Black Hole Remnants Research Articles

Probing Dark Contents in Globular Clusters With Timing Effects of Pulsar Acceleration

We investigate pulsar timing residuals due to the coupling effect of the pulsar transverse acceleration and the R$\rm{\ddot{o}}$mer delay. The effect is relatively small and usually negligible. Only for pulsars in globular clusters, it is possibly important. The maximum residual amplitude, which is from the pulsar near the surface of the core of the cluster, is about tens nanoseconds, and may hardly be identified for most of the globular clusters currently. However, an intermediate-mass black hole in the centre of a cluster can increase apparently the timing residual magnitudes. Particularly for the pulsars in the innermost core region, their residual magnitudes may be significant. The high-magnitude residuals, which above critical lines of each cluster, are strong evidences for the presence of a black hole or dark remnants of comparable total mass in the centre of the cluster. We also explored the timing effects of line-of-sight accelerations for the pulsars. The distribution of measured line-of-sight accelerations are simulated with a Monte Carlo method. A two-dimensional Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests are performed to reexamine the consistency of distributions of the simulated and reported data for various values of parameters of the clusters. It is shown that the structure parameters of Terzan 5 can be well constrained by comparing the distribution of measured line-of-sight accelerations with the distributions from Monte Carlo simulations. We provide that the cluster has an upper limit on the central black hole/dark remnant mass of $ \sim 6000 M_{\odot} $.

A violation of global symmetries from replica wormholes and the fate of black hole remnants

We show that the presence of replica wormholes in the Euclidean path integral of gravity leads to a non-perturbative violation of charge conservation for any global symmetry present in the low-energy description of quantum gravity. Explicitly, we compute the scattering probability between different charged states in several two-dimensional models of quantum gravity and find a non-vanishing answer. This suggests that the set of all charged states is typically over-complete, which has drastic consequences for the fate of black hole remnants that could carry a global symmetry charge. In the holographic context, we argue that the presence of such a symmetry in the effective description of the bulk should appear on the boundary as an emergent global symmetry after ensemble averaging.

Remnant Black Hole Kicks and Implications for Hierarchical Mergers

Abstract When binary black holes merge in dense star clusters, their remnants can pair up with other black holes in the cluster, forming heavier and heavier black holes in a process called hierarchical merger. The most important condition for hierarchical merger to occur is that remnants formed by mergers are retained by the host star cluster. Using the publicly available gravitational-wave event database, we infer the magnitudes of kick velocities imparted to the remnant black holes due to anisotropic emission of gravitational waves and use that to quantify the retention probability of each event as a function of the escape speed of the star cluster. Among the second gravitational-wave transient catalog (GWTC-2) events, GW190814 provides the tightest constraint on the kick magnitude with V kick = 74 − 7 + 10 km s−1 at the 90% credible level. We find that star clusters with escape speeds of 200 km s−1 can retain about 50% of the events in the GWTC-2. Using the escape speed distributions of nuclear star clusters and globular clusters, we find that ∼17 (2) remnants of GWTC-2 may be retained by the host star cluster if all GWTC-2 events occurred in nuclear (globular) clusters. Our study demonstrates the importance of folding in kick velocity inferences in future studies of hierarchical mergers.

Filling the black hole mass gap: Avoiding pair instability in massive stars through addition of nonnuclear energy

In standard stellar evolution, stars with masses ranging from approximately $150\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ to $240\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ are expected to evolve to a pair-instability supernova with no black hole (BH) remnant. This evolutionary behavior leads to a predicted gap in the black hole mass function from approximately $50\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ to $140\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. Yet the LIGO and Virgo collaborations [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 101102 (2020)] recently discovered black holes with masses of $66\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ and $85\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ in the gravitational-wave event GW190521. We propose a new method to populate the BH mass gap. If an energy source is added throughout the star in addition to nuclear fusion, it is possible for the altered evolution to avoid the complete destruction of a pair-instability supernova, and instead a BH remnant is left behind. An example of an extra energy source is dark matter annihilation within the star, but our results hold more generally. We show this phenomenon by exploring the effect of adding an energy source independent of temperature and density to a $180\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ star, using the mesa one-dimensional stellar evolution software. $\text{If}\ensuremath{\sim}50%$ of the star's energy is due to this new source, the star is capable of avoiding the pair instability entirely, reaching a presupernova mass of $119\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ before evolving into a BH remnant in the mass gap.

Stability of remnants of Bardeen regular black holes in presence of thermal fluctuations

In this paper, we discuss remnants of the Bardeen regular black hole motivated by using the concept of thermal fluctuations. First, we derive the equilibrium values of various thermodynamic quantities like entropy, Hawking temperature, pressure, internal energy, Helmholtz free energy and Gibbs free energy in the non-extended phase space. We then discuss geometrothermodynamics (GTD) of Bardeen black hole to study its stability. Next, we estimate the size of black hole remnant in terms of some known parameters of the black hole solution. Motivated by the fact that estimation of size, characteristics and stability of remnants of black holes could further increase our understanding of binary collisions, information loss paradox and dark energy, the black hole remnant, which gives an idea about stable mass left over after evaporation of black hole, is seen to owe its presence due to thermal fluctuations. We see that the thermal fluctuations bring an overall increase in entropy curve. However, in presence of thermal fluctuations, a positive kink, which signifies a maximum increase in the value of entropy, occurs at a certain value of horizon, which is exactly equal to the remnant radius. We observe that the thermal fluctuations, which are characteristics of quantum gravity, lead to stable values of thermodynamic quantities near the remnant radius. In presence of thermal fluctuations, we then derive various corrected thermodynamic potentials and also discuss the validity of first law of black hole thermodynamics for Bardeen black hole.

Numerical-relativity simulations of the quasicircular inspiral and merger of nonspinning, charged black holes: Methods and comparison with approximate approaches

We present fully general relativistic simulations of the quasi-circular inspiral and merger of charged, non-spinning, binary black holes with charge-to-mass ratio $\lambda \le 0.3$. We discuss the key features that enabled long term and stable evolutions of these binaries. We also present a formalism for computing the angular momentum carried away by electromagnetic waves, and the electromagnetic contribution to black-hole horizon properties. We implement our formalism and present the results for the first time in numerical-relativity simulations. In addition, we compare our full non-linear solutions with existing approximate models for the inspiral and ringdown phases. We show that Newtonian models based on the quadrupole approximation have errors of 20 % - 100 % in key gauge-invariant quantities. On the other hand, for the systems considered, we find that estimates of the remnant black hole spin based on the motion of test particles in Kerr-Newman spacetimes agree with our non-linear calculations to within a few percent. Finally, we discuss the prospects for detecting black hole charge by future gravitational-wave detectors using either the inspiral-merger-ringdown signal or the ringdown signal alone.

A critical assessment of black hole solutions with a linear term in their redshift function

Different theories of gravity can admit the same black hole solution, but the parameters usually have different physical interpretations. In this work we study in depth the linear term beta r in the redshift function of black holes, which arises in conformal gravity, de Rham–Gabadadze–Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity, f(R) gravity (as approximate solution) and general relativity. Geometrically we quantify the parameter beta in terms of the curvature invariants. Astrophysically we found that beta can be expressed in terms of the cosmological constant, the photon orbit radius and the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) radius. The metric degeneracy can be broken once black hole thermodynamics is taken into account. Notably, we show that under Hawking evaporation, different physical theories with the same black hole solution (at the level of the metric) can lead to black hole remnants with different values of their physical masses with direct consequences on their viability as dark matter candidates. In particular, the mass of the graviton in massive gravity can be expressed in terms of the cosmological constant and of the formation epoch of the remnant. Furthermore the upper bound of remnant mass can be estimated to be around 0.5 times 10^{27} kg.

Outflow Bubbles from Compact Binary Mergers Embedded in Active Galactic Nuclei: Cavity Formation and the Impact on Electromagnetic Counterparts

Abstract We propose a novel scenario for possible electromagnetic (EM) emission by compact binary mergers in the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Nuclear star clusters in AGNs are a plausible formation site of compact-stellar binaries (CSBs) whose coalescences can be detected through gravitational waves (GWs). We investigate the accretion onto and outflows from CSBs embedded in AGN disks. We show that these outflows are likely to create outflow cavities in the AGN disks before the binaries merge, which makes EM or neutrino counterparts much less common than would otherwise be expected. We discuss the necessary conditions for detectable EM counterparts to mergers inside the outflow cavities. If the merger remnant black hole experiences a high recoil velocity and can enter the AGN disk, it can accrete gas with a super-Eddington rate, newly forming a cavity-like structure. This bubble can break out of the disk within a day to a week after the merger. Such breakout emission can be bright enough to be detectable by current soft X-ray instruments, such as Swift-XRT and Chandra.

Hierarchical mergers of stellar-mass black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures

We review theoretical findings, astrophysical modeling, and current gravitational-wave evidence of hierarchical stellar-mass black-hole mergers. While most of the compact binary mergers detected by LIGO and Virgo are expected to consist of first-generation black holes formed from the collapse of stars, others might instead be of second (or higher) generation, containing the remnants of previous black-hole mergers. Such a subpopulation of hierarchically assembled black holes presents distinctive gravitational-wave signatures, namely higher masses, possibly within the pair-instability mass gap, and dimensionless spins clustered at the characteristic value of $\sim$0.7. In order to produce hierarchical mergers, astrophysical environments need to overcome the relativistic recoils imparted to black-hole merger remnants, a condition which prefers hosts with escape speeds $\gtrsim$ 100 km/s. Promising locations for efficient production of hierarchical mergers include nuclear star clusters and accretion disks surrounding active galactic nuclei, though environments that are less efficient at retaining merger products such as globular clusters may still contribute significantly to the detectable population of repeated mergers. While GW190521 is the single most promising hierarchical-merger candidate to date, constraints coming from large population analyses are becoming increasingly more powerful.

Feasibility of primordial black hole Remnants as dark matter in view of Hawking radiation recoil

It has recently been suggested that black hole remnants of primordial origin are not a viable dark matter candidate since they would have far too large a velocity due to the recoil of Hawking radiation. We re-examined this interesting claim in more details and found that it does not rule out such a possibility. On the contrary, for models based on non-commutativity of spacetime near the Planck scale, essentially the same argument can be used to estimate the scale at which the non-commutativity effect becomes important. If dark matter “particles” are non-commutative black holes that have passed the maximum temperature, this implies that the non-commutative scale is about 100 times the Planck length. The same analysis applies to other black hole remnants whose temperature reaches a maximum before cooling off, for example, black holes in asymptotically safe gravity.

From Neutrino- to Photon-cooled in Three Years: Can Fallback Accretion Explain the X-Ray Excess in GW170817?

Abstract Excess X-ray emission from the neutron star merger GW170817 above the predicted afterglow was recently detected t ≈ 3.4 yr post-merger. One possible origin is accretion onto the newly unshrouded black hole (BH) remnant. While fallback of bound dynamical ejecta is insufficient to generate the excess luminosity, L X ∼ 5 × 1038 erg s−1, fallback from the disk wind ejecta—due to their larger mass and lower velocity—remains a possibility. We present hydrodynamic α-viscosity simulations of the post-merger disk evolution that extend to timescales t ≈ 35 s post-merger, necessary to capture the asymptotic evolution into the radiatively inefficient regime. Due to inefficient neutrino cooling, the BH accretion rate decays rapidly at late times ( M ̇ bh ∝ t − β bh , where β bh ≈ 2.4–2.8), which is incompatible with the late-time excess. However, matter falls back to the inner disk from the equatorial region more gradually, M ̇ fb ∝ t − β fb with β fb ≈ 1.43 in our α ≈ 0.03 simulations. By the present epoch t ≈ 3.4 yr, the fallback rate has become sub-Eddington and the disk can again accrete efficiently, i.e., M ̇ bh ≈ M ̇ fb , this time due to photon instead of neutrino cooling. The predicted present-day X-ray accretion luminosity, L X ≈ 0.1 M ̇ bh c 2 ≈ ( 2 – 70 ) × 10 38 erg s−1 for β fb ≈ 1.43–1.66, thus supports (with caveats) an accretion-powered origin for the X-ray excess in GW170817. The suppressed BH accretion rate prior to the sub-Eddington transition, weeks to months after the merger, is key to avoid overproducing the kilonova luminosity via reprocessing.

The effect of GUP on thermodynamic phase transition of Rutz-Schwarzschild black hole

In this paper, considering the influence of generalized uncertainty principle, we explore phase transitions of the Rutz-Schwarzschild black hole based on the Parikh-Wilczek tunneling method. First, we obtain the corrected Hawking temperature, local temperature, remnant of black hole, entropy, heat capacity and other thermodynamic quantities. Then, we analyzed the effects of generalized uncertainty parameter β on phase transition. And we investigate thermodynamic stability, the critical behavior and phase transition structure under the influence of generalized uncertainty principle at last. The results show that there are first-order and second-order phase transitions in the Rutz-Schwarzschild black hole of the Finsler genometry framework. In addition, the generalized uncertainty parameter has great influence on the generation of black hole remnant.

Noncommutative black hole in the Finslerian spacetime

We study the behavior of the noncommutative radiating Schwarzschild black hole in the Finslerian spacetime. The investigation shows that black hole possesses either (i) two horizons, or (ii) a single horizon, or (iii) no horizon corresponding to a minimal mass. We obtain that the minimal mass significantly changes with the Finslerian parameter, keeping minimal horizon remain unchanged. It turns out that under Finslerian spacetime, the maximum temperature before cooling down to absolute zero varies with the Finslerian parameter. We then study the stability of the black hole by analyzing the specific heat and free energy. The energy conditions, their violation limit also scrutinized. Our findings suggest a stable black hole remnant, whose mass and size are uniquely determined in terms of the Finslerian parameter and noncommutative parameter χ. The physical relevance of these results are discussed in a brief.

Comparing remnant properties from horizon data and asymptotic data in numerical relativity

We present a new study of remnant black hole properties from 13 binary black hole systems, numerically evolved using the Spectral Einstein Code. The mass, spin, and recoil velocity of each remnant were determined quasi-locally from apparent horizon data and asymptotically from Bondi data $(h, \psi_4, \psi_3, \psi_2, \psi_1)$ computed at future null infinity using SpECTRE's Cauchy characteristic evolution. We compare these independent measurements of the remnant properties in the bulk and on the boundary of the spacetime, giving insight into how well asymptotic data are able to reproduce local properties of the remnant black hole in numerical relativity. We also discuss the theoretical framework for connecting horizon quantities to asymptotic quantities and how it relates to our results. This study recommends a simple improvement to the recoil velocities reported in the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes waveform catalog, provides an improvement to future surrogate remnant models, and offers new analysis techniques for evaluating the physical accuracy of numerical simulations.

Black Hole Leftovers: The Remnant Population from Binary Black Hole Mergers

Abstract The inspiral and merger of two black holes produces a remnant black hole with mass and spin determined by the properties of its parent black holes. Using the inferred population properties of component black holes from the first two and a half observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Virgo, we calculate the population properties of the leftover remnant black holes. By integrating their rate of formation over the age of the universe, we estimate the number density of remnant black holes today. Using simple prescriptions for the cosmic star formation rate and black hole inspiral delay times, we determine the number density of this leftover black hole population to be , corresponding to ∼60,000 black hole remnants per Milky Way–equivalent galaxy. The mass spectrum of these remnants starts at ∼10 M ⊙ and can be approximated by a decreasing exponential with characteristic length ∼15 M ⊙, the final spin distribution is sharply peaked at χ f ∼ 0.7, and the kick velocities range from tens to thousands of kilometers per second. These kick velocities suggest that globular clusters and nuclear star clusters may retain up to and of their remnant black holes, respectively, while young star clusters would only retain a few tenths of a percent. The estimates in this work assume that none of the remnants participate in subsequent hierarchical mergers. If hierarchical mergers occur, the overall number density would drop accordingly and the remnant mass distribution shape would evolve over time. This population of leftover black holes is an inescapable result from gravitational-wave observations of binary black hole mergers.

Probing supermassive stars and massive black hole seeds through gravitational wave inspirals

ABSTRACT We propose a novel source of gravitational wave (GW) emission: the inspirals of compact fragments inside primordial supermassive stars (SMSs). Such systems are thought to be an essential channel in the as-yet little understood formation of supermassive black holes. One model suggests that high accretion rates of 0.1–1 M⊙ yr−1 attainable in atomically cooled primordial haloes can lead to the formation of a nuclear-burning SMS. This will ultimately undergo collapse through a relativistic instability, leaving a massive black hole remnant. Recent simulations suggest that supermassive stars rarely form in isolation, and that companion stars and even black holes formed may be captured/accreted and inspiral to the SMS core due to gas dynamical friction. Here, we explore the GW emission produced from such inspirals, which could probe the formation and evolution of SMS and seeds of the first supermassive black holes. We use a semi-analytic gas-dynamical friction model of the inspirals in the SMS to characterize their properties. We find such sources could potentially be observable by upcoming space-born GW-detectors at their formation redshifts with the benefit of gravitational lensing. Mergers within closely related quasi-stars may produce a much stronger signal, though disambiguating such events from other high-z events may prove challenging.

Multimessenger Signals from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers without Significant Tidal Disruption

Abstract We study the multimessenger signals from the merger of a black hole with a magnetized neutron star using resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulations coupled to full general relativity. We focus on a case with a 5:1 mass ratio, where only a small amount of the neutron star matter remains post-merger, but we nevertheless find that significant electromagnetic radiation can be powered by the interaction of the neutron star’s magnetosphere with the black hole. In the lead-up to merger, strong twisting of magnetic field lines from the inspiral leads to plasmoid emission and results in a luminosity in excess of that expected from unipolar induction. We find that the strongest emission occurs shortly after merger during a transitory period in which magnetic loops form and escape the central region. The remaining magnetic field collimates around the spin axis of the remnant black hole before dissipating, an indication that, in more favorable scenarios (higher black hole spin/lower mass ratio) with larger accretion disks, a jet would form.

New effective precession spin for modeling multimodal gravitational waveforms in the strong-field regime

Accurately modeling the complete gravitational-wave signal from precessing binary black holes through the late inspiral, merger, and ringdown remains a challenging problem. The lack of analytic solutions for the precession dynamics of generic double-spin systems, and the high dimensionality of the problem, obfuscate the incorporation of strong-field spin-precession information into semianalytic waveform models used in gravitational-wave data analysis. Previously, an effective precession spin ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{p}$ was introduced to reduce the number of spin degrees of freedom. Here, we show that ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{p}$ alone does not accurately reproduce higher-order multipolar modes, in particular the ones that carry strong imprints due to precession such as the (2,1)-mode. To improve the higher-mode content, and in particular to facilitate an accurate incorporation of precession effects in the strong-field regime into waveform models, we introduce a new dimensional reduction through an effective precession spin vector, ${\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, which takes into account precessing spin information from both black holes. We show that this adapted effective precession spin (i) mimics the precession dynamics of the fully precessing configuration remarkably well, (ii) captures the signature features of precession in higher-order modes, and (iii) reproduces the final state of the remnant black hole with high accuracy for the overwhelming majority of configurations. We demonstrate the efficacy of this two-dimensional precession spin in the strong-field regime, paving the path for meaningful calibration of the precessing sector of semianalytic waveform models with a faithful representation of higher-order modes through merger and the remnant black hole spin.

Modeling the ringdown from precessing black hole binaries

Modeling the endpoint of binary black hole mergers is a cornerstone of modern gravitational-wave astronomy. Extracting multiple quasinormal mode frequencies from the ringdown signal allows the remnant black hole to be studied in unprecedented detail. Previous studies on numerical relativity simulations of aligned-spin binaries have found that it is possible to start the ringdown analysis much earlier than previously thought if overtones (and possibly mirror modes) are included. This increases the signal-to-noise ratio in the ringdown making identification of subdominant modes easier. In this paper we study, for the first time, black hole binaries with misaligned spins and find a much greater variation in the performance of ringdown fits than in the aligned-spin case. The inclusion of mirror modes and higher harmonics, along with overtones, improves the reliability of ringdown fits with an early start time; however, there remain cases with poor performing fits. While using overtones in conjunction with an early ringdown start time is an enticing possibility, it is necessary to proceed with caution. We also consider for the first time the use of numerical relativity surrogate models in this type of quasinormal mode study and address important questions of accuracy in the underlying numerical waveforms used for the fit.

Bekenstein-Hod Universal Bound on Information Emission Rate Is Obeyed by LIGO-Virgo Binary Black Hole Remnants.

Causality and the generalized laws of black hole thermodynamics imply a bound, known as the Bekenstein-Hod universal bound, on the information emission rate of a perturbed system. Using a time-domain ringdown analysis, we investigate whether remnant black holes produced by the coalescences observed by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo obey this bound. We find that the bound is verified by the astrophysical black hole population with 94% probability, providing a first confirmation of the Bekenstein-Hod bound from black hole systems.