Shi, Yanlong and Grudić, Michael Y. and Hopkins, Philip F. (2020) The mass budget for intermediate-mass black holes in dense star clusters. . (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200922-124141959
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Abstract
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) could form via runaway merging of massive stars in a young massive star cluster (YMC). We combine a suite of numerical simulations of YMC formation with a semi-analytic model for dynamical friction and merging of massive stars and evolution of a central quasi-star, to predict how final quasi-star and relic IMBH masses scale with cluster properties (and compare with observations). The simulations argue that inner YMC density profiles at formation are steep (approaching isothermal), producing some efficient merging even in clusters with relatively low effective densities, unlike models which assume flat central profiles resembling those of globular clusters (GCs) after central relaxation. Our results can be approximated by simple analytic scalings, with M_(IMBH) ∝ v^(3/2)_(cl) where v²_(cl) = GM_(cl)/r_h is the circular velocity in terms of initial cluster mass M_(cl) and half-mass radius rh. While this suggests IMBH formation is possible even in typical clusters, we show that predicted IMBH masses for these systems are small, ∼100−1000 M_⊙ or ∼0.0003M_(cl), below even the most conservative observational upper limits in all known cases. The IMBH mass could reach ≳ 10⁴ M⊙ in the centers nuclear star clusters, ultra-compact dwarfs, or compact ellipticals, but in all these cases the prediction remains far below the present observed supermassive BH masses in these systems.
Item Type: | Report or Paper (Discussion Paper) | ||||||||||||||
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Additional Information: | Support for YS & PFH was provided by NSF Collaborative Research Grants 1715847 & 1911233, NSF CAREER grant 1455342, NASA grants 80NSSC18K0562, JPL 1589742. Numerical calculations were run on the Caltech compute cluster “Wheeler,” allocations FTA-Hopkins supported by the NSF and TACC, and NASA HEC SMD-16-7592. | ||||||||||||||
Group: | Astronomy Department, TAPIR | ||||||||||||||
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Subject Keywords: | stars: black holes – quasars: supermassive black holes – globular clusters: general – galaxies: star clusters: general – galaxies: formation – stars: formation | ||||||||||||||
Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20200922-124141959 | ||||||||||||||
Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200922-124141959 | ||||||||||||||
Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | ||||||||||||||
ID Code: | 105470 | ||||||||||||||
Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | ||||||||||||||
Deposited By: | Tony Diaz | ||||||||||||||
Deposited On: | 22 Sep 2020 20:29 | ||||||||||||||
Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2020 20:29 |
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