Related papers: A Full Loss Cone For Triaxial Galaxies
An algorithm is described for evolving the phase-space density of stars or compact objects around a massive black hole at the center of a galaxy. The technique is based on numerical integration of the Fokker-Planck equation in…
Galactic bulges are known to harbour central black holes whose mass is tightly correlated with the stellar mass and velocity dispersion of the bulge. In a hierarchical universe, mergers of subgalactic units are accompanied by the…
Stars that plunge into the center of a galaxy are tidally perturbed by a supermassive black hole (SMBH), with closer encounters resulting in larger perturbations. Exciting these tides comes at the expense of the star's orbital energy, which…
[abbreviated] We consider the problem of tidal disruption of a star by a super-massive Kerr black hole. Using a numerically fast Lagrangian model of the tidally disrupted star we survey the parameter space of the problem and find the…
We study the probability of close encounters between stars from a nuclear cluster and a massive black hole. The gravitational field of the system is dominated by the black hole in its sphere of influence. It is further modified by the…
The masses of supermassive black holes (SBHs) show correlations with bulge properties in disk and elliptical galaxies. We study the formation of galactic structure within flat-core triaxial haloes and show that these correlations can be…
Massive binary black holes form at the centre of galaxies that experience a merger episode. They are expected to coalesce into a larger black hole, following the emission of gravitational waves. Coalescing massive binary black holes are…
The relaxed distribution of stars around a massive black hole is known to follow a cusp profile $\rho(r)\propto r^{-\alpha}$ with characteristic slope $\alpha=7/4$. This follows from energy conservation and a scattering rate as given by two…
There is strong evidence for some kind of massive dark object in the centres of many galaxy bulges. The detection of flares from tidally disrupted stars could confirm that these objects are black holes (BHs). Here we present calculations of…
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…
We study spherical and disk clusters in a near-Keplerian potential of galactic centers or massive black holes. In such a potential orbit precession is commonly retrograde, i.e. direction of the orbit precession is opposite to the orbital…
The capture and subsequent in--spiral of compact stellar remnants by central massive black holes, is one of the more interesting likely sources of gravitational radiation detectable by LISA. The relevant stellar population includes stellar…
Black holes are a common feature of the Universe. They are observed as stellar mass black holes spread throughout galaxies and as supermassive objects in their centres. Observations of stars orbiting close to the centre of our Galaxy…
The motion of a black hole about the centre of gravity of its host galaxy induces a strong response from the surrounding stellar population. We treat the case of a harmonic potential analytically and show that half of the stars on circular…
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…
Black holes at the centers of the galaxies grow mainly by the processes of accretion, mergers, and consumption of stars. In the case of gas accretion with cooling sources, the flow is momentum driven, after which the black hole reaches a…
Virtually all massive galaxies, including our own, host central black holes ranging in mass from millions to billions of solar masses. The growth of these black holes releases vast amounts of energy that powers quasars and other weaker…
Primordial black holes in the asteroid-mass window ($\sim 10^{-16}$ to $10^{-11} \rm M_{\odot}$), which might constitute all the dark matter, can be captured by stars when they traverse them at low enough velocity. After being placed on a…
The shape of galaxies depends on their orbital populations. These populations change through capture into and escape from resonance. Capture problems fall into distinct cases depending upon the shape of the potential well. To visualise the…
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…