Population Of Stellar-mass Black Holes Research Articles

Correlation between mass segregation and structural concentration in relaxed stellar clusters

Abstract The level of mass segregation in the core of globular clusters has been previously proposed as a potential indicator of the dynamical constituents of the system, such as presence of a significant population of stellar-mass black holes (BHs), or even a central intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). However, its measurement is limited to clusters with high-quality Hubble Space Telescope data. Thanks to a set of state-of-the-art direct N-body simulations with up to 200k particles inclusive of stellar evolution, primordial binaries, and varying BH/neutron stars, we highlight for the first time the existence of a clear and tight linear relation between the degree of mass segregation and the cluster structural concentration index. The latter is defined as the ratio of the radii containing 5 per cent and 50 per cent of the integrated light (R5/R50), making it robustly measurable without the need to individually resolve low-mass stars. Our simulations indicate that given R5/R50, the mass segregation Δm (defined as the difference in main-sequence median mass between centre and half-light radius) is expressed as Δm/M⊙ = −1.166R5/R50 + 0.3246, with a root-mean-square error of 0.0148. In addition, we can explain its physical origin and the values of the fitted parameters through basic analytical modelling. Such correlation is remarkably robust against a variety of initial conditions (including presence of primordial binaries and IMBHs) and cluster ages, with a slight dependence in best-fitting parameters on the prescriptions used to measure the quantities involved. Therefore, this study highlights the potential to develop a new observational tool to gain insight on the dynamical status of globular clusters and on its dark remnants.

Low-mass X-ray binaries from black hole retaining globular clusters

Recent studies suggest that globular clusters (GCs) may retain a substantial population of stellar-mass black holes (BHs), in contrast to the long-held belief of a few to zero BHs. We model the population of BH low-mass X-ray binaries (BH-LMXBs), an ideal observable proxy for elusive single BHs, produced from a representative group of Milky Way GCs with variable BH populations. We simulate the formation of BH-binaries in GCs through exchange interactions between binary and single stars in the company of tens to hundreds of BHs. Additionally, we consider the impact of the BH population on the rate of compact binaries undergoing gravitational wave driven mergers. The characteristics of the BH-LMXB population and binary properties are sensitive to the GCs structural parameters as well as its unobservable BH population. We find that GCs retaining $\sim 1000$ BHs produce a galactic population of $\sim 150$ ejected BH-LMXBs whereas GCs retaining only $\sim20$ BHs produce zero ejected BH-LMXBs. Moreover, we explore the possibility that some of the presently known BH-LMXBs might have originated in GCs and identify five candidate systems.

Rapid and Bright Stellar-mass Binary Black Hole Mergers in Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) found direct evidence for double black hole binaries emitting gravitational waves. Galactic nuclei are expected to harbor the densest population of stellar-mass black holes. A significant fraction ( ) of these black holes can reside in binaries. We examine the fate of the black hole binaries in active galactic nuclei, which get trapped in the inner region of the accretion disk around the central supermassive black hole. We show that binary black holes can migrate into and then rapidly merge within the disk well within a Salpeter time. The binaries may also accrete a significant amount of gas from the disk, well above the Eddington rate. This could lead to detectable X-ray or gamma-ray emission, but would require hyper-Eddington accretion with a few percent radiative efficiency, comparable to thin disks. We discuss implications for gravitational-wave observations and black hole population studies. We estimate that Advanced LIGO may detect ∼20 such gas-induced binary mergers per year.

N-BODY DYNAMICS OF INTERMEDIATE MASS-RATIO INSPIRALS IN STAR CLUSTERS

ABSTRACT The intermediate mass-ratio inspiral of a stellar compact remnant into an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) can produce a gravitational wave (GW) signal that is potentially detectable by current ground-based GW detectors (e.g., Advanced LIGO) as well as by planned space-based interferometers (e.g., eLISA). Here, we present results from a direct integration of the post-Newtonian N-body equations of motion describing stellar clusters containing an IMBH and a population of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) and solar-mass stars. We take particular care to simulate the dynamics closest to the IMBH, including post-Newtonian effects up to an order of 2.5. Our simulations show that the IMBH readily forms a binary with a BH companion. This binary is gradually hardened by transient three-body or four-body encounters, leading to frequent substitutions of the BH companion, while the binary’s eccentricity experiences large-amplitude oscillations due to the Lidov–Kozai resonance. We also demonstrate suppression of these resonances by the relativistic precession of the binary orbit. We find an intermediate mass-ratio inspiral in 1 of the 12 cluster models we evolved for ∼100 Myr. This cluster hosts a IMBH embedded in a population of 32 BH and 32,000 stars. At the end of the simulation, after ∼100 Myr of evolution, the IMBH merges with a BH companion. The IMBH–BH binary inspiral starts in the eLISA frequency window ( ) when the binary reaches an eccentricity . After yr the binary moves into the LIGO frequency band with a negligible eccentricity. We comment on the implications for GW searches, with a possible detection within the next decade.

Mocca code for star cluster simulations – III. Stellar-mass black holes in the globular cluster M22

Using a Monte Carlo code, we construct a dynamic evolutionary model of the Galactic globular cluster M22 (NGC 6656). The initial conditions are chosen so that, after about 12 Gyr of stellar and dynamical evolution, the model is an approximate fit to the surface brightness and velocity dispersion profiles of the cluster, to its mass function and to the current binary fraction. Depending on the distribution of black hole natal kicks, we predict that the present-day population of stellar-mass black holes ranges from about 40 (no kicks) down to essentially zero (kicks distributed like those of neutron stars). Provided that natal kicks do not eject all new black holes, it is suggested that clusters with a present-day half-mass relaxation time above about 1 Gyr are the ones that may still retain an appreciable population of black holes.

DYNAMICAL FRICTION AROUND SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

The density of stars in galactic bulges is often observed to be flat or slowly rising inside the influence radius of the supermassive black hole (SMBH). Attributing the dynamical friction force to stars moving more slowly than the test body, as is commonly done, is likely to be a poor approximation in such a core since there are no stars moving more slowly than the local circular velocity. We have tested this prediction using large-scale N-body experiments. The rate of orbital decay never drops precisely to zero, because stars moving faster than the test body also contribute to the frictional force. When the contribution from the fast-moving stars is included in the expression for the dynamical friction force, and the changes induced by the massive body on the stellar distribution are taken into account, Chandrasekhar's theory is found to reproduce the rate of orbital decay remarkably well. However, this rate is still substantially smaller than the rate predicted by Chandrasekhar's formula in its most widely-used forms, implying longer time scales for inspiral. Motivated by recent observations that suggest a parsec-scale core around the Galactic center SMBH, we investigate the evolution of a population of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) as they spiral in to the center of the Galaxy. After ~10Gyr, we find that the density of BHs can remain substantially less than the density in stars at all radii; we conclude that it would be unjustified to assume that the spatial distribution of BHs at the Galactic center is well described by steady-state models. One consequence is that rates of capture of BHs by the SMBH at the Galactic center (EMRIs) may be much lower than in standard models. We finally study the orbital decay of satellite galaxies into the central region of giant ellipticals and discuss the formation of multiple nuclei and multiplet of black holes in such systems.

Red giant stellar collisions in the Galactic Centre

We show that collisions with stellar-mass black holes can partially explain the absence of bright giant stars in the Galactic Centre, first noted by Genzel et al. We show that the missing objects are low-mass giants and asymptotic giant branch stars in the range 1–3 M⊙. Using detailed stellar evolution calculations, we find that to prevent these objects from evolving to become visible in the depleted K bands, we require that they suffer collisions on the red giant branch, and we calculate the fractional envelope mass losses required. Using a combination of smoothed particle hydrodynamic calculations, restricted three-body analysis and Monte Carlo simulations, we compute the expected collision rates between giants and black holes, and between giants and main-sequence stars in the Galactic Centre. We show that collisions can plausibly explain the missing giants in the 10.5 < K < 12 band. However, depleting the brighter (K < 10.5) objects out to the required radius would require a large population of black hole impactors which would in turn deplete the 10.5 < K < 12 giants in a region much larger than is observed. We conclude that collisions with stellar-mass black holes cannot account for the depletion of the very brightest giants, and we use our results to place limits on the population of stellar-mass black holes in the Galactic Centre.

Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters

We present the results from realistic N-body modelling of massive star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. We have computed eight simulations with N ~ 10^5 particles; six of these were evolved for at least a Hubble time. The aim of this modelling is to examine the possibility of large-scale core expansion in massive star clusters and search for a viable dynamical origin for the radius-age trend observed for such objects in the Magellanic Clouds. We identify two physical processes which can lead to significant and prolonged cluster core expansion: mass-loss due to rapid stellar evolution in a primordially mass segregated cluster, and heating due to a retained population of stellar-mass black holes. These two processes operate over different time-scales - the former occurs only at early times and cannot drive core expansion for longer than a few hundred Myr, while the latter typically does not begin until several hundred Myr have passed but can result in core expansion lasting for many Gyr. We investigate the behaviour of these expansion mechanisms in clusters with varying degrees of primordial mass segregation and in clusters with varying black hole retention fractions. In combination, the two processes can lead to a wide variety of evolutionary paths on the radius-age plane, which fully cover the observed cluster distribution and hence define a dynamical origin for the radius-age trend in the Magellanic Clouds. We discuss the implications of core expansion for various aspects of globular cluster research, as well as the possibility of observationally inferring the presence of a population of stellar-mass black holes in a cluster.