Related papers: Structure and evolution of circumbinary disks arou…

We consider the evolution of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) surrounded by a retrograde accretion disk. Assuming the disk is exactly in the binary plane and transfers energy and angular momentum to the binary via direct gas…

There is compelling evidence that most -if not all- galaxies harbour a super-massive black hole (SMBH) at their nucleus, hence binaries of these massive objects are an inevitable product of the hierarchical evolution of structures in the…

Gaseous circumbinary accretion discs provide a promising mechanism to facilitate the mergers of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic nuclei. We measure the torques exerted on accreting SMBH binaries, using 2D, isothermal,…

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) pair and form bound binaries after their host galaxies merge. In a gas-rich merger, accretion discs are expected to form around the binary and its components. These discs control the binary orbital evolution…

Using a one-dimensional height integrated model, we calculate the evolution of an unequal mass binary black hole with a coplanar gas disk that contains a gap due to the presence of the secondary black hole. Viscous evolution of the outer…

We study the interaction of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary and a standard radiatively efficient thin accretion disk. We examine steady-state configurations of the disk and migrating SMBH system, self-consistently accounting for…

Stellar-mass binary black holes may have circumbinary disks if formed through common-envelope evolution or within gaseous environments. Disks can drive binaries into wider and more eccentric orbits, while gravitational waves harden and…

Hierarchical structure formation inevitably leads to the formation of supermassive binary black holes (BBHs) with a sub-parsec separation in galactic nuclei. However, to date there has been no unambiguous detection of such systems. In an…

The question whether the interaction of a circumbinary disc with the central binary system leads to shrinking or expansion of the binary orbit has attracted considerable interest as it impacts the evolution of binary black holes and stellar…

In our current interpretation of the hierarchical structure of the universe it is well established that galaxies collide and merge with each other during their lifetime. If massive black holes (MBHs) reside in galactic centres, we expect…

[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…

We model for the first time the complete orbital evolution of a pair of Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) in a 1:10 galaxy merger of two disk dominated gas-rich galaxies, from the stage prior to the formation of the binary up to the onset of…

Stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) embedded in active galactic nucleus (AGN) discs are possible progenitors of black-hole mergers detected in gravitational waves by LIGO/VIRGO. To better understand the hydrodynamical evolution of BBHs…

Gaseous disks have been proposed as a mechanism for facilitating mergers of binary black holes. We explore circumbinary disk systems to determine the evolution of the central binary. To do so, we perform 3D, hydrodynamic, locally isothermal…

Circumbinary disks are found in a variety of astrophysical scenarios, spanning binary star formation to accreting supermassive black hole binaries. The interaction with a circumbinary disk can yield opposite effects on the binary orbit…

Numerical studies of gas accretion onto supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) have generally been limited to conditions where the circumbinary disk (CBD) is 10-100 times thicker than expected for disks in active galactic nuclei (AGN).…

Binary supermassive black holes (SMBH) are expected to form naturally during galaxy mergers. After the dynamical friction phase, when the two SMBHs become gravitationally bound to each other, and a brief stage of initial rapid hardening,…

We study the evolution of a massive black hole pair in a rotationally supported nuclear disc. The distributions of stars and gas mimic the nuclear region of a gas-rich galaxy merger remnant. Using high-resolution SPH simulations, we follow…

We investigate the evolution of low mass (Md /Mb = 0.005) misaligned gaseous discs around eccentric supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries. These are expected to form from randomly oriented accretion events onto a SMBH binary formed in a…

We review recent works on the dynamics of circumbinary accretion, including time variability, angular momentum transfer between the disk and the binary, and the secular evolution of accreting binaries. These dynamics can impact stellar…