Related papers: Supernova Kicks and Misaligned Microquasars
We have recently measured the angle between the spin and orbital angular momenta of PSR B1534+12 to be either 25+/-4 deg or 155+/-4 deg. This misalignment was almost certainly caused by an asymmetry in the supernova explosion that formed…
Most massive stars, if not all, are in binary configuration or higher multiples. These massive stars undergo supernova explosions and end their lives as either black holes or neutron stars. Recent observations have suggested that neutron…
Integrating trajectories of low-mass X-ray binaries containing black holes within the Galactic potential, Repetto, Davies & Sigurdsson recently showed that the large distances of some systems above the Galactic plane can only be explained…
A binary system (G3425) consisting of a massive unseen component and a red giant star on a nearly circular orbit was recently discovered. The formation of such a system is puzzling because orbital stability generally breaks down due to the…
Orbital eccentricity remains one of the least accessible parameters in observations of binary black hole (BBH) systems, largely erased by gravitational radiation long before detection. We introduce a new method to recover this lost…
In recent years proper motion measurements have been added to the set of observational constraints on the current properties of Galactic X-ray binaries. We develop an analysis that allows us to consider all this available information and…
We investigate whether stellar-mass black holes have to receive natal kicks in order to explain the observed distribution of low-mass X-ray binaries containing black holes within our Galaxy. Such binaries are the product of binary…
The origin of black hole (BH) spins remains one of the least understood aspects of BHs. Despite many uncertainties, it is commonly assumed that if BHs originated from isolated massive star binaries, their spins should be aligned with the…
The spin properties of merging black holes observed with gravitational waves can offer novel information about the origin of these systems. The magnitude and orientations of black hole spins offer a record of binaries' evolutionary history,…
When galaxies collide, dynamical friction drives their central supermassive black holes close enought to each other such that gravitational radiation becomes the leading dissipative effect. Gravitational radiation takes away energy,…
We consider nearby young black holes formed after supernova explosions in close binaries whose secondary components are currently observed as the so-called runaway stars. Using data on runaway stars and making reasonable assumptions about…
Binary star systems containing a neutron star or a black hole with an evolved, massive star are dynamically perturbed when the latter undergoes a supernova explosion. It is possible that the natal kick received by the newly-formed neutron…
The spin parameter of the black hole in M33 X-7 has recently been measured to be a*=0.77+-0.05 (Liu et al. 2008). It has been proposed that the spin of the 15.65 M_sun black hole is natal. We show that this is not a viable evolutionary path…
Supernovae are responsible for the elemental enrichment of the galaxy and some are postulated to leave behind a black hole. In a stellar binary system the supernova pollutes its companion, and the black hole can accrete back its own debris…
Israelian et al. (1999) showed that the stellar companion of the black-hole binary Nova Sco is polluted with material ejected in the supernova that accompanied the formation of the black-hole primary. Here we systematically investigate the…
We use Very Long Baseline Interferometry to measure the proper motions of three black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs). Using these results together with data from the literature and Gaia-DR2 to collate the best available constraints on proper…
Supernovae, the explosive deaths of massive stars, create heavy elements and form black holes and neutron stars. These compact objects often receive a velocity at formation, a "kick" whose physical origin remains debated. We investigate…
Thorne and Kidder give expressions which allow for analytical estimates of the "kick", it i.e. the recoil, produced from asymmetrical gravitational radiation during the interaction of black holes, or in fact any gravitating compact bodies.…
I study a triple star common envelope evolution (CEE) of a tight binary system that is spiraling-in inside a giant envelope and launches jets that spin-up the envelope with an angular momentum component perpendicular to the orbital angular…
Binary black holes as the recently detected sources of gravitational waves can be formed from massive stellar binaries in the field or by dynamical interactions in clusters of high stellar density, if the black holes are the remnants of…