Related papers: Observational evidence for intermediate-mass black…
In this paper, we study the secular dynamical evolution of binaries composed of intermediate-mass and stellar-mass black holes (IMBHs and SBHs, respectively) in orbit about a central super-massive black hole (SMBH) in galactic nuclei. Such…
Here we propose a mechanism for efficiently growing intermediate mass black holes (IMBH) in disks around supermassive black holes. Stellar mass objects can efficiently agglomerate when facilitated by the gas disk. Stars, compact objects and…
Observations of the most luminous quasars at high redshifts ($z > 6$) have revealed that the largest supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at those epochs tend to be substantially overmassive relative to their host galaxies compared to the local…
Decades after the first predictions of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in globular clusters (GCs) there is still no unambiguous observational evidence for their existence. The most promising signatures for IMBHs are found in the cores…
Understanding how seed black holes grow into intermediate and supermassive black holes (IMBHs and SMBHs, respectively) has important implications for the duty-cycle of active galactic nuclei (AGN), galaxy evolution, and gravitational wave…
This white paper explores the detectability of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) wandering in the Milky Way (MW) and massive local galaxies, with a particular emphasis on the role of AXIS. IMBHs, ranging within $10^{3-6} \, M_\odot$,…
Very massive stars (VMSs) formed via a sequence of stellar collisions in dense star clusters have been proposed as the progenitors of massive black hole seeds. VMSs could indeed collapse to form intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), which…
We present a theoretical framework for seeding and growing supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in dark matter halos along their assembly histories. Seeds are bred out of Pop-III stars formed during the first collapse of pristine gas in…
Observing the light emitted by the first accreting black holes (BHs) would dramatically improve our understanding of the formation of quasars at z > 6, possibly unveiling the nature of their supermassive black hole (SMBH) seeds. In previous…
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range $100$--$10^5\,M_\odot$, between black holes (BHs) formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most…
By means of a multimass isotropic and spherical model that includes the self-consistent treatment of a central intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH), the influence of this black hole on the morphological and physical properties of globular…
We discuss currently available observational constraints on the reionization history of the intergalactic medium (IGM), and the extent to which accreting black holes (BHs) can help explain these observations. We show new evidence, based on…
We describe ongoing searches for intermediate-mass black holes with M_BH ~ 100-10^5 M_sun. We review a range of search mechanisms, both dynamical and those that rely on accretion signatures. We find that dynamical and accretion signatures…
Evidence has been mounting for the existence of black holes with masses from 10^2 to 10^4 M_Solar associated with stellar clusters. Such intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) will encounter other black holes in the dense cores of these…
Massive black holes (MBHs) inhabit galaxy centers, power luminous quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and shape their cosmic environment with the energy they produce. The origins of MBHs remain a mystery and the recent detection by…
While the formation of the first black holes at high redshift is reasonably well understood though debated, massive black hole formation at later cosmic epochs has not been adequately explored. We present a gas accretion driven mechanism…
Black holes are fascinating objects. As a class of solutions to the Einstein equations they have been studied a great deal, yielding a wealth of theoretical results. But do they really exist? What do astronomers really mean when they claim…
There is growing evidence that intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), defined here as having a mass in the range M=500-10^5 Msun, are present in the dense centers of certain globular clusters (GCs). Gravitational waves (GWs) from their…
Astrophysical scenarios for the formation and evolution of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in the mass range $10^2 M_\odot \lesssim M \lesssim 10^6 M_\odot$ remain uncertain, but future ground-based gravitational-wave (GW)…
Establishing or ruling out, either through solid mass measurements or upper limits, the presence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) at the centers of star clusters would profoundly impact our understanding of problems ranging from the…