nuclei of galaxies. This ULX is in a globular cluster, a very old and crowded conglomeration of stars. Astronomers have suspected that globular clusters could contain intermediate-mass black holes, but conclusive evidence for this has been elusive. "Astronomers have made cases for stars being torn apart by supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies before, but this is the first good evidence for such an event in a globular cluster," said Jimmy Irwin of the University

When Black Holes Collide

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, John

2010-01-01

Among the fascinating phenomena predicted by General Relativity, Einstein's theory of gravity, black holes and gravitational waves, are particularly important in astronomy. Though once viewed as a mathematical oddity, black holes are now recognized as the central engines of many of astronomy's most energetic cataclysms. Gravitational waves, though weakly interacting with ordinary matter, may be observed with new gravitational wave telescopes, opening a new window to the universe. These observations promise a direct view of the strong gravitational dynamics involving dense, often dark objects, such as black holes. The most powerful of these events may be merger of two colliding black holes. Though dark, these mergers may briefly release more energy that all the stars in the visible universe, in gravitational waves. General relativity makes precise predictions for the gravitational-wave signatures of these events, predictions which we can now calculate with the aid of supercomputer simulations. These results provide a foundation for interpreting expect observations in the emerging field of gravitational wave astronomy.

UPDATED MASS SCALING RELATIONS FOR NUCLEAR STAR CLUSTERS AND A COMPARISON TO SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, Nicholas; Graham, Alister W.

2013-01-01

We investigate whether or not nuclear star clusters and supermassive black holes (SMBHs) follow a common set of mass scaling relations with their host galaxy's properties, and hence can be considered to form a single class of central massive object (CMO). We have compiled a large sample of galaxies with measured nuclear star cluster masses and host galaxy properties from the literature and fit log-linear scaling relations. We find that nuclear star cluster mass, M NC , correlates most tightly with the host galaxy's velocity dispersion: log M NC = (2.11 ± 0.31)log (σ/54) + (6.63 ± 0.09), but has a slope dramatically shallower than the relation defined by SMBHs. We find that the nuclear star cluster mass relations involving host galaxy (and spheroid) luminosity and stellar and dynamical mass, intercept with but are in general shallower than the corresponding black hole scaling relations. In particular, M NC ∝M 0.55±0.15 Gal,dyn ; the nuclear cluster mass is not a constant fraction of its host galaxy or spheroid mass. We conclude that nuclear stellar clusters and SMBHs do not form a single family of CMOs.

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

A new open-source code for spherically symmetric stellar collapse to neutron stars and black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Connor, Evan; Ott, Christian D

2010-01-01

We present the new open-source spherically symmetric general-relativistic (GR) hydrodynamics code GR1D. It is based on the Eulerian formulation of GR hydrodynamics (GRHD) put forth by Romero-Ibanez-Gourgoulhon and employs radial-gauge, polar-slicing coordinates in which the 3+1 equations simplify substantially. We discretize the GRHD equations with a finite-volume scheme, employing piecewise-parabolic reconstruction and an approximate Riemann solver. GR1D is intended for the simulation of stellar collapse to neutron stars and black holes and will also serve as a testbed for modeling technology to be incorporated in multi-D GR codes. Its GRHD part is coupled to various finite-temperature microphysical equations of state in tabulated form that we make available with GR1D. An approximate deleptonization scheme for the collapse phase and a neutrino-leakage/heating scheme for the postbounce epoch are included and described. We also derive the equations for effective rotation in 1D and implement them in GR1D. We present an array of standard test calculations and also show how simple analytic equations of state in combination with presupernova models from stellar evolutionary calculations can be used to study qualitative aspects of black hole formation in failing rotating core-collapse supernovae. In addition, we present a simulation with microphysical equations of state and neutrino leakage/heating of a failing core-collapse supernova and black hole formation in a presupernova model of a 40 M o-dot zero-age main-sequence star. We find good agreement on the time of black hole formation (within 20%) and last stable protoneutron star mass (within 10%) with predictions from simulations with full Boltzmann neutrino radiation hydrodynamics.

A new open-source code for spherically symmetric stellar collapse to neutron stars and black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Connor, Evan; Ott, Christian D, E-mail: evanoc@tapir.caltech.ed, E-mail: cott@tapir.caltech.ed [TAPIR, Mail Code 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2010-06-07

We present the new open-source spherically symmetric general-relativistic (GR) hydrodynamics code GR1D. It is based on the Eulerian formulation of GR hydrodynamics (GRHD) put forth by Romero-Ibanez-Gourgoulhon and employs radial-gauge, polar-slicing coordinates in which the 3+1 equations simplify substantially. We discretize the GRHD equations with a finite-volume scheme, employing piecewise-parabolic reconstruction and an approximate Riemann solver. GR1D is intended for the simulation of stellar collapse to neutron stars and black holes and will also serve as a testbed for modeling technology to be incorporated in multi-D GR codes. Its GRHD part is coupled to various finite-temperature microphysical equations of state in tabulated form that we make available with GR1D. An approximate deleptonization scheme for the collapse phase and a neutrino-leakage/heating scheme for the postbounce epoch are included and described. We also derive the equations for effective rotation in 1D and implement them in GR1D. We present an array of standard test calculations and also show how simple analytic equations of state in combination with presupernova models from stellar evolutionary calculations can be used to study qualitative aspects of black hole formation in failing rotating core-collapse supernovae. In addition, we present a simulation with microphysical equations of state and neutrino leakage/heating of a failing core-collapse supernova and black hole formation in a presupernova model of a 40 M{sub o-dot} zero-age main-sequence star. We find good agreement on the time of black hole formation (within 20%) and last stable protoneutron star mass (within 10%) with predictions from simulations with full Boltzmann neutrino radiation hydrodynamics.

Chandra Catches "Piranha" Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

2007-07-01

Supermassive black holes have been discovered to grow more rapidly in young galaxy clusters, according to new results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These "fast-track" supermassive black holes can have a big influence on the galaxies and clusters that they live in. Using Chandra, scientists surveyed a sample of clusters and counted the fraction of galaxies with rapidly growing supermassive black holes, known as active galactic nuclei (or AGN). The data show, for the first time, that younger, more distant galaxy clusters contained far more AGN than older, nearby ones. Galaxy clusters are some of the largest structures in the Universe, consisting of many individual galaxies, a few of which contain AGN. Earlier in the history of the universe, these galaxies contained a lot more gas for star formation and black hole growth than galaxies in clusters do today. This fuel allows the young cluster black holes to grow much more rapidly than their counterparts in nearby clusters. Illustration of Active Galactic Nucleus Illustration of Active Galactic Nucleus "The black holes in these early clusters are like piranha in a very well-fed aquarium," said Jason Eastman of Ohio State University (OSU) and first author of this study. "It's not that they beat out each other for food, rather there was so much that all of the piranha were able to really thrive and grow quickly." The team used Chandra to determine the fraction of AGN in four different galaxy clusters at large distances, when the Universe was about 58% of its current age. Then they compared this value to the fraction found in more nearby clusters, those about 82% of the Universe's current age. The result was the more distant clusters contained about 20 times more AGN than the less distant sample. AGN outside clusters are also more common when the Universe is younger, but only by factors of two or three over the same age span. "It's been predicted that there would be fast-track black holes in clusters, but we never

Black holes go supersonic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhardt, Ulf [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews (United Kingdom)

2001-02-01

In modern physics, the unification of gravity and quantum mechanics remains a mystery. Gravity rules the macroscopic world of planets, stars and galaxies, while quantum mechanics governs the micro-cosmos of atoms, light quanta and elementary particles. However, cosmologists believe that these two disparate worlds may meet at the edges of black holes. Now Luis Garay, James Anglin, Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller at the University of Innsbruck in Austria have proposed a realistic way to make an artificial 'sonic' black hole in a tabletop experiment (L J Garay et al. 2000 Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 4643). In the February issue of Physics World, Ulf Leonhardt of the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, UK, explains how the simulated black holes work. (U.K.)

AN ENERGETIC AGN OUTBURST POWERED BY A RAPIDLY SPINNING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE OR AN ACCRETING ULTRAMASSIVE BLACK HOLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNamara, B. R.; Kazemzadeh, F.; Kirkpatrick, C. C.; Rafferty, D. A.; Birzan, L.; Nulsen, P. E. J.; Wise, M. W.

2009-01-01

Powering the 10 62 erg nuclear outburst in the MS0735.6+7421 cluster central galaxy by accretion with a 10% mass-to-energy conversion efficiency implies that its putative supermassive black hole (SMBH) grew by ∼6 x 10 8 M sun over the past 100 Myr. Guided by data at several wavelengths, we place upper limits on the amount of cold gas and star formation near the nucleus of 9 M sun and sun yr -1 , respectively. These limits imply that an implausibly large fraction of the preexisting cold gas in the inner several kpc must have been consumed by its SMBH at the rate of ∼3-5 M sun yr -1 during the past 100 Myr while leaving no trace of star formation. Such a high accretion rate would be difficult to maintain by stellar accretion or the Bondi mechanism, unless the black hole mass approaches 10 11 M sun . Furthermore, its feeble nuclear luminosities in the UV, I, and X-ray bands compared to its enormous mechanical power are inconsistent with rapid accretion onto a ∼5 x 10 9 M sun black hole. We suggest instead that the active galactic nucleus (AGN) outburst is powered by angular momentum released from a rapidly spinning black hole. The rotational energy and power available from a spinning black hole are consistent with the cavity and shock energetics inferred from X-ray observations. A maximally spinning 10 9 M sun black hole contains enough rotational energy, ∼10 62 erg, to quench a cooling flow over its lifetime and to contribute significantly to the excess entropy found in the hot atmospheres of groups and clusters. Two modes of AGN feedback may be quenching star formation in elliptical galaxies centered in cooling halos at late times. An accretion mode that operates in gas-rich systems, and a spin mode operating at modest accretion rates. The spin conjecture may be avoided in MS0735 by appealing to Bondi accretion onto a central black hole whose mass greatly exceeds 10 10 M sun . The host galaxy's unusually large 3.8 kpc stellar core radius (light deficit) may

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

Numerical simulation of binary black hole and neutron star mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kastaun, W.; Rezzolla, L. [Albert Einstein Institut, Potsdam-Golm (Germany)

2016-11-01

One of the last predictions of general relativity that still awaits direct observational confirmation is the existence of gravitational waves. Those fluctuations of the geometry of space and time are expected to travel with the speed of light and are emitted by any accelerating mass. Only the most violent events in the universe, such as mergers of two black holes or neutron stars, produce gravitational waves strong enough to be measured. Even those waves are extremely weak when arriving at Earth, and their detection is a formidable technological challenge. In recent years sufficiently sensitive detectors became operational, such as GEO600, Virgo, and LIGO. They are expected to observe around 40 events per year. To interpret the observational data, theoretical modeling of the sources is a necessity, and requires numerical simulations of the equations of general relativity and relativistic hydrodynamics. Such computations can only be carried out on large scale supercomputers, given that many scenarios need to be simulated, each of which typically occupies hundreds of CPU cores for a week. Our main goal is to predict the gravitational wave signal from the merger of two compact objects. Comparison with future observations will provide important insights into the fundamental forces of nature in regimes that are impossible to recreate in laboratory experiments. The waveforms from binary black hole mergers would allow one to test the correctness of general relativity in previously inaccessible regimes. The signal from binary neutron star mergers will provide input for nuclear physics, because the signal depends strongly on the unknown properties of matter at the ultra high densities inside neutron stars, which cannot be observed in any other astrophysical scenario. Besides mergers, we also want to improve the theoretical models of close encounters between black holes. A gravitational wave detector with even higher sensitivity, the Einstein Telescope, is already in the

A 200-Second Quasi-Periodicity After the Tidal Disruption of a Star by a Dormant Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, R. C.; Miller, J. M.; Reynolds, M. T.; Gueltkinm K.; Maitra, D.; King, A. L.; Strohmayer, T.

2012-01-01

Supermassive black holes are known to exist at the center of most galaxies with sufficient stellar mass, In the local Universe, it is possible to infer their properties from the surrounding stars or gas. However, at high redshifts we require active, continuous accretion to infer the presence of the SMBHs, often coming in the form of long term accretion in active galactic nuclei. SMBHs can also capture and tidally disrupt stars orbiting nearby, resulting in bright flares from otherwise quiescent black holes. Here, we report on a approx.200-s X-ray quasi-periodicity around a previously dormant SMBH located in the center of a galaxy at redshift z = 0.3534. This result may open the possibility of probing general relativity beyond our local Universe.

Evolution of the Black Hole Mass Function in Star Clusters from Multiple Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Pierre; Mocz, Philip; Loeb, Abraham

2018-05-01

We investigate the effects of black hole (BH) mergers in star clusters on the black hole mass function (BHMF). As BHs are not produced in pair-instability supernovae, it is suggested that there is a dearth of high-mass stellar BHs. This dearth generates a gap in the upper end of the BHMF. Meanwhile, parameter fitting of X-ray binaries suggests the existence of a gap in the mass function under 5 solar masses. We show, through evolving a coagulation equation, that BH mergers can appreciably fill the upper mass gap, and that the lower mass gap generates potentially observable features at larger mass scales. We also explore the importance of ejections in such systems and whether dynamical clusters can be formation sites of intermediate-mass BH seeds.

Non-Quiescent X-ray Emission from Neutron Stars and Black Holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tournear, Derek M

2003-08-18

X-ray astronomy began with the detection of the persistent source Scorpius X-1. Shortly afterwards, sources were detected that were variable. Centaurus X-2, was determined to be an X-ray transient, having a quiescent state, and a state that was much brighter. As X-ray astronomy progressed, classifications of transient sources developed. One class of sources, believed to be neutron stars, undergo extreme luminosity transitions lasting a few seconds. These outbursts are believed to be thermonuclear explosions occurring on the surface of neutron stars (type I X-ray bursts). Other sources undergo luminosity changes that cannot be explained by thermonuclear burning and last for days to months. These sources are soft X-ray transients (SXTs) and are believed to be the result of instabilities in the accretion of matter onto either a neutron star or black hole. Type I X-ray bursts provide a tool for probing the surfaces of neutron stars. Requiring a surface for the burning has led authors to use the presence of X-ray bursts to rule out the existence of a black hole (where an event horizon exists not a surface) for systems which exhibit type I X-ray bursts. Distinguishing between neutron stars and black holes has been a problem for decades. Narayan and Heyl have developed a theoretical framework to convert suitable upper limits on type I X-ray bursts from accreting black hole candidates (BHCs) into evidence for an event horizon. We survey 2101.2 ks of data from the USA X-ray timing experiment and 5142 ks of data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) experiment to obtain the first formal constraint of this type. 1122 ks of neutron star data yield a population averaged mean burst rate of 1.7 {+-} 0.4 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1}, while 6081 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 4.9 x 10{sup -7} bursts s{sup -1}. Applying the framework of Narayan and Heyl we calculate regions of luminosity where the neutron stars are expected to burst and the BHCs

Black Holes: A Selected Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraknoi, Andrew

1991-01-01

Offers a selected bibliography pertaining to black holes with the following categories: introductory books; introductory articles; somewhat more advanced articles; readings about Einstein's general theory of relativity; books on the death of stars; articles on the death of stars; specific articles about Supernova 1987A; relevant science fiction…

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.

Grand unification scale primordial black holes: consequences and constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Anantua, Richard; Easther, Richard; Giblin, John T

2009-09-11

A population of very light primordial black holes which evaporate before nucleosynthesis begins is unconstrained unless the decaying black holes leave stable relics. We show that gravitons Hawking radiated from these black holes would source a substantial stochastic background of high frequency gravititational waves (10(12) Hz or more) in the present Universe. These black holes may lead to a transient period of matter-dominated expansion. In this case the primordial Universe could be temporarily dominated by large clusters of "Hawking stars" and the resulting gravitational wave spectrum is independent of the initial number density of primordial black holes.

Black hole feedback on the first galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Myoungwon; Pawlik, Andreas H.; Greif, Thomas H.; Glover, Simon C. O.; Bromm, Volker; Milosavljević, Miloš; Klessen, Ralf S.

2012-09-01

We study how the first galaxies were assembled under feedback from the accretion onto a central black hole (BH) that is left behind by the first generation of metal-free stars through selfconsistent, cosmological simulations. X-ray radiation fromthe accretion of gas onto BH remnants of Population III (Pop III) stars, or from high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs), again involving Pop III stars, influences the mode of second generation star formation. We track the evolution of the black hole accretion rate and the associated X-ray feedback startingwith the death of the Pop III progenitor star inside a minihalo and following the subsequent evolution of the black hole as the minihalo grows to become an atomically cooling galaxy. We find that X-ray photoionization heating from a stellar-mass BH is able to quench further star formation in the host halo at all times before the halo enters the atomic cooling phase. X-ray radiation from a HMXB, assuming a luminosity close to the Eddington value, exerts an even stronger, and more diverse, feedback on star formation. It photoheats the gas inside the host halo, but also promotes the formation of molecular hydrogen and cooling of gas in the intergalactic medium and in nearby minihalos, leading to a net increase in the number of stars formed at early times. Our simulations further show that the radiative feedback from the first BHs may strongly suppress early BH growth, thus constraining models for the formation of supermassive BHs.

Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Black Hole Accretion

Science.gov (United States)

Avara, Mark J.

Black holes embody one of the few, simple, solutions to the Einstein field equations that describe our modern understanding of gravitation. In isolation they are small, dark, and elusive. However, when a gas cloud or star wanders too close, they light up our universe in a way no other cosmic object can. The processes of magnetohydrodynamics which describe the accretion inflow and outflows of plasma around black holes are highly coupled and nonlinear and so require numerical experiments for elucidation. These processes are at the heart of astrophysics since black holes, once they somehow reach super-massive status, influence the evolution of the largest structures in the universe. It has been my goal, with the body of work comprising this thesis, to explore the ways in which the influence of black holes on their surroundings differs from the predictions of standard accretion models. I have especially focused on how magnetization of the greater black hole environment can impact accretion systems.

What does a black hole look like?

CERN Document Server

Bailyn, Charles D

2014-01-01

Emitting no radiation or any other kind of information, black holes mark the edge of the universe--both physically and in our scientific understanding. Yet astronomers have found clear evidence for the existence of black holes, employing the same tools and techniques used to explore other celestial objects. In this sophisticated introduction, leading astronomer Charles Bailyn goes behind the theory and physics of black holes to describe how astronomers are observing these enigmatic objects and developing a remarkably detailed picture of what they look like and how they interact with their surroundings. Accessible to undergraduates and others with some knowledge of introductory college-level physics, this book presents the techniques used to identify and measure the mass and spin of celestial black holes. These key measurements demonstrate the existence of two kinds of black holes, those with masses a few times that of a typical star, and those with masses comparable to whole galaxies--supermassive black holes...

Black-hole spectroscopy: testing general relativity through gravitational-wave observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dreyer, Olaf [Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics, 35 King Street North, Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 2G9 (Canada); Kelly, Bernard [Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry and Department of Physics, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Krishnan, Badri [Max Planck Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Am Muehlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany); Finn, Lee Samuel [Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry, Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Garrison, David [University of Houston, Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Bvd, Room 3531-2, Houston, TX 77058 (United States); Lopez-Aleman, Ramon [Physical Sciences Department, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00931 (Puerto Rico)

2004-02-21

Assuming that general relativity is the correct theory of gravity in the strong-field limit, can gravitational-wave observations distinguish between black holes and other compact object sources? Alternatively, can gravitational-wave observations provide a test of one of the fundamental predictions of general relativity: the no-hair theorem? Here we describe a definitive test of the hypothesis that observations of damped, sinusoidal gravitational waves originate from a black hole or, alternatively, that nature respects the general relativistic no-hair theorem. For astrophysical black holes, which have a negligible charge-to-mass ratio, the black-hole quasi-normal mode spectrum is characterized entirely by the black-hole mass and angular momentum and is unique to black holes. In a different theory of gravity, or if the observed radiation arises from a different source (e.g., a neutron star, strange matter or boson star), the spectrum will be inconsistent with that predicted for general relativistic black holes. We give a statistical characterization of the consistency between the noisy observation and the theoretical predictions of general relativity and a demonstration, through simulation, of the effectiveness of the test for strong sources.

Black-hole spectroscopy: testing general relativity through gravitational-wave observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreyer, Olaf; Kelly, Bernard; Krishnan, Badri; Finn, Lee Samuel; Garrison, David; Lopez-Aleman, Ramon

2004-01-01

Assuming that general relativity is the correct theory of gravity in the strong-field limit, can gravitational-wave observations distinguish between black holes and other compact object sources? Alternatively, can gravitational-wave observations provide a test of one of the fundamental predictions of general relativity: the no-hair theorem? Here we describe a definitive test of the hypothesis that observations of damped, sinusoidal gravitational waves originate from a black hole or, alternatively, that nature respects the general relativistic no-hair theorem. For astrophysical black holes, which have a negligible charge-to-mass ratio, the black-hole quasi-normal mode spectrum is characterized entirely by the black-hole mass and angular momentum and is unique to black holes. In a different theory of gravity, or if the observed radiation arises from a different source (e.g., a neutron star, strange matter or boson star), the spectrum will be inconsistent with that predicted for general relativistic black holes. We give a statistical characterization of the consistency between the noisy observation and the theoretical predictions of general relativity and a demonstration, through simulation, of the effectiveness of the test for strong sources

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.

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.

NuSTAR and SWIFT Observations of the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1908+094 during its 2013 Outburst

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tao, Lian; Tomsick, John A.; Walton, Dominic J.

2015-01-01

The black hole (BH) candidate XTE J1908+094 went into outburst for the first time since 2003 in 2013 October. We report on an observation with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and monitoring observations with Swift during the outburst. NuSTAR caught the source in the soft state...

Measuring the spins of accreting black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClintock, Jeffrey E; Narayan, Ramesh; Gou, Lijun; Kulkarni, Akshay; Penna, Robert F; Steiner, James F; Davis, Shane W; Orosz, Jerome A; Remillard, Ronald A

2011-01-01

A typical galaxy is thought to contain tens of millions of stellar-mass black holes, the collapsed remnants of once massive stars, and a single nuclear supermassive black hole. Both classes of black holes accrete gas from their environments. The accreting gas forms a flattened orbiting structure known as an accretion disk. During the past several years, it has become possible to obtain measurements of the spins of the two classes of black holes by modeling the x-ray emission from their accretion disks. Two methods are employed, both of which depend upon identifying the inner radius of the accretion disk with the innermost stable circular orbit, whose radius depends only on the mass and spin of the black hole. In the Fe Kα method, which applies to both classes of black holes, one models the profile of the relativistically broadened iron line with a special focus on the gravitationally redshifted red wing of the line. In the continuum-fitting (CF) method, which has so far only been applied to stellar-mass black holes, one models the thermal x-ray continuum spectrum of the accretion disk. We discuss both methods, with a strong emphasis on the CF method and its application to stellar-mass black holes. Spin results for eight stellar-mass black holes are summarized. These data are used to argue that the high spins of at least some of these black holes are natal, and that the presence or absence of relativistic jets in accreting black holes is not entirely determined by the spin of the black hole.

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

Feast and Famine: regulation of black hole growth in low-redshift galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Kauffmann, Guinevere; Heckman, Timothy M.

2009-07-01

We analyse the observed distribution of Eddington ratios (L/LEdd) as a function of supermassive black hole mass for a large sample of nearby galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We demonstrate that there are two distinct regimes of black hole growth in nearby galaxies. The first is associated with galaxies with significant star formation [M*/starformationrate (SFR) ~ a Hubble time] in their central kiloparsec regions, and is characterized by a broad lognormal distribution of accretion rates peaked at a few per cent of the Eddington limit. In this regime, the Eddington ratio distribution is independent of the mass of the black hole and shows little dependence on the central stellar population of the galaxy. The second regime is associated with galaxies with old central stellar populations (M*/SFR >> a Hubble time), and is characterized by a power-law distribution function of Eddington ratios. In this regime, the time-averaged mass accretion rate on to black holes is proportional to the mass of stars in the galaxy bulge, with a constant of proportionality that depends on the mean stellar age of the stars. This result is once again independent of black hole mass. We show that both the slope of the power law and the decrease in the accretion rate on to black holes in old galaxies are consistent with population synthesis model predictions of the decline in stellar mass loss rates as a function of mean stellar age. Our results lead to a very simple picture of black hole growth in the local Universe. If the supply of cold gas in a galaxy bulge is plentiful, the black hole regulates its own growth at a rate that does not further depend on the properties of the interstellar medium. Once the gas runs out, black hole growth is regulated by the rate at which evolved stars lose their mass.

Black Hole Astrophysics The Engine Paradigm

CERN Document Server

Meier, David L

2012-01-01

As a result of significant research over the past 20 years, black holes are now linked to some of the most spectacular and exciting phenomena in the Universe, ranging in size from those that have the same mass as stars to the super-massive objects that lie at the heart of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way. This book first introduces the properties of simple isolated holes, then adds in complications like rotation, accretion, radiation, and magnetic fields, finally arriving at a basic understanding of how these immense engines work. Black Hole Astrophysics • reviews our current knowledge of cosmic black holes and how they generate the most powerful observed pheonomena in the Universe; • highlights the latest, most up-to-date theories and discoveries in this very active area of astrophysical research; • demonstrates why we believe that black holes are responsible for important phenomena such as quasars, microquasars and gammaray bursts; • explains to the reader the nature of the violent and spe...

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.

Chemical enrichment by tidally disrupted stars near a black hole in the Galactic Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luminet, J.P.; Barbuy, B.

1990-01-01

The amount of species produced in the nucleosynthesis tidally induced by a large black hole on infalling stars is computed. The total mass of isotopic species N-14, N-15, Mg-25, Mg-26, and Al-26, Al-27 produced in this process along the first billion years of the Galaxy life are compared to possible observational evidences. 35 refs

'Death Star' Galaxy Black Hole Fires at Neighboring Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

This "death star" galaxy was discovered through the combined efforts of both space and ground-based telescopes. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope were part of the effort. The Very Large Array telescope, Socorro, N.M., and the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) telescopes in the United Kingdom also were needed for the finding. Illustration of Jet Striking Galaxy (unlabeled) Illustration of Jet Striking Galaxy (unlabeled) "We've seen many jets produced by black holes, but this is the first time we've seen one punch into another galaxy like we're seeing here," said Dan Evans, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and leader of the study. "This jet could be causing all sorts of problems for the smaller galaxy it is pummeling." Jets from super massive black holes produce high amounts of radiation, especially high-energy X-rays and gamma-rays, which can be lethal in large quantities. The combined effects of this radiation and particles traveling at almost the speed of light could severely damage the atmospheres of planets lying in the path of the jet. For example, protective layers of ozone in the upper atmosphere of planets could be destroyed. X-ray & Radio Full Field Image of 3C321 X-ray & Radio Full Field Image of 3C321 Jets produced by super massive black holes transport enormous amounts of energy far from black holes and enable them to affect matter on scales vastly larger than the size of the black hole. Learning more about jets is a key goal for astrophysical research. "We see jets all over the Universe, but we're still struggling to understand some of their basic properties," said co-investigator Martin Hardcastle of the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. "This system of 3C321 gives us a chance to learn how they're affected when they slam into something - like a galaxy - and what they do after that." Optical Image of 3C321 Optical Image of 3C321 The

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

Exponential fading to white of black holes in quantum gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barceló, Carlos; Carballo-Rubio, Raúl; Garay, Luis J

2017-01-01

Quantization of the gravitational field may allow the existence of a decay channel of black holes into white holes with an explicit time-reversal symmetry. The definition of a meaningful decay probability for this channel is studied in spherically symmetric situations. As a first nontrivial calculation, we present the functional integration over a set of geometries using a single-variable function to interpolate between black-hole and white-hole geometries in a bounded region of spacetime. This computation gives a finite result which depends only on the Schwarzschild mass and a parameter measuring the width of the interpolating region. The associated probability distribution displays an exponential decay law on the latter parameter, with a mean lifetime inversely proportional to the Schwarzschild mass. In physical terms this would imply that matter collapsing to a black hole from a finite radius bounces back elastically and instantaneously, with negligible time delay as measured by external observers. These results invite to reconsider the ultimate nature of astrophysical black holes, providing a possible mechanism for the formation of black stars instead of proper general relativistic black holes. The existence of both this decay channel and black stars can be tested in future observations of gravitational waves. (paper)

Black Hole Growth Is Mainly Linked to Host-galaxy Stellar Mass Rather Than Star Formation Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, G.; Chen, C.-T. J.; Vito, F.; Brandt, W. N.; Alexander, D. M.; Luo, B.; Sun, M. Y.; Xue, Y. Q.; Bauer, F. E.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Lehmer, B. D.; Liu, T.; Schneider, D. P.; Shemmer, O.; Trump, J. R.; Vignali, C.; Wang, J.-X.

2017-06-01

We investigate the dependence of black hole accretion rate (BHAR) on host-galaxy star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass (M *) in the CANDELS/GOODS-South field in the redshift range of 0.5≤slant zteam through spectral energy distribution fitting. The average BHAR is correlated positively with both SFR and M *, and the BHAR-SFR and BHAR-M * relations can both be described acceptably by linear models with a slope of unity. However, BHAR appears to be correlated more strongly with M * than SFR. This result indicates that M * is the primary host-galaxy property related to supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth, and the apparent BHAR-SFR relation is largely a secondary effect due to the star-forming main sequence. Among our sources, massive galaxies ({M}* ≳ {10}10{M}⊙ ) have significantly higher BHAR/SFR ratios than less massive galaxies, indicating that the former have higher SMBH fueling efficiency and/or higher SMBH occupation fraction than the latter. Our results can naturally explain the observed proportionality between {M}{BH} and M * for local giant ellipticals and suggest that their {M}{BH}/{M}* is higher than that of local star-forming galaxies. Among local star-forming galaxies, massive systems might have higher {M}{BH}/{M}* compared to dwarfs.

Black Holes, the Brightest Objects in the Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKinney, Jonathan (Stanford University)

2009-04-28

Black holes are everywhere in the Universe. They form when massive stars end their life in a simultaneous violent collapse and energetic explosion. Galaxies end up littered with small black holes, each roughly the mass of ten Suns. Nearly every galaxy center ends up with a single huge black hole, with the mass of a million to a billion Suns. During their lifetimes, black holes chew up their surroundings and spew out ultra-energetic beams of radiation and matter that are visible from across the Universe. In this lecture, I will discuss how black holes form, outline how we detect them, and show movies that illustrate how they work according to Einstein and state-of-the-art computer simulations. We will see that these blackest of all objects in the Universe actually shine the brightest.

Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek A. Abramowicz

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how accretion disks might reveal some of the unique signatures of strong gravity: the event horizon, the innermost stable circular orbit, and the ergosphere. We then review, from a first-principles perspective, the physical processes at play in accretion disks. This leads us to the four primary accretion disk models that we review: Polish doughnuts (thick disks, Shakura-Sunyaev (thin disks, slim disks, and advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs. After presenting the models we discuss issues of stability, oscillations, and jets. Following our review of the analytic work, we take a parallel approach in reviewing numerical studies of black hole accretion disks. We finish with a few select applications that highlight particular astrophysical applications: measurements of black hole mass and spin, black hole vs. neutron star accretion disks, black hole accretion disk spectral states, and quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs.

Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Abramowicz, Marek A; Fragile, P Chris

2013-01-01

This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how accretion disks might reveal some of the unique signatures of strong gravity: the event horizon, the innermost stable circular orbit, and the ergosphere. We then review, from a first-principles perspective, the physical processes at play in accretion disks. This leads us to the four primary accretion disk models that we review: Polish doughnuts (thick disks), Shakura-Sunyaev (thin) disks, slim disks, and advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs). After presenting the models we discuss issues of stability, oscillations, and jets. Following our review of the analytic work, we take a parallel approach in reviewing numerical studies of black hole accretion disks. We finish with a few select applications that highlight particular astrophysical applications: measurements of black hole mass and spin, black hole vs. neutron star accretion disks, black hole accretion disk spectral states, and quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs).

Stochastic Template Bank for Gravitational Wave Searches for Precessing Neutron Star-Black Hole Coalescence Events

Science.gov (United States)

Indik, Nathaniel; Haris, K.; Dal Canton, Tito; Fehrmann, Henning; Krishnan, Badri; Lundgren, Andrew; Nielsen, Alex B.; Pai, Archana

2017-01-01

Gravitational wave searches to date have largely focused on non-precessing systems. Including precession effects greatly increases the number of templates to be searched over. This leads to a corresponding increase in the computational cost and can increase the false alarm rate of a realistic search. On the other hand, there might be astrophysical systems that are entirely missed by non-precessing searches. In this paper we consider the problem of constructing a template bank using stochastic methods for neutron star-black hole binaries allowing for precession, but with the restrictions that the total angular momentum of the binary is pointing toward the detector and that the neutron star spin is negligible relative to that of the black hole. We quantify the number of templates required for the search, and we explicitly construct the template bank. We show that despite the large number of templates, stochastic methods can be adapted to solve the problem. We quantify the parameter space region over which the non-precessing search might miss signals.

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

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.

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)

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.

LIGO Finds Lightest Black-Hole Binary

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-11-01

Wednesdayevening the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration quietly mentioned that theyd found gravitational waves from yet another black-hole binary back in June. This casual announcement reveals what is so far the lightest pair of black holes weve watched merge opening the door for comparisons to the black holes weve detected by electromagnetic means.A Routine DetectionThe chirp signal of GW170608 detected by LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston. [LIGO collaboration 2017]After the fanfare of the previous four black-hole-binary merger announcements over the past year and a half as well as the announcement of the one neutron-star binary merger in August GW170608 marks our entry into the era in which gravitational-wave detections are officially routine.GW170608, a gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two black holes roughly a billion light-years away, was detected in June of this year. This detection occurred after wed already found gravitational waves from several black-hole binaries with the two LIGO detectors in the U.S., but before the Virgo interferometer came online in Europe and increased the joint ability of the detectors to localize sources.Mass estimates for the two components of GW170608 using different models. [LIGO collaboration 2017]Overall, GW170608 is fairly unremarkable: it was detected by both LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston some 7 ms apart, and the signal looks not unlike those of the previous LIGO detections. But because were still in the early days of gravitational-wave astronomy, every discovery is still remarkable in some way! GW170608 stands out as being the lightest pair of black holes weve yet to see merge, with component masses before the merger estimated at 12 and 7 times the mass of the Sun.Why Size MattersWith the exception of GW151226, the gravitational-wave signal discovered on Boxing Day last year, all of the black holes that have been discovered by LIGO/Virgo have been quite large: the masses

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.

Massive Binary Black Holes in the Cosmic Landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Colpi, Monica; Dotti, Massimo

2011-02-01

Binary black holes occupy a special place in our quest for understanding the evolution of galaxies along cosmic history. If massive black holes grow at the center of (pre-)galactic structures that experience a sequence of merger episodes, then dual black holes form as inescapable outcome of galaxy assembly, and can in principle be detected as powerful dual quasars. But, if the black holes reach coalescence, during their inspiral inside the galaxy remnant, then they become the loudest sources of gravitational waves ever in the universe. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna is being developed to reveal these waves that carry information on the mass and spin of these binary black holes out to very large look-back times. Nature seems to provide a pathway for the formation of these exotic binaries, and a number of key questions need to be addressed: How do massive black holes pair in a merger? Depending on the properties of the underlying galaxies, do black holes always form a close Keplerian binary? If a binary forms, does hardening proceed down to the domain controlled by gravitational wave back reaction? What is the role played by gas and/or stars in braking the black holes, and on which timescale does coalescence occur? Can the black holes accrete on flight and shine during their pathway to coalescence? After outlining key observational facts on dual/binary black holes, we review the progress made in tracing their dynamics in the habitat of a gas-rich merger down to the smallest scales ever probed with the help of powerful numerical simulations. N-Body/hydrodynamical codes have proven to be vital tools for studying their evolution, and progress in this field is expected to grow rapidly in the effort to describe, in full realism, the physics of stars and gas around the black holes, starting from the cosmological large scale of a merger. If detected in the new window provided by the upcoming gravitational wave experiments, binary black holes will provide a deep view

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.

EVIDENCE FOR THREE ACCRETING BLACK HOLES IN A GALAXY AT z ∼ 1.35: A SNAPSHOT OF RECENTLY FORMED BLACK HOLE SEEDS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schawinski, Kevin; Urry, Meg; Treister, Ezequiel; Simmons, Brooke; Natarajan, Priyamvada; Glikman, Eilat

2011-01-01

One of the key open questions in cosmology today pertains to understanding when, where, and how supermassive black holes form. While it is clear that mergers likely play a significant role in the growth cycles of black holes, the issue of how supermassive black holes form, and how galaxies grow around them, still needs to be addressed. Here, we present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3/IR grism observations of a clumpy galaxy at z = 1.35, with evidence for 10 6 -10 7 M ☉ rapidly growing black holes in separate sub-components of the host galaxy. These black holes could have been brought into close proximity as a consequence of a rare multiple galaxy merger or they could have formed in situ. Such holes would eventually merge into a central black hole as the stellar clumps/components presumably coalesce to form a galaxy bulge. If we are witnessing the in situ formation of multiple black holes, their properties can inform seed formation models and raise the possibility that massive black holes can continue to emerge in star-forming galaxies as late as z = 1.35 (4.8 Gyr after the big bang).

Two separate outflows in the dual supermassive black hole system NGC 6240.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller-Sánchez, F; Nevin, R; Comerford, J M; Davies, R I; Privon, G C; Treister, E

2018-04-01

Theoretical models and numerical simulations have established a framework of galaxy evolution in which galaxies merge and create dual supermassive black holes (with separations of one to ten kiloparsecs), which eventually sink into the centre of the merger remnant, emit gravitational waves and coalesce. The merger also triggers star formation and supermassive black hole growth, and gas outflows regulate the stellar content 1-3 . Although this theoretical picture is supported by recent observations of starburst-driven and supermassive black hole-driven outflows 4-6 , it remains unclear how these outflows interact with the interstellar medium. Furthermore, the relative contributions of star formation and black hole activity to galactic feedback remain unknown 7-9 . Here we report observations of dual outflows in the central region of the prototypical merger NGC 6240. We find a black-hole-driven outflow of [O III] to the northeast and a starburst-driven outflow of Hα to the northwest. The orientations and positions of the outflows allow us to isolate them spatially and study their properties independently. We estimate mass outflow rates of 10 and 75 solar masses per year for the Hα bubble and the [O III] cone, respectively. Their combined mass outflow is comparable to the star formation rate 10 , suggesting that negative feedback on star formation is occurring.

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

Energy input from quasars regulates the growth and activity of black holes and their host galaxies.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Matteo, Tiziana; Springel, Volker; Hernquist, Lars

2005-02-10

In the early Universe, while galaxies were still forming, black holes as massive as a billion solar masses powered quasars. Supermassive black holes are found at the centres of most galaxies today, where their masses are related to the velocity dispersions of stars in their host galaxies and hence to the mass of the central bulge of the galaxy. This suggests a link between the growth of the black holes and their host galaxies, which has indeed been assumed for a number of years. But the origin of the observed relation between black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion, and its connection with the evolution of galaxies, have remained unclear. Here we report simulations that simultaneously follow star formation and the growth of black holes during galaxy-galaxy collisions. We find that, in addition to generating a burst of star formation, a merger leads to strong inflows that feed gas to the supermassive black hole and thereby power the quasar. The energy released by the quasar expels enough gas to quench both star formation and further black hole growth. This determines the lifetime of the quasar phase (approaching 100 million years) and explains the relationship between the black hole mass and the stellar velocity dispersion.

The doubling of stellar black hole nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Kazandjian, Mher V.; Touma, J. R.

2013-04-01

It is strongly believed that Andromeda's double nucleus signals a disc of stars revolving around its central supermassive black hole on eccentric Keplerian orbits with nearly aligned apsides. A self-consistent stellar dynamical origin for such apparently long-lived alignment has so far been lacking, with indications that cluster self-gravity is capable of sustaining such lopsided configurations if and when stimulated by external perturbations. Here, we present results of N-body simulations which show unstable counter-rotating stellar clusters around supermassive black holes saturating into uniformly precessing lopsided nuclei. The double nucleus in our featured experiment decomposes naturally into a thick eccentric disc of apo-apse aligned stars which is embedded in a lighter triaxial cluster. The eccentric disc reproduces key features of Keplerian disc models of Andromeda's double nucleus; the triaxial cluster has a distinctive kinematic signature which is evident in Hubble Space Telescope observations of Andromeda's double nucleus, and has been difficult to reproduce with Keplerian discs alone. Our simulations demonstrate how the combination of an eccentric disc and a triaxial cluster arises naturally when a star cluster accreted over a preexisting and counter-rotating disc of stars drives disc and cluster into a mutually destabilizing dance. Such accretion events are inherent to standard galaxy formation scenarios. They are here shown to double stellar black hole nuclei as they feed them.

Black Holes Are The Rhythm at The Heart of Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

2008-11-01

The powerful black holes at the center of massive galaxies and galaxy clusters act as hearts to the systems, pumping energy out at regular intervals to regulate the growth of the black holes themselves, as well as star formation, according to new data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. People Who Read This Also Read... Milky Way’s Giant Black Hole Awoke from Slumber 300 Years Ago A New Way To Weigh Giant Black Holes Discovery of Most Recent Supernova in Our Galaxy NASA Unveils Cosmic Images Book in Braille for Blind Readers Scientists from the University of Michigan, the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Jacobs University in Germany contributed to the results. The gravitational pull of black holes is so strong that not even light can escape from them. Supermassive black holes with masses of more than a billion suns have been detected at the center of large galaxies. The material falling on the black holes causes sporadic or isolated bursts of energy, by which black holes are capable of influencing the fate of their host galaxies. The insight gained by this new research shows that black holes can pump energy in a gentler and rhythmic fashion, rather then violently. The scientists observed and simulated how the black hole at the center of elliptical galaxy M84 dependably sends bubbles of hot plasma into space, heating up interstellar space. This heat is believed to slow both the formation of new stars and the growth of the black hole itself, helping the galaxy remain stable. Interstellar gases only coalesce into new stars when the gas is cool enough. The heating is more efficient at the sites where it is most needed, the scientists say. Alexis Finoguenov, of UMBC and the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, compares the central black hole to a heart muscle. "Just like our hearts periodically pump our

Scalar hair around charged black holes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Grandi, Nicolás; Landea, Ignacio Salazar

2018-02-01

We explore charged black hole solutions in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in five dimensions, with a charged scalar hair. We interpret such hairy black holes as the final state of the superradiant instability previously reported for this system. We explore the relation of the hairy black hole solutions with the nonbackreacting quasibound states and scalar clouds, as well as with the boson star solutions.

Black holes turn white fast, otherwise stay black: no half measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barceló, Carlos; Carballo-Rubio, Raúl; Garay, Luis J.

2016-01-01

Recently, various authors have proposed that the dominant ultraviolet effect in the gravitational collapse of massive stars to black holes is the transition between a black-hole geometry and a white-hole geometry, though their proposals are radically different in terms of their physical interpretation and characteristic time scales http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S021827181442022X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.92.104020. Several decades ago, it was shown by Eardley that white holes are highly unstable to the accretion of small amounts of matter, being rapidly turned into black holes http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.33.442. Studying the crossing of null shells on geometries describing the black-hole to white-hole transition, we obtain the conditions for the instability to develop in terms of the parameters of these geometries. We conclude that transitions with long characteristic time scales are pathologically unstable: occasional perturbations away from the perfect vacuum around these compact objects, even if being imperceptibly small, suffocate the white-hole explosion. On the other hand, geometries with short characteristic time scales are shown to be robust against perturbations, so that the corresponding processes could take place in real astrophysical scenarios. This motivates a conjecture about the transition amplitudes of different decay channels for black holes in a suitable ultraviolet completion of general relativity.

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

Direct formation of supermassive black holes via multi-scale gas inflows in galaxy mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, L; Kazantzidis, S; Escala, A; Callegari, S

2010-08-26

Observations of distant quasars indicate that supermassive black holes of billions of solar masses already existed less than a billion years after the Big Bang. Models in which the 'seeds' of such black holes form by the collapse of primordial metal-free stars cannot explain the rapid appearance of these supermassive black holes because gas accretion is not sufficiently efficient. Alternatively, these black holes may form by direct collapse of gas within isolated protogalaxies, but current models require idealized conditions, such as metal-free gas, to prevent cooling and star formation from consuming the gas reservoir. Here we report simulations showing that mergers between massive protogalaxies naturally produce the conditions for direct collapse into a supermassive black hole with no need to suppress cooling and star formation. Merger-driven gas inflows give rise to an unstable, massive nuclear gas disk of a few billion solar masses, which funnels more than 10(8) solar masses of gas to a sub-parsec-scale gas cloud in only 100,000 years. The cloud undergoes gravitational collapse, which eventually leads to the formation of a massive black hole. The black hole can subsequently grow to a billion solar masses on timescales of about 10(8) years by accreting gas from the surrounding disk.

Black Holes and Pulsars in the Introductory Physics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Orear, Jay; Salpeter, E. E.

1973-01-01

Discusses the phenomenon of formation of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes from dying stars for the purpose of providing college teachers with materials usable in the introductory physics course. (CC)

Era of Galaxy and Black Hole Growth Spurt Discovered

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

Distant galaxies undergoing intense bursts of star formation have been shown by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to be fertile growing grounds for the largest black holes in the Universe. Collisions between galaxies in the early Universe may be the ultimate cause for both the accelerated star formation and black hole growth. By combining the deepest X-ray image ever obtained with submillimeter and optical observations, an international team of scientists has found evidence that some extremely luminous adolescent galaxies and their central black holes underwent a phenomenal spurt of growth more than 10 billion years ago. This concurrent black hole and galaxy growth spurt is only seen in these galaxies and may have set the stage for the birth of quasars - distant galaxies that contain the largest and most active black holes in the Universe. Simulation of a Galaxy Collision Simulation of a Galaxy Collision "The extreme distances of these galaxies allow us to look back in time, and take a snapshot of how today's largest galaxies looked when they were producing most of their stars and growing black holes," said David Alexander of the University of Cambridge, UK, and lead author of a paper in the April 7, 2005 issue of Nature that describes this work. The galaxies studied by Alexander and his colleagues are known as submillimeter galaxies, so-called because they were originally identified by the James Clerk Maxwell submillimeter telescope (JCMT) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The submillimeter observations along with optical data from Keck indicate these galaxies had an unusually large amount of gas. The gas in each galaxy was forming into stars at a rate of about one per day, or 100 times the present rate in the Milky Way galaxy. The Chandra X-ray data show that the supermassive black holes in the galaxies were also growing at the same time. Chandra X-ray Image of CDFN Chandra X-ray Image of CDFN These galaxies are very faint and it is only with the deepest observations of the

On the Mass Distribution of Stellar-Mass Black Holes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malkov O. Yu.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The observational stellar-mass black hole mass distribution exhibits a maximum at about 8 M⊙. It can be explained via the details of the massive star evolution, supernova explosions, or consequent black hole evolution. We propose another explanation, connected with an underestimated influence of the relation between the initial stellar mass and the compact remnant mass. We show that an unimodal observational mass distribution of black holes can be produced by a power-law initial mass function and a monotonic “remnant mass versus initial mass” relation.

Black holes

OpenAIRE

Brügmann, B.; Ghez, A. M.; Greiner, J.

2001-01-01

Recent progress in black hole research is illustrated by three examples. We discuss the observational challenges that were met to show that a supermassive black hole exists at the center of our galaxy. Stellar-size black holes have been studied in x-ray binaries and microquasars. Finally, numerical simulations have become possible for the merger of black hole binaries.

Black Hole Caught Zapping Galaxy into Existence?

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

Which come first, the supermassive black holes that frantically devour matter or the enormous galaxies where they reside? A brand new scenario has emerged from a recent set of outstanding observations of a black hole without a home: black holes may be "building" their own host galaxy. This could be the long-sought missing link to understanding why the masses of black holes are larger in galaxies that contain more stars. "The 'chicken and egg' question of whether a galaxy or its black hole comes first is one of the most debated subjects in astrophysics today," says lead author David Elbaz. "Our study suggests that supermassive black holes can trigger the formation of stars, thus 'building' their own host galaxies. This link could also explain why galaxies hosting larger black holes have more stars." To reach such an extraordinary conclusion, the team of astronomers conducted extensive observations of a peculiar object, the nearby quasar HE0450-2958 (see eso0523 for a previous study of this object), which is the only one for which a host galaxy has not yet been detected [1]. HE0450-2958 is located some 5 billion light-years away. Until now, it was speculated that the quasar's host galaxy was hidden behind large amounts of dust, and so the astronomers used a mid-infrared instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope for the observations [2]. At such wavelengths, dust clouds shine very brightly, and are readily detected. "Observing at these wavelengths would allow us to trace dust that might hide the host galaxy," says Knud Jahnke, who led the observations performed at the VLT. "However, we did not find any. Instead we discovered that an apparently unrelated galaxy in the quasar's immediate neighbourhood is producing stars at a frantic rate." These observations have provided a surprising new take on the system. While no trace of stars is revealed around the black hole, its companion galaxy is extremely rich in bright and very young stars. It is forming stars at a rate

Stellar mass black holes in star clusters: gravitational wave emission and detection rates

OpenAIRE

Banerjee, Sambaran

2011-01-01

We investigate the dynamics of stellar-mass black holes (BH) in star clusters focusing on the dynamical formation of BH-BH binaries, which are very important sources of gravitational waves (GW). We examine the properties of these BH-BH binaries through direct N-body computations of Plummer clusters, having initially N(0) = 5 X 10^4, typically a few of them dynamically harden to the extent that they can merge via GW emission within the cluster. Also, for each of such clusters, there are a few ...

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.

Jetted tidal disruptions of stars as a flag of intermediate mass black holes at high redshifts

Science.gov (United States)

Fialkov, Anastasia; Loeb, Abraham

2017-11-01

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) of stars by single or binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs) brighten galactic nuclei and reveal a population of otherwise dormant black holes. Adopting event rates from the literature, we aim to establish general trends in the redshift evolution of the TDE number counts and their observable signals. We pay particular attention to (I) jetted TDEs whose luminosity is boosted by relativistic beaming and (II) TDEs around binary black holes. We show that the brightest (jetted) TDEs are expected to be produced by massive black hole binaries if the occupancy of intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) in low-mass galaxies is high. The same binary population will also provide gravitational wave sources for the evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. In addition, we find that the shape of the X-ray luminosity function of TDEs strongly depends on the occupancy of IMBHs and could be used to constrain scenarios of SMBH formation. Finally, we make predictions for the expected number of TDEs observed by future X-ray telescopes finding that a 50 times more sensitive instrument than the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on board the Swift satellite is expected to trigger ˜10 times more events than BAT, while 6-20 TDEs are expected in each deep field observed by a telescope 50 times more sensitive than the Chandra X-ray Observatory if the occupation fraction of IMBHs is high. Because of their long decay times, high-redshift TDEs can be mistaken for fixed point sources in deep field surveys and targeted observations of the same deep field with year-long intervals could reveal TDEs.

Phenomenology of bouncing black holes in quantum gravity: a closer look

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrau, Aurélien; Bolliet, Boris; Weimer, Celine; Vidotto, Francesca

2016-01-01

It was recently shown that black holes could be bouncing stars as a consequence of quantum gravity. We investigate the astrophysical signals implied by this hypothesis, focusing on primordial black holes. We consider different possible bounce times and study the integrated diffuse emission

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

Post-merger evolution of a neutron star-black hole binary with neutrino transport

Science.gov (United States)

Foucart, Francois; O'Connor, Evan; Roberts, Luke; Duez, Matthew D.; Haas, Roland; Kidder, Lawrence E.; Ott, Christian D.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.; Scheel, Mark A.; Szilagyi, Bela

2015-06-01

We present a first simulation of the post-merger evolution of a black hole-neutron star binary in full general relativity using an energy-integrated general-relativistic truncated moment formalism for neutrino transport. We describe our implementation of the moment formalism and important tests of our code, before studying the formation phase of an accretion disk after a black hole-neutron star merger. We use as initial data an existing general-relativistic simulation of the merger of a neutron star of mass 1.4 M⊙ with a black hole of mass 7 M⊙ and dimensionless spin χBH=0.8 . Comparing with a simpler leakage scheme for the treatment of the neutrinos, we find noticeable differences in the neutron-to-proton ratio in and around the disk, and in the neutrino luminosity. We find that the electron neutrino luminosity is much lower in the transport simulations, and that both the disk and the disk outflows are less neutron rich. The spatial distribution of the neutrinos is significantly affected by relativistic effects, due to large velocities and curvature in the regions of strongest emission. Over the short time scale evolved, we do not observe purely neutrino-driven outflows. However, a small amount of material (3 ×10-4M⊙ ) is ejected in the polar region during the circularization of the disk. Most of that material is ejected early in the formation of the disk, and is fairly neutron rich (electron fraction Ye˜0.15 - 0.25 ). Through r-process nucleosynthesis, that material should produce high-opacity lanthanides in the polar region, and could thus affect the light curve of radioactively powered electromagnetic transients. We also show that by the end of the simulation, while the bulk of the disk remains neutron rich (Ye˜0.15 - 0.2 and decreasing), its outer layers have a higher electron fraction: 10% of the remaining mass has Ye>0.3 . As that material would be the first to be unbound by disk outflows on longer time scales, and as composition evolution is

Cold, clumpy accretion onto an active supermassive black hole.

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Grant R; Oonk, J B Raymond; Combes, Françoise; Salomé, Philippe; O'Dea, Christopher P; Baum, Stefi A; Voit, G Mark; Donahue, Megan; McNamara, Brian R; Davis, Timothy A; McDonald, Michael A; Edge, Alastair C; Clarke, Tracy E; Galván-Madrid, Roberto; Bremer, Malcolm N; Edwards, Louise O V; Fabian, Andrew C; Hamer, Stephen; Li, Yuan; Maury, Anaëlle; Russell, Helen R; Quillen, Alice C; Urry, C Megan; Sanders, Jeremy S; Wise, Michael W

2016-06-09

Supermassive black holes in galaxy centres can grow by the accretion of gas, liberating energy that might regulate star formation on galaxy-wide scales. The nature of the gaseous fuel reservoirs that power black hole growth is nevertheless largely unconstrained by observations, and is instead routinely simplified as a smooth, spherical inflow of very hot gas. Recent theory and simulations instead predict that accretion can be dominated by a stochastic, clumpy distribution of very cold molecular clouds--a departure from the 'hot mode' accretion model--although unambiguous observational support for this prediction remains elusive. Here we report observations that reveal a cold, clumpy accretion flow towards a supermassive black hole fuel reservoir in the nucleus of the Abell 2597 Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG), a nearby (redshift z = 0.0821) giant elliptical galaxy surrounded by a dense halo of hot plasma. Under the right conditions, thermal instabilities produce a rain of cold clouds that fall towards the galaxy's centre, sustaining star formation amid a kiloparsec-scale molecular nebula that is found at its core. The observations show that these cold clouds also fuel black hole accretion, revealing 'shadows' cast by the molecular clouds as they move inward at about 300 kilometres per second towards the active supermassive black hole, which serves as a bright backlight. Corroborating evidence from prior observations of warmer atomic gas at extremely high spatial resolution, along with simple arguments based on geometry and probability, indicate that these clouds are within the innermost hundred parsecs of the black hole, and falling closer towards it.

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.

From Pinholes to Black Holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenimore, Edward E. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2014-10-06

Pinhole photography has made major contributions to astrophysics through the use of “coded apertures”. Coded apertures were instrumental in locating gamma-ray bursts and proving that they originate in faraway galaxies, some from the birth of black holes from the first stars that formed just after the big bang.

When Supermassive Black Holes Wander

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-05-01

wanderers within 10 kpc of the halo center (roughly the size of the Milky Ways disk).These wandering supermassive black holes were kicked onto wide orbits during the merger of their host galaxy with the main halo; Tremmel and collaborators find that their orbits are often tilted, lying outside of the galactic disk. Because these black holes travel through relatively deserted regions, they accumulate little mass and are rarely perturbed in their journeys, wandering for billions of years.Finding MonstersCumulative fraction of simulated Milky-Way-mass halos as a function of the number of supermassive black holes they host. All of the halos host at least one SMBH within 10 kpc from halo center, but the majority host more than that. [Tremmel et al. 2018]Tremmel and collaborators simulations suggest that, regardless of its merger history, a Milky-Way-mass halo will end up with an average of 5 supermassive black holes within 10 kpc of the galaxy center, and an average of 12 within its larger virial radius! This means there could be a number of supermassive black holes just like the enormous Sgr A* at our galaxys core wandering the Milky Way unseen.So how can we find these invisible monsters? We already have some observational evidence in the form of offset and dual active galactic nuclei of non-central supermassive black holes in distant galaxies. As for nearby, our best bet is to look for tidal disruption events, the burps of emission that occur when an otherwise invisible black hole encounters a star or a cloud of gas.CitationMichael Tremmel et al 2018 ApJL 857 L22. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aabc0a

Black holes in the early Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Volonteri, Marta; Bellovary, Jillian

2012-12-01

The existence of massive black holes (MBHs) was postulated in the 1960s, when the first quasars were discovered. In the late 1990s their reality was proven beyond doubt in the Milky way and a handful nearby galaxies. Since then, enormous theoretical and observational efforts have been made to understand the astrophysics of MBHs. We have discovered that some of the most massive black holes known, weighing billions of solar masses, powered luminous quasars within the first billion years of the Universe. The first MBHs must therefore have formed around the time the first stars and galaxies formed. Dynamical evidence also indicates that black holes with masses of millions to billions of solar masses ordinarily dwell in the centers of today's galaxies. MBHs populate galaxy centers today, and shone as quasars in the past; the quiescent black holes that we detect now in nearby bulges are the dormant remnants of this fiery past. In this review we report on basic, but critical, questions regarding the cosmological significance of MBHs. What physical mechanisms led to the formation of the first MBHs? How massive were the initial MBH seeds? When and where did they form? How is the growth of black holes linked to that of their host galaxy? The answers to most of these questions are works in progress, in the spirit of these reports on progress in physics.

Black holes in the early Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volonteri, Marta; Bellovary, Jillian

2012-01-01

The existence of massive black holes (MBHs) was postulated in the 1960s, when the first quasars were discovered. In the late 1990s their reality was proven beyond doubt in the Milky way and a handful nearby galaxies. Since then, enormous theoretical and observational efforts have been made to understand the astrophysics of MBHs. We have discovered that some of the most massive black holes known, weighing billions of solar masses, powered luminous quasars within the first billion years of the Universe. The first MBHs must therefore have formed around the time the first stars and galaxies formed. Dynamical evidence also indicates that black holes with masses of millions to billions of solar masses ordinarily dwell in the centers of today's galaxies. MBHs populate galaxy centers today, and shone as quasars in the past; the quiescent black holes that we detect now in nearby bulges are the dormant remnants of this fiery past. In this review we report on basic, but critical, questions regarding the cosmological significance of MBHs. What physical mechanisms led to the formation of the first MBHs? How massive were the initial MBH seeds? When and where did they form? How is the growth of black holes linked to that of their host galaxy? The answers to most of these questions are works in progress, in the spirit of these reports on progress in physics. (review article)

From binary black hole simulation to triple black hole simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai Shan; Cao Zhoujian; Han, Wen-Biao; Lin, Chun-Yu; Yo, Hwei-Jang; Yu, Jui-Ping

2011-01-01

Black hole systems are among the most promising sources for a gravitational wave detection project. Now, China is planning to construct a space-based laser interferometric detector as a follow-on mission of LISA in the near future. Aiming to provide some theoretical support to this detection project on the numerical relativity side, we focus on black hole systems simulation in this work. Considering the globular galaxy, multiple black hole systems also likely to exist in our universe and play a role as a source for the gravitational wave detector we are considering. We will give a progress report in this paper on our black hole system simulation. More specifically, we will present triple black hole simulation together with binary black hole simulation. On triple black hole simulations, one novel perturbational method is proposed.

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

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.

White dwarfs - black holes. Weisse Zwerge - schwarze Loecher

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sexl, R; Sexl, H

1975-04-01

The physical arguments and problems of relativistic astrophysics are presented in a correct way, but without any higher mathematics. The book is addressed to teachers, experimental physicists, and others with a basic knowledge covering an introductory lecture in physics. The issues dealt with are: fundamentals of general relativity, classical tests of general relativity, curved space-time, stars and planets, pulsars, gravitational collapse and black holes, the search for black holes, gravitational waves, cosmology, cosmogony, and the early universe.

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...

Reflection Spectra of the Black Hole Binary Candidate MAXI J1535-571 in the Hard State Observed by NuSTAR

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yanjun; Harrison, Fiona A.; García, Javier A.; Fabian, Andrew C.; Fürst, Felix; Gandhi, Poshak; Grefenstette, Brian W.; Madsen, Kristin K.; Miller, Jon M.; Parker, Michael L.; Tomsick, John A.; Walton, Dominic J.

2018-01-01

We report on a Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observation of the recently discovered bright black hole candidate MAXI J1535-571. NuSTAR observed the source on MJD 58003 (five days after the outburst was reported). The spectrum is characteristic of a black hole binary in the hard state. We observe clear disk reflection features, including a broad Fe Kα line and a Compton hump peaking around 30 keV. Detailed spectral modeling reveals a narrow Fe Kα line complex centered around 6.5 keV on top of the strong relativistically broadened Fe Kα line. The narrow component is consistent with distant reflection from moderately ionized material. The spectral continuum is well described by a combination of cool thermal disk photons and a Comptonized plasma with the electron temperature {{kT}}{{e}}=19.7+/- 0.4 keV. An adequate fit can be achieved for the disk reflection features with a self-consistent relativistic reflection model that assumes a lamp-post geometry for the coronal illuminating source. The spectral fitting measures a black hole spin a> 0.84, inner disk radius {R}{in}lamp-post height h={7.2}-2.0+0.8 {r}{{g}} (statistical errors, 90% confidence), indicating no significant disk truncation and a compact corona. Although the distance and mass of this source are not currently known, this suggests the source was likely in the brighter phases of the hard state during this NuSTAR observation.

Orbital circularisation of white dwarfs and the formation of gravitational radiation sources in star clusters containing an intermediate mass black hole

OpenAIRE

Ivanov, P. B.; Papaloizou, J. C. B.

2007-01-01

(abbreviated) We consider how tight binaries consisting of a super-massive black hole of mass $M=10^{3}-10^{4}M_{\\odot}$ and a white dwarf can be formed in a globular cluster. We point out that a major fraction of white dwarfs tidally captured by the black hole may be destroyed by tidal inflation during ongoing circularisation, and the formation of tight binaries is inhibited. However, some stars may survive being spun up to high rotation rates. Then the energy loss through gravitational wave...

Phases of global AdS black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, Pallab; Krishnan, Chethan; Subramanian, P.N. Bala

2016-01-01

We study the phases of gravity coupled to a charged scalar and gauge field in an asymptotically Anti-de Sitter spacetime (AdS_4) in the grand canonical ensemble. For the conformally coupled scalar, an intricate phase diagram is charted out between the four relevant solutions: global AdS, boson star, Reissner-Nordstrom black hole and the hairy black hole. The nature of the phase diagram undergoes qualitative changes as the charge of the scalar is changed, which we discuss. We also discuss the new features that arise in the extremal limit.

Quantum corrections to Schwarzschild black hole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calmet, Xavier; El-Menoufi, Basem Kamal [University of Sussex, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brighton (United Kingdom)

2017-04-15

Using effective field theory techniques, we compute quantum corrections to spherically symmetric solutions of Einstein's gravity and focus in particular on the Schwarzschild black hole. Quantum modifications are covariantly encoded in a non-local effective action. We work to quadratic order in curvatures simultaneously taking local and non-local corrections into account. Looking for solutions perturbatively close to that of classical general relativity, we find that an eternal Schwarzschild black hole remains a solution and receives no quantum corrections up to this order in the curvature expansion. In contrast, the field of a massive star receives corrections which are fully determined by the effective field theory. (orig.)

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

NuSTAR reveals the extreme properties of the super-Eddington accreting supermassive black hole in PG 1247+267

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lanzuisi, G.; Perna, M.; Comastri, A.

2016-01-01

PG1247+267 is one of the most luminous known quasars at z similar to 2 and is a strongly super-Eddington accreting supermassive black hole (SMBH) candidate. We obtained NuSTAR data of this intriguing source in December 2014 with the aim of studying its high-energy emission, leveraging the broad...

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.

Dancing around the Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2001-08-01

ISAAC Finds "Cool" Young Stellar Systems at the Centres of Active Galaxies Summary Supermassive Black Holes are present at the centres of many galaxies, some weighing hundreds of millions times more than the Sun. These extremely dense objects cannot be observed directly, but violently moving gas clouds and stars in their strong gravitational fields are responsible for the emission of energetic radiation from such "active galaxy nuclei" (AGN) . A heavy Black Hole feeds agressively on its surroundings . When the neighbouring gas and stars finally spiral into the Black Hole, a substantial fraction of the infalling mass is transformed into pure energy. However, it is not yet well understood how, long before this dramatic event takes place, all that material is moved from the outer regions of the galaxy towards the central region. So how is the food for the central Black Hole delivered to the table in the first place? To cast more light on this central question, a team of French and Swiss astronomers [1] has carried out a series of trailblazing observations with the VLT Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC) on the VLT 8.2-m ANTU telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory. The ISAAC instrument is particularly well suited to this type of observations. Visible light cannot penetrate the thick clouds of dust and gas in the innermost regions of active galaxies, but by recording the infrared light from the stars close to the Black Hole , their motions can be studied. By charting those motions in the central regions of three active galaxies (NGC 1097, NGC 1808 and NGC 5728), the astronomers were able to confirm the presence of "nuclear bars" in all three. These are dynamical structures that "open a road" for the flow of material towards the innermost region. Moreover, the team was surprised to discover signs of a young stellar population near the centres of these galaxies - stars that have apparently formed quite recently in a central gas disk. Such a system is unstable

$W_\\infty$ Algebras, Hawking Radiation and Information Retention by Stringy Black Holes

CERN Document Server

Ellis, John; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V

2016-01-01

We have argued previously, based on the analysis of two-dimensional stringy black holes, that information in stringy versions of four-dimensional Schwarzschild black holes (whose singular regions are represented by appropriate Wess-Zumino-Witten models) is retained by quantum $W$-symmetries when the horizon area is not preserved due to Hawking radiation. It is key that the exactly-marginal conformal world-sheet operator representing a massless stringy particle interacting with the black hole requires a contribution from $W_\\infty$ generators in its vertex function. The latter correspond to delocalised, non-propagating, string excitations that guarantee the transfer of information between the string black hole and external particles. When infalling matter crosses the horizon, these topological states are excited via a process: (Stringy black hole) + infalling matter $\\rightarrow $ (Stringy black hole)$^\\star$, where the black hole is viewed as a stringy state with a specific configuration of $W_\\infty$ charges...

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).

Chandra Data Reveal Rapidly Whirling Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

black holes," said co-investigator Richard Bower of Durham University. "This might help us explain the source of these incredible jets that we see stretching for enormous distances across space." One significant connection consequence of powerful, black-hole jets in galaxies in the centers of galaxy clusters is that they can pump enormous amounts of energy into their environments, and heat the gas around them. This heating prevents the gas from cooling, and affects the rate at which new stars form, thereby limiting the size of the central galaxy. Understanding the details of this fundamental feedback loop between supermassive black holes and the formation of the most massive galaxies remains an important goal in astrophysics. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Jet Power and Black Hole Assortment Revealed in New Chandra Image

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

A dramatic new Chandra image of the nearby galaxy Centaurus A provides one of the best views to date of the effects of an active supermassive black hole. Opposing jets of high-energy particles can be seen extending to the outer reaches of the galaxy, and numerous smaller black holes in binary star systems are also visible. The image was made from an ultra-deep look at the galaxy Centaurus A, equivalent to more than seven days of continuous observations. Centaurus A is the nearest galaxy to Earth that contains a supermassive black hole actively powering a jet. X-ray Image of Centaurus A, Labeled X-ray Image of Centaurus A, Labeled A prominent X-ray jet extending for 13,000 light years points to the upper left in the image, with a shorter "counterjet" aimed in the opposite direction. Astronomers think that such jets are important vehicles for transporting energy from the black hole to the much larger dimensions of a galaxy, and affecting the rate at which stars form there. High-energy electrons spiraling around magnetic field lines produce the X-ray emission from the jet and counterjet. This emission quickly saps the energy from the electrons, so they must be continually reaccelerated or the X-rays will fade out. Knot-like features in the jets detected in the Chandra image show where the acceleration of particles to high energies is currently occurring, and provides important clues to understanding the process that accelerates the electrons to near-light speeds. People Who Read This Also Read... NASA’s Swift Satellite Catches First Supernova in The Act of Exploding Black Holes Have Simple Feeding Habits Chandra Data Reveal Rapidly Whirling Black Holes Erratic Black Hole Regulates Itself The inner part of the X-ray jet close to the black hole is dominated by these knots of X-ray emission, which probably come from shock waves -- akin to sonic booms -- caused by the jet. Farther from the black hole there is more diffuse X-ray emission in the jet. The cause of particle

Accretion-induced variability links young stellar objects, white dwarfs, and black holes.

Science.gov (United States)

Scaringi, Simone; Maccarone, Thomas J; Körding, Elmar; Knigge, Christian; Vaughan, Simon; Marsh, Thomas R; Aranzana, Ester; Dhillon, Vikram S; Barros, Susana C C

2015-10-01

The central engines of disc-accreting stellar-mass black holes appear to be scaled down versions of the supermassive black holes that power active galactic nuclei. However, if the physics of accretion is universal, it should also be possible to extend this scaling to other types of accreting systems, irrespective of accretor mass, size, or type. We examine new observations, obtained with Kepler/K2 and ULTRACAM, regarding accreting white dwarfs and young stellar objects. Every object in the sample displays the same linear correlation between the brightness of the source and its amplitude of variability (rms-flux relation) and obeys the same quantitative scaling relation as stellar-mass black holes and active galactic nuclei. We also show that the most important parameter in this scaling relation is the physical size of the accreting object. This establishes the universality of accretion physics from proto-stars still in the star-forming process to the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.

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)

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

Nuclear star formation activity and black hole accretion in nearby Seyfert galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esquej, P. [Centro de Astrobiología, INTA-CSIC, Villafranca del Castillo, E-28850, Madrid (Spain); Alonso-Herrero, A.; Hernán-Caballero, A. [Instituto de Física de Cantabria, CSIC-Universidad de Cantabria, E-39005 Santander (Spain); González-Martín, O.; Ramos Almeida, C.; Rodríguez Espinosa, J. M. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), C/Vía Láctea, E-38205, La Laguna (Spain); Hönig, S. F. [UCSB Department of Physics, Broida Hall 2015H, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Roche, P. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Mason, R. E. [Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 North A' ohoku, HI 96720 (United States); Díaz-Santos, T. [Spitzer Science Center, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Levenson, N. A. [Gemini Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Aretxaga, I. [Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), Aptdo. Postal 51 y 216, 72000 Puebla (Mexico); Packham, C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 (United States)

2014-01-01

Recent theoretical and observational works indicate the presence of a correlation between the star-formation rate (SFR) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) luminosity (and, therefore, the black hole accretion rate, M-dot {sub BH}) of Seyfert galaxies. This suggests a physical connection between the gas-forming stars on kpc scales and the gas on sub-pc scales that is feeding the black hole. We compiled the largest sample of Seyfert galaxies to date with high angular resolution (∼0.''4-0.''8) mid-infrared (8-13 μm) spectroscopy. The sample includes 29 Seyfert galaxies drawn from the AGN Revised Shapley-Ames catalog. At a median distance of 33 Mpc, our data allow us to probe nuclear regions on scales of ∼65 pc (median value). We found no general evidence of suppression of the 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in the vicinity of these AGN, and we used this feature as a proxy for the SFR. We detected the 11.3 μm PAH feature in the nuclear spectra of 45% of our sample. The derived nuclear SFRs are, on average, five times lower than those measured in circumnuclear regions of 600 pc in size (median value). However, the projected nuclear SFR densities (median value of 22 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} kpc{sup –2}) are a factor of 20 higher than those measured on circumnuclear scales. This indicates that the SF activity per unit area in the central ∼65 pc region of Seyfert galaxies is much higher than at larger distances from their nuclei. We studied the connection between the nuclear SFR and M-dot {sub BH} and showed that numerical simulations reproduce our observed relation fairly well.

I-Love-Q relations: from compact stars to black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagi, Kent; Yunes, Nicolás

2016-01-01

The relations between most observables associated with a compact star, such as the mass and radius of a neutron star or a quark star, typically depend strongly on their unknown internal structure. The recently discovered I-Love-Q relations (between the moment of inertia, the tidal deformability and the quadrupole moment) are however approximately insensitive to this structure. These relations become exact for stationary black holes (BHs) in General Relativity as shown by the no-hair theorems, mainly because BHs are vacuum solutions with event horizons. In this paper, we take the first steps toward studying how the approximate I-Love-Q relations become exact in the limit as compact stars become BHs. To do so, we consider a toy model for compact stars, i.e. incompressible stars with anisotropic pressure, which allows us to model an equilibrium sequence of stars with ever increasing compactness that approaches the BH limit arbitrarily closely. We numerically construct such a sequence in the slow-rotation and in the small-tide approximations by extending the Hartle–Thorne formalism, and then extract the I-Love-Q trio from the asymptotic behavior of the metric tensor at spatial infinity. We find that the I-Love-Q relations approach the BH limit in a nontrivial way, with the quadrupole moment and the tidal deformability changing sign as the compactness and the amount of anisotropy are increased. Through a generalization of Maclaurin spheroids to anisotropic stars, we show that the multipole moments also change sign in the Newtonian limit as the amount of anisotropy is increased because the star becomes prolate. We also prove analytically that the stellar moment of inertia reaches the BH limit as the compactness reaches a critical BH value in the strongly anisotropic limit. Modeling the BH limit through a sequence of anisotropic stars, however, can fail when considering other theories of gravity. We calculate the scalar dipole charge and the moment of inertia in a

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.

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)

Chandra Discovers Light Echo from the Milky Way's Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

Like cold case investigators, astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to uncover evidence of a powerful outburst from the giant black hole at the Milky Way's center. A light echo was produced when X-ray light generated by gas falling into the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced "A-star"), was reflected off gas clouds near the black hole. While the primary X-rays from the outburst would have reached Earth about 50 years ago, the reflected X-rays took a longer path and arrived in time to be recorded by Chandra. Variability in Chandra Images of Light Echo Variability in Chandra Images of Light Echo "This dramatic event happened before we had satellites in space that could detect it," said Michael Muno of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "So, it's remarkable that we can use Chandra to dig into the past and see this monster black hole's capacity for destruction." Previously, scientists have used Chandra to directly detect smaller and more recent outbursts from the black hole. This latest outburst revealed by the X-ray echo was about 1,000 times brighter and lasted well over 1,000 times longer than any of the recent outbursts observed by Chandra. Theory predicts that an outburst from Sagittarius A* would cause X-ray emission from the clouds to vary in both intensity and shape. Muno and his team found these changes for the first time, thus ruling out other interpretations. The latest results corroborate other independent, but indirect, evidence for light echoes generated by the black hole in the more distant past. Illustrations of Light Echo Illustrations of Light Echo Scientists have long known that Sagittarius A*, with a mass of about 3 million suns, lurked at the center for Milky Way. However, the black hole is incredibly faint at all wavelengths, especially in X-rays. "This faintness implies that stars and gas rarely get close enough to the black hole to be in any danger," said co-author Frederick

An actively accreting massive black hole in the dwarf starburst galaxy Henize 2-10.

Science.gov (United States)

Reines, Amy E; Sivakoff, Gregory R; Johnson, Kelsey E; Brogan, Crystal L

2011-02-03

Supermassive black holes are now thought to lie at the heart of every giant galaxy with a spheroidal component, including our own Milky Way. The birth and growth of the first 'seed' black holes in the earlier Universe, however, is observationally unconstrained and we are only beginning to piece together a scenario for their subsequent evolution. Here we report that the nearby dwarf starburst galaxy Henize 2-10 (refs 5 and 6) contains a compact radio source at the dynamical centre of the galaxy that is spatially coincident with a hard X-ray source. From these observations, we conclude that Henize 2-10 harbours an actively accreting central black hole with a mass of approximately one million solar masses. This nearby dwarf galaxy, simultaneously hosting a massive black hole and an extreme burst of star formation, is analogous in many ways to galaxies in the infant Universe during the early stages of black-hole growth and galaxy mass assembly. Our results confirm that nearby star-forming dwarf galaxies can indeed form massive black holes, and that by implication so can their primordial counterparts. Moreover, the lack of a substantial spheroidal component in Henize 2-10 indicates that supermassive black-hole growth may precede the build-up of galaxy spheroids.

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.

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.

Formation Rates of Black Hole Accretion Disk Gamma-Ray Bursts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fryer, Chris L.; Woosley, S. E.; Hartmann, Dieter H.

1999-01-01

The cosmological origin of at least an appreciable fraction of classical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is now supported by redshift measurements for a half-dozen faint host galaxies. Still, the nature of the central engine (or engines) that provide the burst energy remains unclear. While many models have been proposed, those currently favored are all based upon the formation of and/or rapid accretion into stellar-mass black holes. Here we discuss a variety of such scenarios and estimate the probability of each. Population synthesis calculations are carried out using a Monte Carlo approach in which the many uncertain parameters intrinsic to such calculations are varied. We estimate the event rate for each class of model as well as the propagation distances for those having significant delay between formation and burst production, i.e., double neutron star (DNS) mergers and black hole-neutron star (BH/NS) mergers. One conclusion is a 1-2 order of magnitude decrease in the rate of DNS and BH/NS mergers compared to that previously calculated using invalid assumptions about common envelope evolution. Other major uncertainties in the event rates and propagation distances include the history of star formation in the universe, the masses of the galaxies in which merging compact objects are born, and the radii of the hydrogen-stripped cores of massive stars. For reasonable assumptions regarding each, we calculate a daily event rate in the universe for (1) merging neutron stars: ∼100 day-1; (2) neutron star-black hole mergers: ∼450 day-1; (3) collapsars: ∼104 day-1; (4) helium star black hole mergers: ∼1000 day-1; and (5) white dwarf-black hole mergers: ∼20 day-1. The range of uncertainty in these numbers, however, is very large, typically 2-3 orders of magnitude. These rates must additionally be multiplied by any relevant beaming factor (f Ω <1) and sampling fraction (if the entire universal set of models is not being observed). Depending upon the mass of the host

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.

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)

NASA's Chandra Finds Black Holes Are "Green"

Science.gov (United States)

2006-04-01

the cavities. "If a car was as fuel-efficient as these black holes, it could theoretically travel over a billion miles on a gallon of gas," said coauthor Christopher Reynolds of the University of Maryland, College Park. New details are given about how black hole engines achieve this extreme efficiency. Some of the gas first attracted to the black holes may be blown away by the energetic activity before it gets too near the black hole, but a significant fraction must eventually approach the event horizon where it is used with high efficiency to power the jets. The study also implies that matter flows towards the black holes at a steady rate for several million years. Chandra X-ray Images of Elliptical Galaxies Chandra X-ray Images of Elliptical Galaxies "These black holes are very efficient, but it also takes a very long time to refuel them," said Steve Allen who receives funding from the Office of Science of the Department of Energy. This new study shows that black holes are green in another important way. The energy transferred to the hot gas by the jets should keep hot gas from cooling, thereby preventing billions of new stars from forming. This will place limits on the growth of the largest galaxies, and prevent galactic sprawl from taking over the neighborhood. These results will appear in an upcoming issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

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.

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.

Regular black holes: electrically charged solutions, Reissner-Nordstroem outside a De Sitter core

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemos, Jose P.S. [Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa (CENTRA/IST/UTL) (Portugal). Instituto Superior Tecnico. Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofisica; Zanchin, Vilson T. [Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo Andre, SP (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Naturais e Humanas

2011-07-01

Full text: The understanding of the inside of a black hole is of crucial importance in order to have the correct picture of a black hole as a whole. The singularities that lurk inside of the usual black hole solutions are things to avoid. Their substitution by a regular part is of great interest, the process generating regular black holes. In the present work regular black hole solutions are found within general relativity coupled to Maxwell's electromagnetism and charged matter. We show that there are objects which correspond to regular charged black holes, whose interior region is de Sitter, whose exterior region is Reissner-Nordstroem, and the boundary between both regions is made of an electrically charged spherically symmetric coat. There are several solutions: the regular nonextremal black holes with a null matter boundary, the regular nonextremal black holes with a timelike matter boundary, the regular extremal black holes with a timelike matter boundary, and the regular overcharged stars with a timelike matter boundary. The main physical and geometrical properties of such charged regular solutions are analyzed. (author)

The Disk Wind in the Rapidly Spinning Stellar-mass Black Hole 4U 1630-472 Observed with NuSTAR

Science.gov (United States)

King, Ashley L.; Walton, Dominic J.; Miller, Jon M.; Barret, Didier; Boggs, Steven E.; Christensen, Finn E.; Craig, William W.; Fabian, Andy C.; Furst, Felix; Hailey, Charles J.;

Do superheavy elements imply the existence of black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pringle, J.E.; Dearborn, D.S.P.; Fabian, A.C.

1976-01-01

Some comments are offered on the question of where superheavy elements, such as elements 116, 124 and 126, are likely to have been formed. Most of these elements are thought to have been produced under conditions of explosive nucleosynthesis by what is known as the 'r-process', and particularly in conventional supernova explosions, but it is stated that the ability of the r-process to produce superheavy elements is very uncertain, and the conditions necessary for synthesis of these elements are difficult to realise in astrophysical situations. It is thought that superheavy elements exist in the outer layers of neutron stars, and ideal conditions for the production of superheavy nuclei, such as high neutron flux and rapid β decays, occur in the disruption of a neutron star. Such disruption is possible in two ways, both of which involve a black hole. It is likely that a neutron star is disrupted when it accretes sufficient material for its mass to exceed the maximum mass for stability, and it then has no alternative but to collapse to form a black hole and it seems possible that some of the outer layers are thrown off during the process. It is thus argued that the most likely site for the production of superheavy elements is in the surface layers of a neutron star, and the most plausible means by which these layers can be returned to the interstellar medium involves the intervention or formation of a black hole. (U.K.)

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.

Gravitational Waves from Binary Black Hole Mergers inside Stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Fedrow, Joseph M; Ott, Christian D; Sperhake, Ulrich; Blackman, Jonathan; Haas, Roland; Reisswig, Christian; De Felice, Antonio

2017-10-27

We present results from a controlled numerical experiment investigating the effect of stellar density gas on the coalescence of binary black holes (BBHs) and the resulting gravitational waves (GWs). This investigation is motivated by the proposed stellar core fragmentation scenario for BBH formation and the associated possibility of an electromagnetic counterpart to a BBH GW event. We employ full numerical relativity coupled with general-relativistic hydrodynamics and set up a 30+30  M_{⊙} BBH (motivated by GW150914) inside gas with realistic stellar densities. Our results show that at densities ρ≳10^{6}-10^{7}  g cm^{-3} dynamical friction between the BHs and gas changes the coalescence dynamics and the GW signal in an unmistakable way. We show that for GW150914, LIGO observations appear to rule out BBH coalescence inside stellar gas of ρ≳10^{7}  g cm^{-3}. Typical densities in the collapsing cores of massive stars are in excess of this density. This excludes the fragmentation scenario for the formation of GW150914.

Kerr black holes with scalar hair.

Science.gov (United States)

Herdeiro, Carlos A R; Radu, Eugen

2014-06-06

We present a family of solutions of Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to a complex, massive scalar field, describing asymptotically flat, spinning black holes with scalar hair and a regular horizon. These hairy black holes (HBHs) are supported by rotation and have no static limit. Besides mass M and angular momentum J, they carry a conserved, continuous Noether charge Q measuring the scalar hair. HBHs branch off from the Kerr metric at the threshold of the superradiant instability and reduce to spinning boson stars in the limit of vanishing horizon area. They overlap with Kerr black holes for a set of (M, J) values. A single Killing vector field preserves the solutions, tangent to the null geodesic generators of the event horizon. HBHs can exhibit sharp physical differences when compared to the Kerr solution, such as J/M^{2}>1, a quadrupole moment larger than J^{2}/M, and a larger orbital angular velocity at the innermost stable circular orbit. Families of HBHs connected to the Kerr geometry should exist in scalar (and other) models with more general self-interactions.

Brown dwarfs and black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarter, J.C.

1978-01-01

The astronomical missing-mass problem (the discrepancy between the dynamical mass estimate and the sum of individual masses in large groupings) is considered, and possible explanations are advanced. The existence of brown dwarfs (stars not massive enough to shine by nuclear burning) and black holes (extremely high density matter contraction such that gravitation allows no light emission) thus far provides the most plausible solutions

Production of the entire range of r-process nuclides by black hole accretion disc outflows from neutron star mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Meng-Ru; Fernández, Rodrigo; Martínez-Pinedo, Gabriel; Metzger, Brian D.

2016-12-01

We consider r-process nucleosynthesis in outflows from black hole accretion discs formed in double neutron star and neutron star-black hole mergers. These outflows, powered by angular momentum transport processes and nuclear recombination, represent an important - and in some cases dominant - contribution to the total mass ejected by the merger. Here we calculate the nucleosynthesis yields from disc outflows using thermodynamic trajectories from hydrodynamic simulations, coupled to a nuclear reaction network. We find that outflows produce a robust abundance pattern around the second r-process peak (mass number A ˜ 130), independent of model parameters, with significant production of A spike at A = 132 that is absent in the Solar system r-process distribution. The spike arises from convection in the disc and depends on the treatment of nuclear heating in the simulations. We conclude that disc outflows provide an important - and perhaps dominant - contribution to the r-process yields of compact binary mergers, and hence must be included when assessing the contribution of these systems to the inventory of r-process elements in the Galaxy.

Winds of Change: How Black Holes May Shape Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-01

portion of the gas is pulled into the black hole, but some of it is blown away. High energy X-rays produced by the gas near the black hole heat the ouflowing gas, causing it to glow at lower X-ray energies. This Chandra study by Evans and his colleagues is much deeper than previous X-ray observations. It allowed them to make a high-definition map of the cone-shaped volume lit up by the black hole and its winds. By combining measurement of the velocity of the clouds with estimates of the density of the gas, Evans and his colleagues showed that each year several times the mass of the Sun is being deposited out to large distances, about 3,000 light years from the black hole. The wind may carry enough energy to heat the surrounding gas and suppress extra star formation. "We have shown that even these middle-of-the-road black holes can pack a punch," said Evans. "I think the upshot is that these black holes are anything but ordinary." Further Chandra HETGS studies of other nearby galaxies will examine the impact of other AGN outflows, leading to improvements in our understanding of the evolution of both galaxies and black holes. "In the future, our own Galaxy's black hole may undergo similar activity, helping to shut down the growth of new stars in the central region of the Milky Way," said Evans. These new results provide a key comparison to previous work performed at Georgia State University and the Catholic University of America with the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS instrument. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. More information, including images and other multimedia, can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Exact solutions for shells collapsing towards a pre-existing black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yuan; Zhang Shuangnan

2009-01-01

The gravitational collapse of a star is an important issue both for general relativity and astrophysics, which is related to the well-known 'frozen star' paradox. This paradox has been discussed intensively and seems to have been solved in the comoving-like coordinates. However, to a real astrophysical observer within a finite time, this problem should be discussed in the point of view of the distant rest-observer, which is the main purpose of this Letter. Following the seminal work of Oppenheimer and Snyder (1939), we present the exact solution for one or two dust shells collapsing towards a pre-existing black hole. We find that the metric of the inner region of the shell is time-dependent and the clock inside the shell becomes slower as the shell collapses towards the pre-existing black hole. This means the inner region of the shell is influenced by the property of the shell, which is contrary to the result in Newtonian theory. It does not contradict the Birkhoff's theorem, since in our case we cannot arbitrarily select the clock inside the shell in order to ensure the continuity of the metric. This result in principle may be tested experimentally if a beam of light travels across the shell, which will take a longer time than without the shell. It can be considered as the generalized Shapiro effect, because this effect is due to the mass outside, but not inside as the case of the standard Shapiro effect. We also found that in real astrophysical settings matter can indeed cross a black hole's horizon according to the clock of an external observer and will not accumulate around the event horizon of a black hole, i.e., no 'frozen star' is formed for an external observer as matter falls towards a black hole. Therefore, we predict that only gravitational wave radiation can be produced in the final stage of the merging process of two coalescing black holes. Our results also indicate that for the clock of an external observer, matter, after crossing the event horizon

Magnetic massive stars as progenitors of `heavy' stellar-mass black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Petit, V.; Keszthelyi, Z.; MacInnis, R.; Cohen, D. H.; Townsend, R. H. D.; Wade, G. A.; Thomas, S. L.; Owocki, S. P.; Puls, J.; ud-Doula, A.

2017-04-01

The groundbreaking detection of gravitational waves produced by the inspiralling and coalescence of the black hole (BH) binary GW150914 confirms the existence of 'heavy' stellar-mass BHs with masses >25 M⊙. Initial characterization of the system by Abbott et al. supposes that the formation of BHs with such large masses from the evolution of single massive stars is only feasible if the wind mass-loss rates of the progenitors were greatly reduced relative to the mass-loss rates of massive stars in the Galaxy, concluding that heavy BHs must form in low-metallicity (Z ≲ 0.25-0.5 Z⊙) environments. However, strong surface magnetic fields also provide a powerful mechanism for modifying mass-loss and rotation of massive stars, independent of environmental metallicity. In this paper, we explore the hypothesis that some heavy BHs, with masses >25 M⊙ such as those inferred to compose GW150914, could be the natural end-point of evolution of magnetic massive stars in a solar-metallicity environment. Using the MESA code, we developed a new grid of single, non-rotating, solar-metallicity evolutionary models for initial zero-age main sequence masses from 40 to 80 M⊙ that include, for the first time, the quenching of the mass-loss due to a realistic dipolar surface magnetic field. The new models predict terminal-age main-sequence (TAMS) masses that are significantly greater than those from equivalent non-magnetic models, reducing the total mass lost by a strongly magnetized 80 M⊙ star during its main-sequence evolution by 20 M⊙. This corresponds approximately to the mass-loss reduction expected from an environment with metallicity Z = 1/30 Z⊙.

How to Build a Supermassive Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Wanjek, Christopher

2003-01-01

NASA astronomer Kim Weaver has got that sinking feeling. You know, it's that unsettling notion you get when you sift through your X-ray data and, to your surprise, find mid-sized black holes sinking toward the center of a galaxy, where they merge with others to form a single supermassive black hole. Could such a thing be true? These would be the largest mergers since America On Line bought Time-Warner, and perhaps even more violent. The process would turn a starburst galaxy inside out, making it more like a quasar host galaxy. Using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Weaver saw a hint of this fantastic process in a relatively nearby starburst galaxy named NGC 253 in the constellation Sculptor. She noticed that starburst galaxies - those gems set aglow in a colorful life cycle of hyperactive star birth, death, and renewal - seem to have a higher concentration of mid-mass black holes compared to other galaxies.

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.

Black hole-galaxy co-evolution in the Mufasa simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Dave, Romeel; Angles-Alcazar, Daniel

2017-08-01

The Mufasa simulations are large-scale cosmological and zoom simulations of galaxy formation that employ novel state of the art modules for star formation and feedback physics, resulting in very good agreement with many key galaxy observables over most of cosmic time. We have recently included black hole growth and feedback using the torque-limited accretion model, which has several advantages over the commonly-used Bondi accretion. We also include AGN feedback using a BAL mode at high Eddington rates and low black hole masses, and a jet mode at low Eddington rates that successfully quenches galaxies. In this talk I will describe preliminary results of the AGN population and its evolution over cosmic time within our new simulations, including cosmological simulations of the general black hole population as well as zoom simulations targeting massive galaxies, with a focus on understanding the co-growth of black holes and galaxies as a function of mass, environment, and cosmic epoch. I will also discuss multi-wavelength approaches to testing and constraining our black hole model in particular using upcoming X-ray and radio facilities such as Lynx and the SKA.

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.)

Hawking radiation inside a Schwarzschild black hole

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Andrew J. S.

2018-05-01

The boundary of any observer's spacetime is the boundary that divides what the observer can see from what they cannot see. The boundary of an observer's spacetime in the presence of a black hole is not the true (future event) horizon of the black hole, but rather the illusory horizon, the dimming, redshifting surface of the star that collapsed to the black hole long ago. The illusory horizon is the source of Hawking radiation seen by observers both outside and inside the true horizon. The perceived acceleration (gravity) on the illusory horizon sets the characteristic frequency scale of Hawking radiation, even if that acceleration varies dynamically, as it must do from the perspective of an infalling observer. The acceleration seen by a non-rotating free-faller both on the illusory horizon below and in the sky above is calculated for a Schwarzschild black hole. Remarkably, as an infaller approaches the singularity, the acceleration becomes isotropic, and diverging as a power law. The isotropic, power-law character of the Hawking radiation, coupled with conservation of energy-momentum, the trace anomaly, and the familiar behavior of Hawking radiation far from the black hole, leads to a complete description of the quantum energy-momentum inside a Schwarzschild black hole. The quantum energy-momentum near the singularity diverges as r^{-6}, and consists of relativistic Hawking radiation and negative energy vacuum in the ratio 3 : - 2. The classical back reaction of the quantum energy-momentum on the geometry, calculated using the Einstein equations, serves merely to exacerbate the singularity. All the results are consistent with traditional calculations of the quantum energy-momentum in 1 + 1 spacetime dimensions.

SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN A STAR-FORMING GASEOUS CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Del Valle, L.; Escala, A.; Molina, J. [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile (Chile); Maureira-Fredes, C.; Amaro-Seoane, P. [Max Planck Institut fur Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), D-14476 Potsdam (Germany); Cuadra, J., E-mail: ldelvalleb@gmail.com [Instituto de Astrofísica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (Chile)

2015-09-20

Using N-body/smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations we study the evolution of the separation of a pair of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) embedded in a star-forming circumnuclear disk (CND). This type of disk is expected to be formed in the central kiloparsec of the remnant of gas-rich galaxy mergers. Our simulations indicate that orbital decay of the SMBHs occurs more quickly when the mean density of the CND is higher, due to increased dynamical friction. However, in simulations where the CND is fragmented in high-density gaseous clumps (clumpy CND), the orbits of the SMBHs are erratically perturbed by the gravitational interaction with these clumps, delaying, in some cases, the orbital decay of the SMBHs. The densities of these gaseous clumps in our simulations and in recent studies of clumpy CNDs are two orders of magnitude higher than the observed density of molecular clouds in isolated galaxies or ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), thus, we expect that SMBH orbits are perturbed less in real CNDs than in the simulated CNDs of this study and other recent studies. We also find that the migration timescale has a weak dependence on the star formation rate of the CND. Furthermore, the migration timescale of an SMBH pair in a star-forming clumpy CND is at most a factor of three longer than the migration timescale of a pair of SMBHs in a CND modeled with more simple gas physics. Therefore, we estimate that the migration timescale of the SMBHs in a clumpy CND is on the order of 10{sup 7} years.

X-ray Bursts in Neutron Star and Black Hole Binaries from USA Data: Detections and Upper Limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tournear, Derek M

2003-02-18

Narayan and Heyl (2002) have developed a theoretical framework to convert suitable upper limits on type I X-ray bursts from accreting black hole candidates (BHCs) into evidence for an event horizon. However, no appropriate observational limit exists in the literature. In this paper we survey 2101.2 ks of data from the Unconventional Stellar Aspect (USA) X-ray timing experiment and 5142 ks of data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) experiment to obtain a formal constraint of this type. 1122 ks of neutron star data yield a population averaged mean burst rate of 1.69 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1} while 6081 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 4.9 x 10{sup -7} bursts s{sup -1}. This is the first published limit of this type for Black Hole Candidates. Applying the theoretical framework of Narayan and Heyl (2002) we calculate regions of unstable luminosity where the neutron stars are expected to burst and the BHCs would be expected to burst if they had a surface. In this unstable luminosity region 464 ks of neutron star data yield an averaged mean burst rate of 4.1 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1} and 1512 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 2.0 x 10{sup 6} bursts s{sup -1}, and a limit of > 10 {sigma} that BHCs do not burst with a rate similar to the rate of neutron stars in these unstable regions. This gives further evidence that BHCs do not have surfaces unless there is some new physics occurring on their surface.

Black Holes Have Simple Feeding Habits

Science.gov (United States)

2008-06-01

The biggest black holes may feed just like the smallest ones, according to data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based telescopes. This discovery supports the implication of Einstein's relativity theory that black holes of all sizes have similar properties, and will be useful for predicting the properties of a conjectured new class of black holes. The conclusion comes from a large observing campaign of the spiral galaxy M81, which is about 12 million light years from Earth. In the center of M81 is a black hole that is about 70 million times more massive than the Sun, and generates energy and radiation as it pulls gas in the central region of the galaxy inwards at high speed. In contrast, so-called stellar mass black holes, which have about 10 times more mass than the Sun, have a different source of food. These smaller black holes acquire new material by pulling gas from an orbiting companion star. Because the bigger and smaller black holes are found in different environments with different sources of material to feed from, a question has remained about whether they feed in the same way. Using these new observations and a detailed theoretical model, a research team compared the properties of M81's black hole with those of stellar mass black holes. The results show that either big or little, black holes indeed appear to eat similarly to each other, and produce a similar distribution of X-rays, optical and radio light. AnimationMulti-wavelength Images of M81 One of the implications of Einstein's theory of General Relativity is that black holes are simple objects and only their masses and spins determine their effect on space-time. The latest research indicates that this simplicity manifests itself in spite of complicated environmental effects. "This confirms that the feeding patterns for black holes of different sizes can be very similar," said Sera Markoff of the Astronomical Institute, University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, who led the study

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.)

Unveiling the First Black Holes With JWST:Multi-wavelength Spectral Predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Natarajan, Priyamvada; Pacucci, Fabio; Ferrara, Andrea; Agarwal, Bhaskar; Ricarte, Angelo; Zackrisson, Erik; Cappelluti, Nico

2017-04-01

Growing supermassive black holes (˜ {10}9 {M}⊙ ) that power luminous z> 6 quasars from light seeds—the remnants of the first stars—within a Gyr of the Big Bang poses a timing challenge. The formation of massive black hole seeds via direct collapse with initial masses ˜ {10}4{--}{10}5 {M}⊙ alleviates this problem. Viable direct-collapse black hole formation sites, the satellite halos of star-forming galaxies, merge and acquire stars to produce a new, transient class of high-redshift objects, obese black hole galaxies (OBGs). The accretion luminosity outshines that of the stars in OBGs. We predict the multi-wavelength energy output of OBGs and growing Pop III remnants at z = 9 for standard and slim disk accretion, as well as high and low metallicities of the associated stellar population. We derive robust selection criteria for OBGs—a pre-selection to eliminate blue sources, followed by color-color cuts ([{F}090W-{F}220W]> 0;-0.3sift out OBGs from other bright, high- and low-redshift contaminants in the infrared. OBGs with predicted {M}{AB}< 25 are unambiguously detectable by the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), on the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). For parameters explored here, growing Pop III remnants with predicted {M}{AB}< 30 will likely be undetectable by JWST. We demonstrate that JWST has the power to discriminate between initial seeding mechanisms.

From Quarks to Black Holes Interviewing the Universe

CERN Document Server

Hammond, Richard T

2001-01-01

This book presents a series of delightful interviews in which natural objects such as an electron, a black hole, a galaxy, and even the vacuum itself, reveal their innermost secrets - not only what they are but also how they feel. A hydrogen atom tells us about quantum mechanics and why we live in a non-deterministic world; a black hole explains curved space and naked singularities; and a uranium atom talks of its life on a meteor, its tremendous collision with Earth, and properties of radioactivity - all while grappling with its own mortality. A neutron star gives a personal account of its cr

Hairy black holes and the endpoint of AdS{sub 4} charged superradiance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dias, Óscar J.C.; Masachs, Ramon [STAG research centre and Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton,Southampton (United Kingdom)

2017-02-24

We construct hairy black hole solutions that merge with the anti-de Sitter (AdS{sub 4}) Reissner-Nordström black hole at the onset of superradiance. These hairy black holes have, for a given mass and charge, higher entropy than the corresponding AdS{sub 4}-Reissner-Nordström black hole. Therefore, they are natural candidates for the endpoint of the charged superradiant instability. On the other hand, hairy black holes never dominate the canonical and grand-canonical ensembles. The zero-horizon radius of the hairy black holes is a soliton (i.e. a boson star under a gauge transformation). We construct our solutions perturbatively, for small mass and charge, so that the properties of hairy black holes can be used to testify and compare with the endpoint of initial value simulations. We further discuss the near-horizon scalar condensation instability which is also present in global AdS{sub 4}-Reissner-Nordström black holes. We highlight the different nature of the near-horizon and superradiant instabilities and that hairy black holes ultimately exist because of the non-linear instability of AdS.

The distribution of stars around the Milky Way's central black hole. II. Diffuse light from sub-giants and dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Schödel, R.; Gallego-Cano, E.; Dong, H.; Nogueras-Lara, F.; Gallego-Calvente, A. T.; Amaro-Seoane, P.; Baumgardt, H.

2018-01-01

Context. This is the second of three papers that search for the predicted stellar cusp around the Milky Way's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, with new data and methods. Aims: We aim to infer the distribution of the faintest stellar population currently accessible through observations around Sagittarius A*. Methods: We used adaptive optics assisted high angular resolution images obtained with the NACO instrument at the ESO VLT. Through optimised PSF fitting we removed the light from all detected stars above a given magnitude limit. Subsequently we analysed the remaining, diffuse light density. Systematic uncertainties were constrained by the use of data from different observing epochs and obtained with different filters. We show that it is necessary to correct for the diffuse emission from the mini-spiral, which would otherwise lead to a systematically biased light density profile. We used a Paschen α map obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope for this purpose. Results: The azimuthally averaged diffuse surface light density profile within a projected distance of R ≲ 0.5 pc from Sagittarius A* can be described consistently by a single power law with an exponent of Γ = 0.26 ± 0.02stat ± 0.05sys, similar to what has been found for the surface number density of faint stars in Paper I. Conclusions: The analysed diffuse light arises from sub-giant and main-sequence stars with Ks ≈ 19-22 with masses of 0.8-1.5 M⊙. These stars can be old enough to be dynamically relaxed. The observed power-law profile and its slope are consistent with the existence of a relaxed stellar cusp around the Milky Way's central black hole. We find that a Nuker law provides an adequate description of the nuclear cluster's intrinsic shape (assuming spherical symmetry). The 3D power-law slope near Sgr A* is γ = 1.13 ± 0.03model ± 0.05sys. The stellar density decreases more steeply beyond a break radius of about 3 pc, which corresponds roughly to the radius of influence of the

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.

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.

The formation of stellar black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Mirabel, Félix

2017-08-01

It is believed that stellar black holes (BHs) can be formed in two different ways: Either a massive star collapses directly into a BH without a supernova (SN) explosion, or an explosion occurs in a proto-neutron star, but the energy is too low to completely unbind the stellar envelope, and a large fraction of it falls back onto the short-lived neutron star (NS), leading to the delayed formation of a BH. Theoretical models set progenitor masses for BH formation by implosion, namely, by complete or almost complete collapse, but observational evidences have been elusive. Here are reviewed the observational insights on BHs formed by implosion without large natal kicks from: (1) the kinematics in three dimensions of space of five Galactic BH X-ray binaries (BH-XRBs), (2) the diversity of optical and infrared observations of massive stars that collapse in the dark, with no luminous SN explosions, possibly leading to the formation of BHs, and (3) the sources of gravitational waves (GWs) produced by mergers of stellar BHs so far detected with LIGO. Multiple indications of BH formation without ejection of a significant amount of matter and with no natal kicks obtained from these different areas of observational astrophysics, and the recent observational confirmation of the expected dependence of BH formation on metallicity and redshift, are qualitatively consistent with the high merger rates of binary black holes (BBHs) inferred from the first detections with LIGO.

Music from the heavens - gravitational waves from supermassive black hole mergers in the EAGLE simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Salcido, Jaime; Bower, Richard G.; Theuns, Tom; McAlpine, Stuart; Schaller, Matthieu; Crain, Robert A.; Schaye, Joop; Regan, John

2016-11-01

We estimate the expected event rate of gravitational wave signals from mergers of supermassive black holes that could be resolved by a space-based interferometer, such as the Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA), utilizing the reference cosmological hydrodynamical simulation from the EAGLE suite. These simulations assume a Lambda cold dark matter cosmogony with state-of-the-art subgrid models for radiative cooling, star formation, stellar mass loss, and feedback from stars and accreting black holes. They have been shown to reproduce the observed galaxy population with unprecedented fidelity. We combine the merger rates of supermassive black holes in EAGLE with the latest phenomenological waveform models to calculate the gravitational waves signals from the intrinsic parameters of the merging black holes. The EAGLE models predict ˜2 detections per year by a gravitational wave detector such as eLISA. We find that these signals are largely dominated by mergers between seed mass black holes merging at redshifts between z ˜ 2 and z ˜ 1. In order to investigate the dependence on the assumed black hole seed mass, we introduce an additional model with a black hole seed mass an order of magnitude smaller than in our reference model. We also consider a variation of the reference model where a prescription for the expected delays in the black hole merger time-scale has been included after their host galaxies merge. We find that the merger rate is similar in all models, but that the initial black hole seed mass could be distinguished through their detected gravitational waveforms. Hence, the characteristic gravitational wave signals detected by eLISA will provide profound insight into the origin of supermassive black holes and the initial mass distribution of black hole seeds.

THE MASS DISTRIBUTION OF STELLAR-MASS BLACK HOLES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farr, Will M.; Sravan, Niharika; Kalogera, Vicky; Cantrell, Andrew; Kreidberg, Laura; Bailyn, Charles D.; Mandel, Ilya

2011-01-01

We perform a Bayesian analysis of the mass distribution of stellar-mass black holes using the observed masses of 15 low-mass X-ray binary systems undergoing Roche lobe overflow and 5 high-mass, wind-fed X-ray binary systems. Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo calculations, we model the mass distribution both parametrically—as a power law, exponential, Gaussian, combination of two Gaussians, or log-normal distribution—and non-parametrically—as histograms with varying numbers of bins. We provide confidence bounds on the shape of the mass distribution in the context of each model and compare the models with each other by calculating their relative Bayesian evidence as supported by the measurements, taking into account the number of degrees of freedom of each model. The mass distribution of the low-mass systems is best fit by a power law, while the distribution of the combined sample is best fit by the exponential model. This difference indicates that the low-mass subsample is not consistent with being drawn from the distribution of the combined population. We examine the existence of a 'gap' between the most massive neutron stars and the least massive black holes by considering the value, M 1% , of the 1% quantile from each black hole mass distribution as the lower bound of black hole masses. Our analysis generates posterior distributions for M 1% ; the best model (the power law) fitted to the low-mass systems has a distribution of lower bounds with M 1% >4.3 M sun with 90% confidence, while the best model (the exponential) fitted to all 20 systems has M 1% >4.5 M sun with 90% confidence. We conclude that our sample of black hole masses provides strong evidence of a gap between the maximum neutron star mass and the lower bound on black hole masses. Our results on the low-mass sample are in qualitative agreement with those of Ozel et al., although our broad model selection analysis more reliably reveals the best-fit quantitative description of the underlying mass

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...

Relaxation near Supermassive Black Holes Driven by Nuclear Spiral Arms: Anisotropic Hypervelocity Stars, S-stars, and Tidal Disruption Events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamers, Adrian S. [Institute for Advanced Study, School of Natural Sciences, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Perets, Hagai B., E-mail: hamers@ias.edu [Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000 (Israel)

2017-09-10

Nuclear spiral arms are small-scale transient spiral structures found in the centers of galaxies. Similarly to their galactic-scale counterparts, nuclear spiral arms can perturb the orbits of stars. In the case of the Galactic center (GC), these perturbations can affect the orbits of stars and binaries in a region extending to several hundred parsecs around the supermassive black hole (SMBH), causing diffusion in orbital energy and angular momentum. This diffusion process can drive stars and binaries to close approaches with the SMBH, disrupting single stars in tidal disruption events (TDEs), or disrupting binaries, leaving a star tightly bound to the SMBH and an unbound star escaping the galaxy, i.e., a hypervelocity star (HVS). Here, we consider diffusion by nuclear spiral arms in galactic nuclei, specifically the Milky Way GC. We determine nuclear-spiral-arm-driven diffusion rates using test-particle integrations and compute disruption rates. Our TDE rates are up to 20% higher compared to relaxation by single stars. For binaries, the enhancement is up to a factor of ∼100, and our rates are comparable to the observed numbers of HVSs and S-stars. Our scenario is complementary to relaxation driven by massive perturbers. In addition, our rates depend on the inclination of the binary with respect to the Galactic plane. Therefore, our scenario provides a novel potential source for the observed anisotropic distribution of HVSs. Nuclear spiral arms may also be important for accelerating the coalescence of binary SMBHs and for supplying nuclear star clusters with stars and gas.

Investigating the Relativistic Motion of the Stars Near the Supermassive Black Hole in the Galactic Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parsa, M.; Eckart, A.; Shahzamanian, B.; Zajaček, M.; Straubmeier, C. [I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Str. 77, D-50937 Köln (Germany); Karas, V. [Astronomical Institute, Academy of Science, Boční II 1401, CZ-14131 Prague (Czech Republic); Zensus, J. A., E-mail: parsa@ph1.uni-koeln.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)

2017-08-10

The S-star cluster in the Galactic center allows us to study the physics close to a supermassive black hole, including distinctive dynamical tests of general relativity. Our best estimates for the mass of and the distance to Sgr A* using the three stars with the shortest period (S2, S38, and S55/S0-102) and Newtonian models are M {sub BH} = (4.15 ± 0.13 ± 0.57) × 10{sup 6} M {sub ⊙} and R {sub 0} = 8.19 ± 0.11 ± 0.34 kpc. Additionally, we aim at a new and practical method to investigate the relativistic orbits of stars in the gravitational field near Sgr A*. We use a first-order post-Newtonian approximation to calculate the stellar orbits with a broad range of periapse distance r {sub p} . We present a method that employs the changes in orbital elements derived from elliptical fits to different sections of the orbit. These changes are correlated with the relativistic parameter defined as ϒ ≡ r {sub s} / r {sub p} (with r {sub s} being the Schwarzschild radius) and can be used to derive ϒ from observational data. For S2 we find a value of ϒ = 0.00088 ± 0.00080, which is consistent, within the uncertainty, with the expected value of ϒ = 0.00065 derived from M {sub BH} and the orbit of S2. We argue that the derived quantity is unlikely to be dominated by perturbing influences such as noise on the derived stellar positions, field rotation, and drifts in black hole mass.

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

Dynamics of Dwarf Galaxies Disfavor Stellar-Mass Black Holes as Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Koushiappas, Savvas M; Loeb, Abraham

2017-07-28

We study the effects of black hole dark matter on the dynamical evolution of stars in dwarf galaxies. We find that mass segregation leads to a depletion of stars in the center of dwarf galaxies and the appearance of a ring in the projected stellar surface density profile. Using Segue 1 as an example we show that current observations of the projected surface stellar density rule out at the 99.9% confidence level the possibility that more than 6% of the dark matter is composed of black holes with a mass of few tens of solar masses.

Gravitating discs around black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karas, V; Hure, J-M; Semerak, O

2004-01-01

Fluid discs and tori around black holes are discussed within different approaches and with the emphasis on the role of disc gravity. First reviewed are the prospects of investigating the gravitational field of a black hole-disc system using analytical solutions of stationary, axially symmetric Einstein equations. Then, more detailed considerations are focused to the middle and outer parts of extended disc-like configurations where relativistic effects are small and the Newtonian description is adequate. Within general relativity, only a static case has been analysed in detail. Results are often very inspiring. However, simplifying assumptions must be imposed: ad hoc profiles of the disc density are commonly assumed and the effects of frame-dragging are completely lacking. Astrophysical discs (e.g. accretion discs in active galactic nuclei) typically extend far beyond the relativistic domain and are fairly diluted. However, self-gravity is still essential for their structure and evolution, as well as for their radiation emission and the impact on the surrounding environment. For example, a nuclear star cluster in a galactic centre may bear various imprints of mutual star-disc interactions, which can be recognized in observational properties, such as the relation between the central mass and stellar velocity dispersion. (topical review)

GALAXY FORMATION WITH SELF-CONSISTENTLY MODELED STARS AND MASSIVE BLACK HOLES. I. FEEDBACK-REGULATED STAR FORMATION AND BLACK HOLE GROWTH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji-hoon; Abel, Tom; Wise, John H.; Alvarez, Marcelo A.

2011-01-01

There is mounting evidence for the coevolution of galaxies and their embedded massive black holes (MBHs) in a hierarchical structure formation paradigm. To tackle the nonlinear processes of galaxy-MBH interaction, we describe a self-consistent numerical framework which incorporates both galaxies and MBHs. The high-resolution adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code Enzo is modified to model the formation and feedback of molecular clouds at their characteristic scale of 15.2 pc and the accretion of gas onto an MBH. Two major channels of MBH feedback, radiative feedback (X-ray photons followed through full three-dimensional adaptive ray tracing) and mechanical feedback (bipolar jets resolved in high-resolution AMR), are employed. We investigate the coevolution of a 9.2 x 10 11 M sun galactic halo and its 10 5 M sun embedded MBH at redshift 3 in a cosmological ΛCDM simulation. The MBH feedback heats the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) up to 10 6 K through photoionization and Compton heating and locally suppresses star formation in the galactic inner core. The feedback considerably changes the stellar distribution there. This new channel of feedback from a slowly growing MBH is particularly interesting because it is only locally dominant and does not require the heating of gas globally on the disk. The MBH also self-regulates its growth by keeping the surrounding ISM hot for an extended period of time.

ON THE HIGH-FREQUENCY QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATIONS FROM BLACK HOLES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erkut, M. Hakan

2011-01-01

We apply the global mode analysis, which has been recently developed for the modeling of kHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) from neutron stars, to the inner region of an accretion disk around a rotating black hole. Within a pseudo-Newtonian approach that keeps the ratio of the radial epicyclic frequency κ to the orbital frequency Ω the same as the corresponding ratio for a Kerr black hole, we determine the innermost disk region where the hydrodynamic modes grow in amplitude. We find that the radiation flux emerging from the inner disk has the highest values within the same region. Using the flux-weighted averages of the frequency bands over this region we identify the growing modes with highest frequency branches Ω + κ and Ω to be the plausible candidates for the high-frequency QPO pairs observed in black hole systems. The observed frequency ratio around 1.5 can therefore be understood naturally in terms of the global free oscillations in the innermost region of a viscous accretion disk around a black hole without invoking a particular resonance to produce black hole QPOs. Although the frequency ratio (Ω + κ)/(Ω) is found to be not sensitive to the black hole's spin which is good for explaining the high-frequency QPOs, it may work as a limited diagnostic of the spin parameter to distinguish black holes with very large spin from the slowly rotating ones. Within our model we estimate the frequency ratio of a high-frequency QPO pair to be greater than 1.5 if the black hole is a slow rotator. For fast rotating black holes, we expect the same ratio to be less than 1.5.

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)

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.

The current ability to test theories of gravity with black hole shadows

Science.gov (United States)

Mizuno, Yosuke; Younsi, Ziri; Fromm, Christian M.; Porth, Oliver; De Laurentis, Mariafelicia; Olivares, Hector; Falcke, Heino; Kramer, Michael; Rezzolla, Luciano

2018-04-01

Our Galactic Centre, Sagittarius A*, is believed to harbour a supermassive black hole, as suggested by observations tracking individual orbiting stars1,2. Upcoming submillimetre very-long baseline interferometry images of Sagittarius A* carried out by the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration (EHTC)3,4 are expected to provide critical evidence for the existence of this supermassive black hole5,6. We assess our present ability to use EHTC images to determine whether they correspond to a Kerr black hole as predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity or to a black hole in alternative theories of gravity. To this end, we perform general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations and use general-relativistic radiative-transfer calculations to generate synthetic shadow images of a magnetized accretion flow onto a Kerr black hole. In addition, we perform these simulations and calculations for a dilaton black hole, which we take as a representative solution of an alternative theory of gravity. Adopting the very-long baseline interferometry configuration from the 2017 EHTC campaign, we find that it could be extremely difficult to distinguish between black holes from different theories of gravity, thus highlighting that great caution is needed when interpreting black hole images as tests of general relativity.

Roche-lobe overflow systems powered by black holes in young star clusters: the importance of dynamical exchanges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mapelli, Michela; Zampieri, Luca, E-mail: michela.mapelli@oapd.inaf.it [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 5, I-35122, Padova (Italy)

2014-10-10

We have run 600 N-body simulations of intermediate-mass (∼3500 M {sub ☉}) young star clusters (SCs; with three different metallicities (Z = 0.01, 0.1, and 1 Z {sub ☉}). The simulations include the dependence of stellar properties and stellar winds on metallicity. Massive stellar black holes (MSBHs) with mass >25 M {sub ☉} are allowed to form through direct collapse of very massive metal-poor stars (Z < 0.3 Z {sub ☉}). We focus on the demographics of black hole (BH) binaries that undergo mass transfer via Roche lobe overflow (RLO). We find that 44% of all binaries that undergo an RLO phase (RLO binaries) formed through dynamical exchange. RLO binaries that formed via exchange (RLO-EBs) are powered by more massive BHs than RLO primordial binaries (RLO-PBs). Furthermore, the RLO-EBs tend to start the RLO phase later than the RLO-PBs. In metal-poor SCs (0.01-0.1 Z {sub ☉}), >20% of all RLO binaries are powered by MSBHs. The vast majority of RLO binaries powered by MSBHs are RLO-EBs. We have produced optical color-magnitude diagrams of the simulated RLO binaries, accounting for the emission of both the donor star and the irradiated accretion disk. We find that RLO-PBs are generally associated with bluer counterparts than RLO-EBs. We compare the simulated counterparts with the observed counterparts of nine ultraluminous X-ray sources. We discuss the possibility that IC 342 X-1, Ho IX X-1, NGC 1313 X-2, and NGC 5204 X-1 are powered by an MSBH.

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

Self-gravitating black hole scalar wigs

Science.gov (United States)

Barranco, Juan; Bernal, Argelia; Degollado, Juan Carlos; Diez-Tejedor, Alberto; Megevand, Miguel; Núñez, Darío; Sarbach, Olivier

2017-07-01

It has long been known that no static, spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat Klein-Gordon scalar field configuration surrounding a nonrotating black hole can exist in general relativity. In a series of previous papers, we proved that, at the effective level, this no-hair theorem can be circumvented by relaxing the staticity assumption: for appropriate model parameters, there are quasibound scalar field configurations living on a fixed Schwarzschild background which, although not being strictly static, have a larger lifetime than the age of the universe. This situation arises when the mass of the scalar field distribution is much smaller than the black hole mass, and following the analogies with the hair in the literature we dubbed these long-lived field configurations wigs. Here we extend our previous work to include the gravitational backreaction produced by the scalar wigs. We derive new approximate solutions of the spherically symmetric Einstein-Klein-Gordon system which represent self-gravitating scalar wigs surrounding black holes. These configurations interpolate between boson star configurations and Schwarzschild black holes dressed with the long-lived scalar test field distributions discussed in previous papers. Nonlinear numerical evolutions of initial data sets extracted from our approximate solutions support the validity of our approach. Arbitrarily large lifetimes are still possible, although for the parameter space that we analyze in this paper they seem to decay faster than the quasibound states. Finally, we speculate about the possibility that these configurations could describe the innermost regions of dark matter halos.

The Formation and Growth of Black Holes in the Universe: New cosmological clues

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2004-01-01

In the last few years a change of paradigm occurred in the field of black hole research. We now believe, that stellar mass black holes are created in powerful gamma ray bursts. Stellar remnants of the first generation of stars have very likely been the seeds of supermassive black holes, which we find dormant in the centers of most nearby galaxies - including our own Milky Way. A tight correlation between black hole mass and the global properties of their host galaxies indicates a co-formation and evolution of black holes and galaxies. The X-ray sky is dominated by a diffuse extragalactic background radiation, which our team, together with others, was able to resolve almost completely into discrete sources using the X-ray satellites ROSAT, Chandra and XMM-Newton. Optical and NIR follow-up identifications showed, that we observe the growth phase of the population of supermassive black holes throughout the history of the Universe. The accretion history derived from X-ray observations shows, that the black holes ...

The Formation and Growth of Black Holes in the Universe New cosmological clues

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Landua, Rolf

2004-01-01

In the last few years a change of paradigm occurred in the field of black hole research. We now believe, that stellar mass black holes are created in powerful gamma ray bursts. Stellar remnants of the first generation of stars have very likely been the seeds of supermassive black holes, which we find dormant in the centers of most nearby galaxies - including our own Milky Way. A tight correlation between black hole mass and the global properties of their host galaxies indicates a co-formation and evolution of black holes and galaxies. The X-ray sky is dominated by a diffuse extragalactic background radiation, which our team, together with others, was able to resolve almost completely into discrete sources using the X-ray satellites ROSAT, Chandra and XMM-Newton. Optical and NIR follow-up identifications showed, that we observe the growth phase of the population of supermassive black holes throughout the history of the Universe. The accretion history derived from X-ray observations shows, that the black holes ...

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.

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.

Iron Kα line of Kerr black holes with scalar hair

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ni, Yueying; Zhou, Menglei; Bambi, Cosimo [Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, 200433 Shanghai (China); Cárdenas-Avendaño, Alejandro [Programa de Matemática, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Carrera 9 Bis No. 62-43, 110231 Bogotá (Colombia); Herdeiro, Carlos A R; Radu, Eugen, E-mail: yyni13@fudan.edu.cn, E-mail: mlzhou13@fudan.edu.cn, E-mail: alejandro.cardenasa@konradlorenz.edu.co, E-mail: bambi@fudan.edu.cn, E-mail: herdeiro@ua.pt, E-mail: eugen.radu@ua.pt [Departamento de Física da Universidade de Aveiro and Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA), Campus de Santiago, 3810-183 Aveiro (Portugal)

2016-07-01

Recently, a family of hairy black holes in 4-dimensional Einstein gravity minimally coupled to a complex, massive scalar field was discovered [1]. Besides the mass M and spin angular momentum J , these objects are characterized by a Noether charge Q , measuring the amount of scalar hair, which is not associated to a Gauss law and cannot be measured at spatial infinity. Introducing a dimensionless scalar hair parameter q , ranging from 0 to 1, we recover (a subset of) Kerr black holes for q = 0 and a family of rotating boson stars for q = 1. In the present paper, we explore the possibility of measuring q for astrophysical black holes with current and future X-ray missions. We study the iron Kα line expected in the reflection spectrum of such hairy black holes and we simulate observations with Suzaku and eXTP. As a proof of concept, we point out, by analyzing a sample of hairy black holes, that current observations can already constrain the scalar hair parameter q , because black holes with q close to 1 would have iron lines definitively different from those we observe in the available data. We conclude that a detailed scanning of the full space of solutions, together with data from the future X-ray missions, like eXTP, will be able to put relevant constraints on the astrophysical realization of Kerr black holes with scalar hair.

Chandra Finds Surprising Black Hole Activity In Galaxy Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

2002-09-01

Scientists at the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, have uncovered six times the expected number of active, supermassive black holes in a single viewing of a cluster of galaxies, a finding that has profound implications for theories as to how old galaxies fuel the growth of their central black holes. The finding suggests that voracious, central black holes might be as common in old, red galaxies as they are in younger, blue galaxies, a surprise to many astronomers. The team made this discovery with NASA'S Chandra X-ray Observatory. They also used Carnegie's 6.5-meter Walter Baade Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile for follow-up optical observations. "This changes our view of galaxy clusters as the retirement homes for old and quiet black holes," said Dr. Paul Martini, lead author on a paper describing the results that appears in the September 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. "The question now is, how do these black holes produce bright X-ray sources, similar to what we see from much younger galaxies?" Typical of the black hole phenomenon, the cores of these active galaxies are luminous in X-ray radiation. Yet, they are obscured, and thus essentially undetectable in the radio, infrared and optical wavebands. "X rays can penetrate obscuring gas and dust as easily as they penetrate the soft tissue of the human body to look for broken bones," said co-author Dr. Dan Kelson. "So, with Chandra, we can peer through the dust and we have found that even ancient galaxies with 10-billion-year-old stars can have central black holes still actively pulling in copious amounts of interstellar gas. This activity has simply been hidden from us all this time. This means these galaxies aren't over the hill after all and our theories need to be revised." Scientists say that supermassive black holes -- having the mass of millions to billions of suns squeezed into a region about the size of our Solar System -- are the engines in the cores of

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 ...

THE DISK WIND IN THE RAPIDLY SPINNING STELLAR-MASS BLACK HOLE 4U 1630–472 OBSERVED WITH NuSTAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, Ashley L.; Miller, Jon M. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1042 (United States); Walton, Dominic J.; Fürst, Felix; Harrison, Fiona A. [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Barret, Didier [Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse (France); Boggs, Steven E.; Craig, William W.; Krivonos, Roman; Tomsick, John A. [Space Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States); Christensen, Finn E. [DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, DK-2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Fabian, Andy C. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Hailey, Charles J.; Mori, Kaya [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Natalucci, Lorenzo [Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, INAF-IAPS, via del Fosso del Cavaliere, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Stern, Daniel [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Mail Stop 169-221, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Zhang, William W., E-mail: ashking@umich.edu [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2014-03-20

We present an analysis of a short NuSTAR observation of the stellar-mass black hole and low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1630–472. Reflection from the inner accretion disk is clearly detected for the first time in this source, owing to the sensitivity of NuSTAR. With fits to the reflection spectrum, we find evidence for a rapidly spinning black hole, a{sub ∗}=0.985{sub −0.014}{sup +0.005} (1σ statistical errors). However, archival data show that the source has relatively low radio luminosity. Recently claimed relationships between jet power and black hole spin would predict either a lower spin or a higher peak radio luminosity. We also report the clear detection of an absorption feature at 7.03 ± 0.03 keV, likely signaling a disk wind. If this line arises in dense, moderately ionized gas (log ξ=3.6{sub −0.3}{sup +0.2}) and is dominated by He-like Fe XXV, the wind has a velocity of v/c=0.043{sub −0.007}{sup +0.002} (12900{sub −2100}{sup +600} km s{sup –1}). If the line is instead associated with a more highly ionized gas (log ξ=6.1{sub −0.6}{sup +0.7}), and is dominated by Fe XXVI, evidence of a blueshift is only marginal, after taking systematic errors into account. Our analysis suggests the ionized wind may be launched within 200-1100 Rg, and may be magnetically driven.

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.

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.

Strange pathways for black hole formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prakash, M.

2000-01-01

Immediately after they are born, neutron stars are characterized by an entropy per baryon of order unity and by the presence of trapped neutrinos. If the only hadrons in the star are nucleons, these effects slightly reduce the maximum mass relative to cold, catalyzed matter. However, if strangeness-bearing hyperons, a kaon condensate, or quarks are also present, these effects result in an increase in the maximum mass of up to ∼ 0.3M [odot] compared to that of a cold, neutrino-free star. This makes a sufficiently massive proto-neutron star metastable, so that after a delay of 10-100 seconds, the PNS collapses into a black hole. Such an event might be straightforward to observe as an abrupt cessation of neutrinos when the instability is triggered

Investigating a Possible New Heavyweight Champion for Stellar Mass Black Holes with XMM-Newton

Science.gov (United States)

Barnard, Robin

Using methods described below, we have identified a record-breaking black hole candidate (BHC) associated with a globular cluster inside the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Our BHC, known as XBo 135, has an inferred mass of 50 solar masses, around 60% heavier than the current record holder. We have been granted a 33 hr observation with the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory that will allow us to test different scenarios for the formation of such a beast. We are asking for $55k to support one postdoc (R. Barnard) for 6 months, travel to a conference to share our results, and publication in ApJ. We have strong observational evidence for two classes of black hole (BH): stellar mass BHs that are formed in the death throes of the most massive stars, and supermassive BHs that live at the centers of most galaxies. Stellar mass BHs are 3-30 times more massive than the Sun, while supermassive black holes 1 E+6 times more massive still. It is unknown how such massive black holes are formed, although we suspect the existence of a class of intermediate mass black holes that bridge the two populations. Our target, XBo 135, is an X-ray binary (XB) system where a compact object (neutron star or black hole) accretes material from a co-orbiting donor star; mass transfer from the donor to the compact object results in a huge release of energy, extracted from the gravitational potential energy of the in-falling matter. The material forms an accretion disk that gets faster and hotter as it approaches the accretor, extracting energy >10 times more efficiently than nuclear fusion. We have invented a method for identifying BHXBs from the X-ray emission alone, summarized as follows. At low accretion rates, all XBs exhibit strikingly similar emission that is dominated by a power law component with photon index 90% of the X-ray flux. Crucially, this emission is limited to luminosities below 10% of the Eddington limit , which is proportional to the mass of the accretor. If we observe low state emission at

Black Holes Lead Galaxy Growth, New Research Shows

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Astronomers may have solved a cosmic chicken-and-egg problem -- the question of which formed first in the early Universe -- galaxies or the supermassive black holes seen at their cores. "It looks like the black holes came first. The evidence is piling up," said Chris Carilli, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). Carilli outlined the conclusions from recent research done by an international team studying conditions in the first billion years of the Universe's history in a lecture presented to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Long Beach, California. Gas in Distant Galaxy VLA image (right) of gas in young galaxy seen as it was when the Universe was only 870 million years old. CREDIT: NRAO/AUI/NSF, SDSS Full-size JPEG, 323 KB PDF file, 180 KB Galaxy image, no annotation, JPEG 21 KB Earlier studies of galaxies and their central black holes in the nearby Universe revealed an intriguing linkage between the masses of the black holes and of the central "bulges" of stars and gas in the galaxies. The ratio of the black hole and the bulge mass is nearly the same for a wide range of galactic sizes and ages. For central black holes from a few million to many billions of times the mass of our Sun, the black hole's mass is about one one-thousandth of the mass of the surrounding galactic bulge. "This constant ratio indicates that the black hole and the bulge affect each others' growth in some sort of interactive relationship," said Dominik Riechers, of Caltech. "The big question has been whether one grows before the other or if they grow together, maintaining their mass ratio throughout the entire process." In the past few years, scientists have used the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in France to peer far back in the 13.7 billion-year history of the Universe, to the dawn of the first galaxies. "We finally have been able to measure black-hole and bulge masses in several galaxies seen

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.

Galaxy Formation with Self-Consistently Modeled Stars and Massive Black Holes. I: Feedback-Regulated Star Formation and Black Hole Growth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ji-hoon; Wise, John H.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Princeton U., Astrophys. Sci. Dept.; Alvarez, Marcelo A.; /Canadian Inst. Theor. Astrophys.; Abel, Tom; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.

2011-11-04

There is mounting evidence for the coevolution of galaxies and their embedded massive black holes (MBHs) in a hierarchical structure formation paradigm. To tackle the nonlinear processes of galaxy-MBH interaction, we describe a self-consistent numerical framework which incorporates both galaxies and MBHs. The high-resolution adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code Enzo is modified to model the formation and feedback of molecular clouds at their characteristic scale of 15.2 pc and the accretion of gas onto an MBH. Two major channels of MBH feedback, radiative feedback (X-ray photons followed through full three-dimensional adaptive ray tracing) and mechanical feedback (bipolar jets resolved in high-resolution AMR), are employed. We investigate the coevolution of a 9.2 x 10{sup 11} M {circle_dot} galactic halo and its 10{sup 5} {circle_dot} M embedded MBH at redshift 3 in a cosmological CDM simulation. The MBH feedback heats the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) up to 10{sup 6} K through photoionization and Compton heating and locally suppresses star formation in the galactic inner core. The feedback considerably changes the stellar distribution there. This new channel of feedback from a slowly growing MBH is particularly interesting because it is only locally dominant and does not require the heating of gas globally on the disk. The MBH also self-regulates its growth by keeping the surrounding ISM hot for an extended period of time.

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 ...

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

Selections from 2016: Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-12-01

Editors note:In these last two weeks of 2016, well be looking at a few selections that we havent yet discussed on AAS Nova from among the most-downloaded paperspublished in AAS journals this year. The usual posting schedule will resume after the AAS winter meeting.LIGO Gravitational Wave Detection, Primordial Black Holes, and the Near-IR Cosmic Infrared Background AnisotropiesPublished May2016Main takeaway:A study by Alexander Kashlinsky (NASA Goddard SFC) proposes that the cold dark matter that makes up the majority of the universes matter may be made of black holes. These black holes, Kashlinsky suggests, are primordial: they collapsed directly from dense regions of the universe soon after the Big Bang.Why its interesting:This model would simultaneously explain several observations. In particular, we see similarities in patterns between the cosmic infrared and X-ray backgrounds. This would make sense if accretion onto primordial black holes in halos produced the X-ray background in the same regions where the first stars also formed, producing the infrared background.What this means for current events:In Kashlinskys model, primordial black holes would occasionally form binary pairs and eventually spiral in and merge. The release of energy from such an event would then be observable by gravitational-wave detectors. Could the gravitational-wave signal that LIGO detected last year have been two primordial black holes merging? More observations will be needed to find out.CitationA. Kashlinsky 2016 ApJL 823 L25. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/823/2/L25

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.)

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.

Accretion-induced quasinormal mode excitation of a Schwarzschild black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagar, Alessandro; Zanotti, Olindo; Font, Jose A.; Rezzolla, Luciano

2007-01-01

By combining the numerical solution of the nonlinear hydrodynamics equations with the solution of the linear inhomogeneous Zerilli-Moncrief and Regge-Wheeler equations, we investigate the properties of the gravitational radiation emitted during the axisymmetric accretion of matter onto a Schwarzschild black hole. The matter models considered include quadrupolar dust shells and thick accretion disks, permitting us to simulate situations which may be encountered at the end stages of stellar gravitational collapse or binary neutron star merger. We focus on the interference pattern appearing in the energy spectra of the emitted gravitational waves and on the amount of excitation of the quasinormal modes of the accreting black hole. We show that, quite generically in the presence of accretion, the black-hole ringdown is not a simple superposition of quasinormal modes, although the fundamental mode is usually present and often dominates the gravitational-wave signal. We interpret this as due to backscattering of waves off the nonexponentially decaying part of the black-hole potential and to the finite spatial extension of the accreting matter. Our results suggest that the black-hole QNM contributions to the full gravitational-wave signal should be extremely small and possibly not detectable in generic astrophysical scenarios involving the accretion of extended distributions of matter

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

EDDINGTON-LIMITED ACCRETION AND THE BLACK HOLE MASS FUNCTION AT REDSHIFT 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willott, Chris J.; Crampton, David; Hutchings, John B.; Schade, David; Albert, Loic; Arzoumanian, Doris; Bergeron, Jacqueline; Omont, Alain; Delorme, Philippe; Reyle, Celine

2010-01-01

We present discovery observations of a quasar in the Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey (CFHQS) at redshift z = 6.44. We also use near-infrared spectroscopy of nine CFHQS quasars at z ∼ 6 to determine black hole masses. These are compared with similar estimates for more luminous Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars to investigate the relationship between black hole mass and quasar luminosity. We find a strong correlation between Mg II FWHM and UV luminosity and that most quasars at this early epoch are accreting close to the Eddington limit. Thus, these quasars appear to be in an early stage of their life cycle where they are building up their black hole mass exponentially. Combining these results with the quasar luminosity function, we derive the black hole mass function at z = 6. Our black hole mass function is ∼10 4 times lower than at z = 0 and substantially below estimates from previous studies. The main uncertainties which could increase the black hole mass function are a larger population of obscured quasars at high redshift than is observed at low redshift and/or a low quasar duty cycle at z = 6. In comparison, the global stellar mass function is only ∼10 2 times lower at z = 6 than at z = 0. The difference between the black hole and stellar mass function evolution is due to either rapid early star formation which is not limited by radiation pressure as is the case for black hole growth or inefficient black hole seeding. Our work predicts that the black hole mass-stellar mass relation for a volume-limited sample of galaxies declines rapidly at very high redshift. This is in contrast to the observed increase at 4 < z < 6 from the local relation if one just studies the most massive black holes.

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.

CO-Dark Star Formation and Black Hole Activity in 3C 368 at z = 1.131: Coeval Growth of Stellar and Supermassive Black Hole Masses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamarche, C.; Stacey, G.; Riechers, D.; Vishwas, A. [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Brisbin, D. [Núcleo de Astronomía, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales, Avenida Ejército 441, 8370191 Santiago (Chile); Ferkinhoff, C. [Department of Physics, Winona State University, Winona, MN, 55987 (United States); Hailey-Dunsheath, S. [California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 301-17, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Nikola, T.; Spoon, H. [Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Sharon, C. E., E-mail: cjl272@cornell.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L85-4M1 (Canada)

2017-02-10

We present the detection of four far-infrared fine-structure oxygen lines, as well as strong upper limits for the CO(2–1) and [N ii] 205 μ m lines, in 3C 368, a well-studied radio-loud galaxy at z = 1.131. These new oxygen lines, taken in conjunction with previously observed neon and carbon fine-structure lines, suggest a powerful active galactic nucleus (AGN), accompanied by vigorous and extended star formation. A starburst dominated by O8 stars, with an age of ∼6.5 Myr, provides a good fit to the fine-structure line data. This estimated age of the starburst makes it nearly concurrent with the latest episode of AGN activity, suggesting a link between the growth of the supermassive black hole and stellar population in this source. We do not detect the CO(2–1) line, down to a level twelve times lower than the expected value for star-forming galaxies. This lack of CO line emission is consistent with recent star formation activity if the star-forming molecular gas has low metallicity, is highly fractionated (such that CO is photodissociated throughout much of the clouds), or is chemically very young (such that CO has not yet had time to form). It is also possible, although we argue it is unlikely, that the ensemble of fine-structure lines is emitted from the region heated by the AGN.

FRB 121102: A Repeatedly Combed Neutron Star by a Nearby Low-luminosity Accreting Supermassive Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bing

2018-02-01

The origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) remains mysterious. Recently, the only repeating FRB source, FRB 121102, was reported to possess an extremely large and variable rotation measure (RM). The inferred magnetic field strength in the burst environment is comparable to that in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* of our Galaxy. Here, we show that all of the observational properties of FRB 121102 (including the high RM and its evolution, the high linear polarization degree, an invariant polarization angle across each burst and other properties previously known) can be interpreted within the “cosmic comb” model, which invokes a neutron star with typical spin and magnetic field parameters whose magnetosphere is repeatedly and marginally combed by a variable outflow from a nearby low-luminosity accreting supermassive black hole in the host galaxy. We propose three falsifiable predictions (periodic “on/off” states, and periodic/correlated variation of RM and polarization angle) of the model and discuss other FRBs within the context of the cosmic comb model as well as the challenges encountered by other repeating FRB models in light of the new observations.

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)

The cosmic MeV neutrino background as a laboratory for black hole formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yüksel, Hasan, E-mail: hyuksel@gmail.com [Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Department of Physics, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Bomonti 34380, İstanbul (Turkey); Kistler, Matthew D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2015-12-17

Calculations of the cosmic rate of core collapses, and the associated neutrino flux, commonly assume that a fixed fraction of massive stars collapse to black holes. We argue that recent results suggest that this fraction instead increases with redshift. With relatively more stars vanishing as “unnovae” in the distant universe, the detectability of the cosmic MeV neutrino background is improved due to their hotter neutrino spectrum, and expectations for supernova surveys are reduced. We conclude that neutrino detectors, after the flux from normal SNe is isolated via either improved modeling or the next Galactic SN, can probe the conditions and history of black hole formation.

The cosmic MeV neutrino background as a laboratory for black hole formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Yüksel

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Calculations of the cosmic rate of core collapses, and the associated neutrino flux, commonly assume that a fixed fraction of massive stars collapse to black holes. We argue that recent results suggest that this fraction instead increases with redshift. With relatively more stars vanishing as “unnovae” in the distant universe, the detectability of the cosmic MeV neutrino background is improved due to their hotter neutrino spectrum, and expectations for supernova surveys are reduced. We conclude that neutrino detectors, after the flux from normal SNe is isolated via either improved modeling or the next Galactic SN, can probe the conditions and history of black hole formation.

The cosmic MeV neutrino background as a laboratory for black hole formation

Science.gov (United States)

Yüksel, Hasan; Kistler, Matthew D.

2015-12-01

Calculations of the cosmic rate of core collapses, and the associated neutrino flux, commonly assume that a fixed fraction of massive stars collapse to black holes. We argue that recent results suggest that this fraction instead increases with redshift. With relatively more stars vanishing as ;unnovae; in the distant universe, the detectability of the cosmic MeV neutrino background is improved due to their hotter neutrino spectrum, and expectations for supernova surveys are reduced. We conclude that neutrino detectors, after the flux from normal SNe is isolated via either improved modeling or the next Galactic SN, can probe the conditions and history of black hole formation.

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

Ejection of massive black holes from galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapoor, R.C.

1976-01-01

Gravitational recoil of a gigantic black hole (M approximately 10 8-9 M) formed in the nonspherical collapse of the nuclear part of a typical galaxy can take place with an appreciable speed as a consequence of the anisotropic emission of gravitational radiation. Accretion of gaseous matter during its flight through the galaxy results in the formation of a flowing shock front. The accompanying stellar captures can lead to the formation of an accretion disk-star system about the hole. Consequently, the hole can become 'luminous' enough to be observable after it emerges out of the galaxy. The phenomenon seems to have an importance in relation to the observations of quasar-galaxy association in a number of cases. (author)

Feeding supermassive black holes by collisional cascades

Science.gov (United States)

Faber, Christian; Dehnen, Walter

2018-05-01

The processes driving gas accretion on to supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are still poorly understood. Angular momentum conservation prevents gas within ˜10 pc of the black hole from reaching radii ˜10-3 pc where viscous accretion becomes efficient. Here we present simulations of the collapse of a clumpy shell of swept-up isothermal gas, which is assumed to have formed as a result of feedback from a previous episode of AGN activity. The gas falls towards the SMBH forming clumps and streams, which intersect, collide, and often form a disc. These collisions promote partial cancellations of angular momenta, resulting in further infall and more collisions. This continued collisional cascade generates a tail of gas with sufficiently small angular momenta and provides a viable route for gas inflow to sub-parsec scales. The efficiency of this process hardly depends on details, such as gas temperature, initial virial ratio and power spectrum of the gas distribution, as long as it is not strongly rotating. Adding star formation to this picture might explain the near-simultaneous formation of the S-stars (from tidally disrupted binaries formed in plunging gas streams) and the sub-parsec young stellar disc around Sgr A⋆.

Precocious Supermassive Black Holes Challenge Theories

Science.gov (United States)

2004-11-01

after the Big Bang." There is general agreement among astronomers that X-radiation from the vicinity of supermassive black holes is produced as gas is pulled toward a black hole, and heated to temperatures ranging from millions to billions of degrees. Most of the infalling gas is concentrated in a rapidly rotating disk, the inner part of which has a hot atmosphere or corona where temperatures can climb to billions of degrees. Although the precise geometry and details of the X-ray production are not known, observations of numerous quasars, or supermassive black holes, have shown that many of them have very similar X-ray spectra, especially at high X-ray energies. This suggests that the basic geometry and mechanism are the same for these objects. Chandra X-ray Image of SDSSp J1306 Chandra X-ray Image of SDSSp J1306 The remarkable similarity of the X-ray spectra of the young supermassive black holes to those of much older ones means that the supermassive black holes and their accretion disks, were already in place less than a billion years after the Big Bang. One possibility is that millions of 100 solar mass black holes formed from the collapse of massive stars in the young galaxy, and subsequently built up a billion-solar mass black hole in the center of the galaxy through mergers and accretion of gas. To answer the question of how and when supermassive black holes were formed, astronomers plan to use the very deep Chandra exposures and other surveys to identify and study quasars at even earlier ages. The paper by Schwartz and Virani on SDSSp J1306 was published in the November 1, 2004 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. The paper by Duncan Farrah and colleagues on SDSS J1030 was published in the August 10, 2004 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Chandra observed J1306 with its Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) instrument for approximately 33 hours in November 2003. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA

Rapid Mergers in a Mixed System of Black Holes and Neutron Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Tagawa, Hiromichi; Umemura, Masayuki

Recently, it has been argued that r-process elements in galaxies primarily originate from the mergers of double neutron stars (NSs) and black hole (BH)-NS. However, there is a momentous problem that the merger timescale is estimated to be much longer than the production timescale of r-process elements inferred from metal poor stars in the Galactic halo. To solve this problem, we propose the rapid merger processes in gas-rich first-generation objects in a high redshift epoch. In such an era, it is expected that the dynamical friction by dense gas effectively promotes the merger of compact objects. To explore the possibility of mergers in a system composed of multiple NSs as well as BHs, we perform post Newtonian N-body simulations, incorporating the gas dynamical friction, the gas accretion, and the gravitational wave emission including the recoil kick. As a result, we find that NS-NS or NS-BH can merge within 10 Myr in first-generation objects. Furthermore, to satisfy the condition of the mass ejection of r-process elements, the gas accretion rate need to be lower than 0.1 Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion rate. These results imply that the mergers in early cosmic epochs may reconcile the conflict on the timescale of NS mergers.

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.

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.

Supersonic gas streams enhance the formation of massive black holes in the early universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirano, Shingo; Hosokawa, Takashi; Yoshida, Naoki; Kuiper, Rolf

2017-09-29

The origin of super-massive black holes in the early universe remains poorly understood. Gravitational collapse of a massive primordial gas cloud is a promising initial process, but theoretical studies have difficulty growing the black hole fast enough. We report numerical simulations of early black hole formation starting from realistic cosmological conditions. Supersonic gas motions left over from the Big Bang prevent early gas cloud formation until rapid gas condensation is triggered in a protogalactic halo. A protostar is formed in the dense, turbulent gas cloud, and it grows by sporadic mass accretion until it acquires 34,000 solar masses. The massive star ends its life with a catastrophic collapse to leave a black hole-a promising seed for the formation of a monstrous black hole. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.