Related papers: Simulations predict intermediate-mass black hole f…
We investigate the consequences of a model of the assembly and growth of massive black holes from primordial seeds, remnants of the first generation of stars in a hierarchical structure formation scenario. Our model traces the build-up of…
Dynamically formed black hole (BH) binaries (BBHs) are important sources of gravitational waves (GWs). Globular clusters (GCs) provide a major environment to produce such BBHs, but the total mass of the known GCs is small compared to that…
Most stars form in dense stellar environments. It is speculated that some dense star clusters may host intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), which may have formed from runaway collisions between high-mass stars, or from the mergers of less…
Nuclear star clusters, which fragment into metal-poor stars in situ at the centers of protogalaxies, provide ideal environments for the formation of intermediate-mass black holes with masses $10^3-10^6M_\odot$. We utilize the semianalytic…
Theoretical models predict that intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) exist in globular clusters (GCs), but observational evidence remains elusive. Millisecond pulsars (MSPs), which are abundant in GCs and have served as precise probes for…
Theoretical models predict that a population of Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBHs) of mass $M_\bullet \approx 10^{4-5} \, \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ might form at high ($z > 10$) redshift by different processes. Such objects would represent the…
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…
The hydrodynamic formation of massive black holes (BHs) in globular clusters is considered. In particular, we examine the possibility of the BH formation induced by the radiation drag that is exerted on the interstellar matter by stellar…
In many galactic nuclei, a nuclear stellar cluster (NSC) co-exists with a supermassive black hole (SMBH). In this work, we explore the idea that the NSC forms before the SMBH through the merger of several stellar clusters that may contain…
Intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) have masses between the $10^2\!-\!10^6$ M$_\odot$ and are key to our understanding of the formation of massive black holes. The known population of IMBH remains small, with a few hundred candidates and…
Nearly every massive galaxy harbors a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in its nucleus. SMBH masses are millions to billions $M_{\odot}$, and they correlate with properties of spheroids of their host galaxies. While the SMBH growth channels,…
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are the link between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. Gravitational waves have started unveiling a population of IMBHs in the $\sim 100-300 \, \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ range. Here, we investigate…
When embedded in dense cluster cores, intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) acquire close stellar or stellar-remnant companions. These companions are not only gravitationally bound, they tend to hierarchically isolate from other cluster…
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), with masses of hundreds to thousands of solar masses, will be unique sources of gravitational waves for LISA. Here we discuss their context as well as specific characteristics of IMBH-IMBH and…
We model the inspiral of globular clusters (GCs) towards a galactic nucleus harboring a supermassive black hole (SMBH), a leading scenario for the formation of nuclear star clusters. We consider the case of GCs containing either an…
Intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs), with masses between 100 to 10^5 M_\odot, represent the link between stellar mass black holes and the supermassive black holes that reside in galaxy centers. While IMBHs are crucial to our understanding…
Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBHs) with a mass range between $100 \, \text{M}_\odot$ and $10^6 \, \text{M}_\odot$ are expected to be surrounded by high dark matter densities, so-called dark matter spikes. The high density of…
Next-generation ground-based gravitational wave observatories will observe mergers of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) out to high redshift. Such IMBHs can form through runaway tidal encounters in the cores of dense stellar clusters.…
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…
A number of observations hints for the presence of an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH) in the core of three globular clusters: M15 and NGC 6752 in the Milky Way, and G1, in M31. However the existence of these IMBHs is far form being…