Related papers: Tracking on-the-fly massive black hole binary evol…
Massive black holes (BHs) inhabit local galaxies, including the Milky Way and some dwarf galaxies. BH formation, occurring at early cosmic times, must account for the properties of BHs in today's galaxies, notably why some galaxies host a…
We analyze the effect of dissipation on the orbital evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) using high-resolution self-consistent gasdynamical simulations of binary equal- and unequal-mass mergers of disk galaxies. The galaxy models…
Pulsar timing arrays have found evidence for a low-frequency gravitational wave background (GWB). Assuming the GWB is produced by supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs), the next gravitational wave (GW) signals astronomers anticipate are…
The recent discovery of GW150914, the binary black hole merger detected by Advanced LIGO, has the potential to revolutionize observational astrophysics. But to fully utilize this new window into the universe, we must compare these new…
We perform magnetohydrodynamic simulations in full general relativity of disk accretion onto nonspinning black hole binaries with mass ratio 36:29. We survey different disk models which differ in their scale height, total size and magnetic…
The coalescence of compact binaries containing neutron stars or black holes is one of the most promising signals for advanced ground-based laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors, with the first direct detections expected over the…
Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes currently rely on theoretical models that predict the dominant multipoles (l,m) of the radiation during inspiral, merger and ringdown. We introduce a simple method to include the…
Dual active galaxy nuclei (dAGNs) trace the population of post-merger galaxies and are the precursors to massive black hole (MBH) mergers, an important source of gravitational waves that may be observed by LISA. In Paper I of this series,…
Recent improved determinations of the mass density rho_BH of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the local universe have allowed accurate comparisons of rho_BH with the amount of light received from past quasar activity. These comparisons…
We consider the inverse problem in pulsar timing array (PTA) analysis, investigating what astrophysical information about the underlying massive black hole binary (MBHB) population can be recovered from the detection of a stochastic…
Massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) form through galaxy mergers and are among the loudest sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the universe. If the binary inspiral time is long, a subsequent galaxy merger can introduce a third black…
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary systems are unavoidable outcomes of galaxy mergers. Their dynamics encode information about their formation and growth, the composition of their host galactic nuclei, the evolution of galaxies, and the…
Numerical effects are known to plague adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) codes when treating massive particles, e.g. representing massive black holes (MBHs). In an evolving background, they can experience strong, spurious perturbations and then…
Theoretical models of the evolution of supermassive black hole (SMBH) pairs in post-merger remnant galaxies are necessary to motivate observational searches for dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) and gravitational wave sources. Studies have…
The inspiral and merger of two orbiting black holes is among the most promising sources for the first (hopefully imminent) direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs), and measurements of these signals could provide a wealth of…
Gravitational wave detectors are observing compact object mergers from increasingly far distances, revealing the redshift evolution of the binary black hole (BBH) -- and soon the black hole-neutron star (BHNS) and binary neutron star (BNS)…
The space-based gravitational wave detector LISA will observe mergers of massive black hole binary systems (MBHBs) to cosmological distances, as well as inspiralling stellar-origin (or stellar-mass) binaries (SBHBs) years before they enter…
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries residing at the core of merging galaxies are recently found to be strongly affected by the rotation of their host galaxies. The highly eccentric orbits that form when the host is counterrotating emit…
We investigate a purely stellar dynamical solution to the Final Parsec Problem. Galactic nuclei resulting from major mergers are not spherical, but show some degree of triaxiality. With $N$-body simulations, we show that massive black hole…
We study the orbital evolution and accretion history of massive black hole (MBH) pairs in rotationally supported circumnuclear discs up to the point where MBHs form binary systems. Our simulations have high resolution in mass and space…