The LIGO-Virgo-Kagra collaboration (LVC) discovered recently GW190521, a gravitational wave (GW) source associated with the merger between two black holes (BHs) with mass 66 M and > 85 M . GW190521 represents the first BH binary (BBH) merger with a primary mass falling in the "upper mass-gap" and the first leaving behind a ∼ 150 M remnant. So far, the LVC reported the discovery of four further mergers having a total mass > 100 M , i.e. in the intermediate-mass black holes (IMBH) mass range. Here, we discuss results from a series of 80 N -body simulations of young massive clusters (YMCs) that implement relativistic corrections to follow compact object mergers. We discover the development of a GW190521-like system as the result of a 3rd-generation merger, and four IMBH-BH mergers with total mass (300 − 350) M . We show that these IMBH-BH mergers are low-frequency GW sources detectable with LISA and DECIGO out to redshift z = 0.01 − 0.1 and z > 100, and we discuss how their detection could help unravelling IMBH natal spins. For the GW190521 test case, we show that the 3rd-generation merger remnant has a spin and effective spin parameter that matches the 90% credible interval measured for GW190521 better than a simpler double merger and comparably to a single merger. Due to GW recoil kicks, we show that retaining the products of these mergers require birth-sites with escape velocities 50 − 100 km s −1 , values typically attained in galactic nuclei and massive clusters with steep density profiles.
Our Galaxy and the nearby Andromeda galaxy (M 31) are the most massive members of the Local Group, and they seem to be a bound pair, despite the uncertainties on the relative motion of the two galaxies. A number of studies have shown that the two galaxies will likely undergo a close approach in the next 4−5 Gyr. We used direct N-body simulations to model this interaction to shed light on the future of the Milky Way – Andromeda system and for the first time explore the fate of the two supermassive black holes (SMBHs) that are located at their centers. We investigated how the uncertainties on the relative motion of the two galaxies, linked with the initial velocities and the density of the diffuse environment in which they move, affect the estimate of the time they need to merge and form “Milkomeda”. After the galaxy merger, we follow the evolution of their two SMBHs up to their close pairing and fusion. Upon the fiducial set of parameters, we find that Milky Way and Andromeda will have their closest approach in the next 4.3 Gyr and merge over a span of 10 Gyr. Although the time of the first encounter is consistent with other predictions, we find that the merger occurs later than previously estimated. We also show that the two SMBHs will spiral in the inner region of Milkomeda and coalesce in less than 16.6 Myr after the merger of the two galaxies. Finally, we evaluate the gravitational-wave emission caused by the inspiral of the SMBHs, and we discuss the detectability of similar SMBH mergers in the nearby Universe (z ≤ 2) through next-generation gravitational-wave detectors.
The central regions of galaxies show the presence of massive black holes and/or dense stellar systems. The question about their modes of formation is still under debate. A likely explanation of the formation of the central dense stellar systems in both spiral and elliptical galaxies is based on the orbital decay of massive globular clusters in the central region of galaxies due to kinetic energy dissipation by dynamical friction. Their merging leads to the formation of a nuclear star cluster, like that of the Milky Way, where a massive black hole (Sgr A * ) is also present. Actually, high precision N-body simulations (Antonini, Capuzzo-Dolcetta et al. 2012, [1]) show a good fit to the observational characteristics of the Milky Way nuclear cluster, giving further reliability to the cited migratory model for the formation of compact systems in the inner galaxy regions.
Recent observations of the Virgo cluster and the Local Group suggested that some galaxies are flowing out from their parent cluster. This may be the signature that dark energy (DE) acts significantly also on small cosmological scales. By means of direct N-body simulations we performed several simulations, in which the effect of DE and gravity are taken into account, aiming to determine whether DE can produce an outflow of galaxies compatible with observations. Comparing the different simulations, our results suggest that the observed outflow of galaxies is likely due to the local effect of DE.
A comprehensive study of the co-evolution of globular cluster systems (GCS) in galaxies requires the ability to model both the large scale dynamics (0.01 - 10 kpc) regulating their orbital evolution, and the small scale dynamics (sub-pc - AU) regulating the internal dynamics of each globular cluster (GC). In this work we present a novel method that combine semi-analytic models of GCS with fully self-consistent Monte Carlo models to simultaneously evolve large GCSs. We use the population synthesis code MASinGa and the MOCCA-Survey Database I to create synthetic GC populations aimed at representing the observed features of GCs in the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31). Our procedure enables us to recover the spatial and mass distribution of GCs in such galaxies, and to constrain the amount of mass that GCs left either in the halo as dispersed debris, or in the galactic centre, where they can contribute to the formation of a nuclear star cluster (NSC) and can bring stellar and possibly intermediate mass black holes there. The final masses reported by our simulations are of a few order of magnitudes smaller than the observed values. These differences show that mass build-up of a NSC and central BHs in galaxies like MW and M31 cannot be solely explained by the infalling GC scenario. This build-up is likely to depend on the interplay between interactions and mergers of infalling GCs and gas. The latter can contribute to both in-situ star formation in the NSC and growth of the central BH.
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