Related papers: Line shifts and sub-pc super-massive binary black …
Dual supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with kiloparsec scale separations in merger-remnant galaxies are informative tracers of galaxy evolution, but the avenue for identifying them in large numbers for such studies is not yet clear. One…
The hierarchical galaxy formation picture suggests that super massive black holes (MBHs) observed in galactic nuclei today have grown from coalescence of massive black hole binaries (MBHB) after galaxy merging. Once the components of a MBHB…
During a galaxy merger, the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in each galaxy is thought to sink to the center of the potential and form a supermassive black hole binary; this binary can eject stars via 3-body scattering, bringing the SMBHs…
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…
We illustrate a novel signature of black hole binaries from their effect on the kinematics of water maser emission in their environments. With the help of simulations, we establish the condition for clumps to mase based on their coherence…
The discovery of a relationship between supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass and spiral arm pitch angle (P) is evidence that SMBHs are tied to the overall secular evolution of a galaxy. The discovery of SMBHs in late-type galaxies with…
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries in gaseous and stellar environments are prime targets for next-generation space-based gravitational wave detectors. Yet, realistic accretion conditions under which these binary systems evolve are not…
We investigate the accuracy of mass determinations M_BH of supermassive black holes in galaxies using dynamical models of the stellar kinematics. We compare 10 of our M_BH measurements, using integral-field OASIS kinematics, to published…
We present new spectroscopic observations that are part of our continuing monitoring campaign of 88 quasars at z<0.7 whose broad H$\beta$ lines are offset from their systemic redshifts by a few thousand km/s. These quasars have been…
We present Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet (UV) of 13 quasars at z<0.7, along with contemporaneous optical spectra from ground-based telescopes. The targets were selected to have broad H-beta emission lines with substantial velocity…
Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) formed in galaxy mergers are promising multi-messenger sources. They can be identified as quasars with periodic variability in electromagnetic (EM) time-domain surveys. The most massive of those…
We have been spectroscopically monitoring 88 quasars selected to have broad H$\beta$ emission lines offset from their systemic redshift by thousands of km s$^{-1}$. By analogy with single-lined spectroscopic binary stars, we consider these…
We demonstrate that very massive (>10^8\msun), cosmologically nearby (z<1) black hole binaries (MBHBs), which are primary targets for ongoing and upcoming pulsar timing arrays (PTAs), are particularly appealing multimessenger carriers.…
Several observations suggest the existence of super-massive black holes (SMBH) at the centers of giant galaxies. However the mechanism under which these objects form remains non completely understood. In this work we review an alternative…
The spin of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) is directly related to the radiative efficiency of accretion on to the hole, and therefore impacts the amount of fuel required for the black hole to reach a certain mass. Thus, a knowledge of the…
Direct electromagnetic observation of the orbital motion of a sub-parsec, supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) would provide the first conclusive proof of such systems existing. Widely considered to be the sources of gravitational waves,…
Based on the consideration of potential energy of the di-black-hole as a function of mass asymmetry (transfer) collective coordinate, the possibility of matter transfer between the black holes in a binary system is investigated. The…
The most massive black holes in our Universe form binaries at the centre of merging galaxies. The recent evidence for a gravitational-wave (GW) background from pulsar timing may constitute the first observation that these supermassive black…
Gravitational waves are a prediction of general relativity, and with ground-based detectors now running in their advanced configuration, we will soon be able to measure them directly for the first time. Binaries of stellar-mass black holes…
We demonstrate a strong correlation between supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass and the global structure of ellipticals and bulges: more centrally concentrated bulges and ellipticals (higher Sersic index $n$) host higher-mass black holes.…