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Related papers: Supermassive binary black hole mergers

200 papers

Using high-resolution SPH numerical simulations, we investigate the effects of gas on the inspiral and merger of a massive black hole binary. This study is motivated by both observational and theoretical work that indicate the presence of…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 Andres Escala , Richard B. Larson , Paolo S. Coppi , Diego Mardones

Two of the dominant channels to produce the black-hole binary mergers observed by LIGO and Virgo are believed to be the isolated evolution of stellar binaries in the field and dynamical formation in star clusters. Their relative efficiency…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2020-08-31 Vishal Baibhav , Davide Gerosa , Emanuele Berti , Kaze W. K. Wong , Thomas Helfer , Matthew Mould

[ABRIDGED] We study supermassive black hole binary mergers driven by angular momentum loss to small-scale gas discs. Such binaries form after major galaxy mergers, but their fate is unclear since hardening through stellar scattering becomes…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-03-08 J. Cuadra , P. J. Armitage , R. D. Alexander , M. C. Begelman

Binary black-hole systems with spins aligned or anti-aligned to the orbital angular momentum provide the natural ground to start detailed studies of the influence of strong-field spin effects on gravitational wave observations of coalescing…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2010-01-09 Christian Reisswig , Sascha Husa , Luciano Rezzolla , Ernst Nils Dorband , Denis Pollney , Jennifer Seiler

Recent observations of massive galaxies indicate that they double in mass and quintuple in size between redshift z = 1 and the present, despite undergoing very little star formation, suggesting that galaxy mergers drive the evolution. Since…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2012-11-21 Sean T. McWilliams , Jeremiah P. Ostriker , Frans Pretorius

Binary black hole mergers are among the most violent events in the Universe, leading to extreme warping of spacetime and copious emission of gravitational radiation. Even though black holes are the most compact objects they are not…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2017-07-05 Chad Hanna , Matthew C. Johnson , Luis Lehner

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are a ubiquitous component of the nuclei of galaxies. It is normally assumed that, following the merger of two massive galaxies, a SMBH binary will form, shrink due to stellar or gas dynamical processes and…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-07-14 Lucio Mayer , Stelios Kazantzidis , Piero Madau , Monica Colpi , Thomas Quinn , James Wadsley

For massive black hole binaries produced in galactic mergers, we examine the possibility of inspiral induced by interaction with field stars. We model the evolution of such binaries for a range of galaxy core and binary parameters, using…

Astrophysics · Physics 2010-11-01 Mohan Rajagopal , Roger W. Romani

Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries represent the main target for missions such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna and Pulsar Timing Arrays. The understanding of their dynamical evolution prior to coalescence is therefore crucial…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2021-02-17 Imran Nasim , Cristobal Petrovich , Adam Nasim , Fani Dosopoulou , Fabio Antonini

We investigate the gravitational energy-momentum distribution in the space-time of two black holes in circular orbit, in the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity. This field configuration is important because…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2012-02-01 J. W. Maluf , S. C. Ulhoa , J. F. da Rocha-Neto

One proposed black hole formation channel involves hierarchical mergers, where black holes form through repeated binary mergers. Previous studies have shown that such black holes follow a near-universal spin distribution centered around…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-03-28 Angela Borchers , Claire S. Ye , Maya Fishbach

Coalescing massive black hole binaries are produced by the mergers of galaxies. The final stages of the black hole coalescence produce strong gravitational radiation that can be detected by the space-borne LISA. In cases where the black…

Supermassive black holes are found at the centers of most galaxies and their inspiral is a natural outcome when galaxies merge. The inspiral of these systems is of utmost astrophysical importance as prodigious producers of gravitational…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2015-05-18 Carlos Palenzuela , Luis Lehner , Steven L. Liebling

The spin-orbit tilt angles $\theta_{1(2)}$ of merging stellar-mass black holes provide key insights into their astrophysical origin. Non-parametric population modelling of The LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaborations (2025a, arXiv:2508.18083)…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-04-01 Jakob Stegmann , Fabio Antonini , Aleksandra Olejak , Sylvia Biscoveanu , Vivien Raymond , Stefano Rinaldi , Elizabeth Flanagan

The heaviest black holes discovered through gravitational waves have masses that are difficult to explain with current standard stellar models. This discrepancy may be due to a series of hierarchical mergers, where the observed black holes…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2023-07-25 O. Barrera , I. Bartos

We study dynamics and radiation generation in the last few orbits and merger of a binary black hole system, applying recently developed techniques for simulations of moving black holes. Our analysis of the gravitational radiation waveforms…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2008-11-26 John G. Baker , Joan Centrella , Dae-Il Choi , Michael Koppitz , James van Meter

Using high resolution hydrodynamical simulations, we explore the spin evolution of massive dual black holes orbiting inside a circumnuclear disc, relic of a gas-rich galaxy merger. The black holes spiral inwards from initially eccentric co…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2015-05-14 M. Dotti , M. Volonteri , A. Perego , M. Colpi , M. Ruszkowski , F. Haardt

The inspiral of binary black holes is governed by gravitational radiation reaction at binary separations r < 1000 M, yet it is too computationally expensive to begin numerical-relativity simulations with initial separations r > 10 M.…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2010-05-12 Michael Kesden , Ulrich Sperhake , Emanuele Berti

A perturbed black hole emits gravitational radiation, usually termed the ringdown signal, whose frequency and time-constant depends on the mass and spin of the black hole. I investigate the case of a binary black hole merger resulting from…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2015-06-03 Ioannis Kamaretsos

Gravitational waves carry away both energy and angular momentum as binary black holes inspiral and merge. The relative efficiency with which they are radiated determines whether the final black hole of mass $M_f$ and spin $S_f$ saturates…

Astrophysics · Physics 2008-11-26 Michael Kesden