Related papers: Recoil Velocities from Equal-Mass Binary-Black-Hol…
The coalescence of a binary black hole can be accompanied by a large gravitational recoil due to anisotropic emission of gravitational waves. A recoiling supermassive black hole (SBH) can subsequently undergo long-lived oscillations in the…
Black hole spins affect the efficiency of the "classical" accretion processes, hence the radiative output from quasars. Spins also determine how much energy is extractable from the hole itself. Recently it became clear that massive black…
We present the results of 74 new simulations of nonprecessing spinning black hole binaries with mass ratios $q=m_1/m_2$ in the range $1/7\leq q\leq1$ and individual spins covering the parameter space $-0.95\leq\alpha_{1,2}\leq0.95$ with one…
Gravitational waves from binary black hole pairs have emerged as an important observational tool in current times. The energy of the BH - BH binary pair is radiated in the form of gravitational waves and to compensate for that energy,…
We perform a sequence of binary black hole simulations with increasingly small mass ratios, reaching to a 128:1 binary that displays 13 orbits before merger. Based on a detailed convergence study of the $q=m_1/m_2=1/15$ nonspinning case, we…
Based on the consideration of potential energy of the di-black-hole as a function of mass asymmetry (transfer) collective coordinate, the possibility of matter transfer between the black holes in a binary system is investigated. The…
[ABRIDGED] We study supermassive black hole binary mergers driven by angular momentum loss to small-scale gas discs. Such binaries form after major galaxy mergers, but their fate is unclear since hardening through stellar scattering becomes…
We discuss the transition from quasi-circular inspiral to plunge of a system of two nonrotating black holes of masses $m_1$ and $m_2$ in the extreme mass ratio limit $m_1m_2\ll (m_1+m_2)^2$. In the spirit of the Effective One Body (EOB)…
One proposed black hole formation channel involves hierarchical mergers, where black holes form through repeated binary mergers. Previous studies have shown that such black holes follow a near-universal spin distribution centered around…
Massive black holes appear to be present in the nuclei of almost all galaxies, but their genesis and evolution are not well understood. As astrophysical black holes are completely characterized by their masses and spins, the observed joint…
Astrophysical black holes could be nearly extremal (that is, rotating nearly as fast as possible); therefore, nearly extremal black holes could be among the binaries that current and future gravitational-wave observatories will detect.…
Coalescing massive black hole binaries are produced by the mergers of galaxies. The final stages of the black hole coalescence produce strong gravitational radiation that can be detected by the space-borne LISA. In cases where the black…
Analysis of spectra of the quasar 3C 390.3 covering a period of over 20 yr shows that the blueshifted peak of H beta has been changing its radial velocity at an almost constant rate during this time. The radial velocity has increased by…
Black hole-neutron star (BHNS) binaries are important sources of gravitational waves for second-generation interferometers, and BHNS mergers are also a proposed engine for short, hard gamma-ray bursts. The behavior of both the spacetime…
The stalling radius of a merging massive binary black hole (BBH) is expected to be below 0".1 even in nearby galaxies (Yu 2002), and thus BBHs are not expected to be spatially resolved in the near future. However, as we show below, a BBH…
Characterizing the properties of black holes is one of the most important science objectives for gravitational-wave observations. Astrophysical evidence suggests that black holes that are nearly extremal (i.e. spins near the theoretical…
The inspiral and merger of two black holes produces a remnant black hole with mass and spin determined by the properties of its parent black holes. Using the inferred population properties of component black holes from the first two and a…
We simulate black hole binary interactions to examine the probability of mergers and black hole growth and gravitational radiation signals using a specific initial distribution of masses for black holes in globular clusters and a simple…
The association of an electromagnetic signal with the merger of a pair of supermassive black holes would have many important implications. For example, it would provide new information about gas and magnetic field interactions in dynamical…
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…