Related papers: The Slingshot Revisited
Massive stars are born predominantly as members of binary (or higher multiplicity) systems, and the presence of a companion can significantly alter their life and final fate. Therefore, any observed sample of massive stars or associated…
We investigate a model in which galactic nuclei form via the coalescence of pre-existing stellar systems containing supermassive black holes. Merger simulations are carried out using N-body algorithms that can follow the formation and decay…
We present a new approach to studying the evolution of massive black hole binaries in a stellar environment. By imposing conservation of total energy and angular momentum in scattering experiments, we find the dissipation forces that are…
Galaxies with stellar bulges are generically observed to host supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The hierarchical merging of galaxies should therefore lead to the formation of SMBH binaries. Merging of old massive galaxies with little gas…
The stellar-dynamical evolution of bound star clusters during the first few Myr is dominated by binary-binary and binary-star interactions, the rapid sinking of the most massive stars to the centre of the clusters and mass loss from…
We simulate mergers between star clusters embedded within their natal giant molecular cloud. We extract initial conditions from cloud-scale simulations of cluster formation and introduce different prescriptions for primordial binaries. We…
The speed gain of a test mass from taking a gravitational slingshot around a celestial object (scattering centre) increases with the latter's speed and compactness (stronger deflection of the mass' trajectory becomes possible without it…
We explore the properties of dense star clusters that are likely to be the nurseries of stellar black holes pairing in close binaries. We combine a cosmological model of globular cluster formation with analytic prescriptions for the…
Galactic globular clusters are old, dense star systems typically containing 10\super{4}--10\super{7} stars. As an old population of stars, globular clusters contain many collapsed and degenerate objects. As a dense population of stars,…
Physical collisions between stars occur frequently in dense star clusters, either via close encounters between two single stars, or during strong dynamical interactions involving binary stars. Here we study stellar collisions that occur…
We describe some key astrophysical processes driving the formation and evolution of black hole binaries of different nature, from stellar-mass to supermassive systems. In the first part, we focus on the mainstream channels proposed for the…
Star clusters can interact and merge in galactic discs, halos, or centers. We present direct N-body simulations of binary mergers of star clusters with $M_{\star} = 2.7 \times 10^4 \: \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ each, using the N-body code BIFROST…
Spherically symmetric equal mass star clusters containing a large amount of primordial binaries are studied using a hybrid method, consisting of a gas dynamical model for single stars and a Monte Carlo treatment for relaxation of binaries…
The long-term evolution of massive black hole binaries at the centers of galaxies is studied in a variety of physical regimes, with the aim of resolving the ``final parsec problem,'' i.e., how black hole binaries manage to shrink to…
Two main mechanisms have classically been proposed for the formation of runaway stars. In the binary supernova scenario (BSS), a massive star in a binary explodes as a supernova, ejecting its companion. In the dynamical ejection scenario, a…
Strong encounters between single stars and binaries play a pivotal role in the evolution of star clusters. Such encounters can also dramatically modify the orbital parameters of binaries, exchange partners in and out of binaries, and are a…
Star clusters with a high central density contain an ecological network of evolving binaries, affected by interactions with passing stars, while in turn affecting the energy budget of the cluster as a whole by giving off binding energy.…
Recent theoretical work has solidified the viability of the collisional runaway scenario in young dense star clusters for the formation of very massive stars (VMSs), which may be precursors to intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). We…
From the results of numerical scattering experiments and simulations of a massive black hole binary in spherically symmetric and shallow cores it has been deduced that most likely the shrinking process stalls due to loss-cone depletion…
The abundance of massive primordial black holes has historically been constrained by dynamical probes. Since these objects can participate in hard few-body scattering processes, they can readily transfer energy to stellar systems, and, in…