Massive Binary Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei and Their Path to Coalescence

Colpi, M.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2227-7_11

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 119 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The presence of gas also has a strong impact on the evolution of MBHBs. Indeed, if sufficient gas is present in the nuclear region, planet-like migration may drive the BH binary to coalescence within ∼ 10 7 − 10 8 yr [60,61] (although this scenario is not immune from possible complications, see e.g. [62]).…”

Section: Catalogues Of Bh Binariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. III: probing the expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens

Tamanini

Caprini

Barausse

et al. 2016

J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.

249

392

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. We investigate the capability of various configurations of the space interferometer eLISA to probe the late-time background expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens. We simulate catalogues of standard sirens composed by massive black hole binaries whose gravitational radiation is detectable by eLISA, and which are likely to produce an electromagnetic counterpart observable by future surveys. The main issue for the identification of a counterpart resides in the capability of obtaining an accurate enough sky localisation with eLISA. This seriously challenges the capability of four-link (2 arm) configurations to successfully constrain the cosmological parameters. Conversely, six-link (3 arm) configurations have the potential to provide a test of the expansion of the universe up to z ∼ 8 which is complementary to other cosmological probes based on electromagnetic observations only. In particular, in the most favourable scenarios, they can provide a significant constraint on H 0 at the level of 0.5%. Furthermore, (Ω M , Ω Λ ) can be constrained to a level competitive with present SNIa results. On the other hand, the lack of massive black hole binary standard sirens at low redshift allows to constrain dark energy only at the level of few percent.

show abstract

Section: Catalogues Of Bh Binariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. III: probing the expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens

Tamanini

Caprini

Barausse

et al. 2016

J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.

249

392

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Only in the past two decades did merger simulations start to include the dynamics and/or growth of massive BHs (e.g. Di Hopkins et al, 2006;Younger et al, 2008;Johansson et al, 2009;Hopkins and Quataert, 2010;Callegari et al, 2009Callegari et al, , 2011Van Wassenhove et al, 2012, 2014Hayward et al, 2014;Colpi, 2014;Capelo et al, 2015;Volonteri et al, 2015a,b;Gabor et al, 2016;Pfister et al, 2017;Khan et al, 2018). In this subsection, we limit our discussion to the few studies that focused on the theoretical predictions of observational signatures of single or double AGN activity.…”

Section: Isolated Mergersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quest for dual and binary supermassive black holes: A multi-messenger view

Rosa

Vignali

Bogdanović

et al. 2019

New Astronomy Reviews

Self Cite

201

123

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The quest for binary and dual supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the dawn of the multi-messenger era is compelling. Detecting dual active galactic nuclei (AGN)-active SMBHs at projected separations larger than several parsecs-and binary AGN-probing the scale where SMBHs are bound in a Keplerian binary-is an observational challenge. The study of AGN pairs (either dual or binary) also represents an overarching theoretical problem in cosmology and astrophysics. The AGN triggering calls for detailed knowledge of the hydrodynamical conditions of gas in the imminent surroundings of the SMBHs and, at the same time, their duality calls for detailed knowledge on how galaxies assemble through major and minor mergers and grow fed by matter along the filaments of the cosmic web. This review describes the techniques used across the electromagnetic spectrum to detect dual and binary AGN candidates and proposes new avenues for their search. The current observational status is compared with the state-of-the-art numerical simulations and models for formation of dual and binary AGN. Binary SMBHs are among the loudest sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the Universe. The search for a background of GWs at nHz frequencies from inspiralling SMBHs at low redshifts, and the direct detection of signals from their coalescence by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna in the next decade, make this a theme of major interest for multi-messenger astrophysics. This review discusses the future facilities and observational strategies that are likely to significantly advance this fascinating field.

show abstract

“…Observations and theoretical models, however, indicate that binary SMBHs can coalesce within the age of the universe through the coupling of binary SMBHs to their environments (21). Proposed coupling mechanisms include the three-body scattering of stars on radial orbits and viscous friction against circumbinary gas.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gravitational waves from binary supermassive black holes missing in pulsar observations

Shannon

Ravi

Lentati³

et al. 2015

Science

522

600

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gravitational waves are expected to be radiated by supermassive black hole binaries formed during galaxy mergers. A stochastic superposition of gravitational waves from all such binary systems will modulate the arrival times of pulses from radio pulsars. Using observations of millisecond pulsars obtained with the Parkes radio telescope, we constrain the characteristic amplitude of this background, A c,yr , to be < 1.0×10-15 with 95% confidence. This limit excludes predicted ranges for A c,yr from current models with 91-99.7% probability. We conclude that binary evolution is either stalled or dramatically accelerated by galactic-center environments, and that higher-cadence and shorter-wavelength observations would result in an increased sensitivity to gravitational waves.Studies of the dynamics of stars and gas in nearby galaxies provide strong evidence for the ubiquity of supermassive (> 10 6 solar mass) black holes (SMBHs) (1). Observations of luminous quasars indicate that SMBHs are hosted by galaxies throughout the history of the universe (2) and affect global properties of the host galaxies (3). The prevailing dark energycold dark matter cosmological paradigm predicts that large galaxies are assembled through the hierarchical merging of smaller galaxies. The remnants of mergers can host gravitationally bound binary SMBHs with orbits decaying through the emission of gravitational waves (GWs) (4).Gravitational waves from binary SMBHs, with periods between ~ 0.1 and 30 yr (5), can be detected or constrained by monitoring, for years to decades, a set of rapidly rotating millisecond pulsars (MSPs) distributed throughout our galaxy. Radio emission beams from MSPs are observed as pulses that can be time-tagged with as small as 20 ns precision (6). When traveling across the pulsar-Earth line of sight, GWs induce variations in the arrival times of the pulses (7).The superposition of GWs from the binary SMBH population is a stochastic background (GWB), which is typically characterized by the strain-amplitude spectrum h c (f)=A c,yr [f/(1 yr -1 )] -2/3 , where f is the GW frequency, A c,yr is the characteristic amplitude of the GWB measured at f = 1 yr -1 , predicted to be A c,yr > 10 -15 (5,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12), and -2/3 is the predicted spectral index (5,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). The GWB will add low-frequency perturbations to pulse arrival times. While the detection of the GWB would confirm the presence of a cosmological population of binary SMBHs, limits on its amplitude constrain models of galaxy and SMBH evolution (8).As part of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project to detect GWs (6), we have been monitoring 24 pulsars with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. We have produced a new data set, using observations taken at a central wavelength of 10 cm and previously reported methods (6,8), that spans 11 yr, which is 3 yr longer than previous data sets analyzed at this wavelength. In addition to having greater sensitivity to the GWB because of the longer duration, the data set was improved by identifying and correc...

show abstract

Massive Binary Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei and Their Path to Coalescence

Cited by 5 publications

References 119 publications

Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. III: probing the expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens

Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. III: probing the expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens

The quest for dual and binary supermassive black holes: A multi-messenger view

Gravitational waves from binary supermassive black holes missing in pulsar observations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About