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

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Book cover The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes

Part of the book series: Space Sciences Series of ISSI ((SSSI,volume 49))

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Abstract

Massive binary black holes (105 M⊙–109 M⊙) 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 among the loudest sources of gravitational waves in the Universe, and the detection of these events is at the frontier of contemporary astrophysics. Understanding the black hole binary formation path and dynamics in galaxy’s mergers is therefore mandatory. A key question poses: during a merger, will the black holes descend over time on closer orbits, form a Keplerian binary and coalesce shortly after? Here we review progress discussing the fate of black holes in different environments: from major mergers of collisionless galaxies to major and minor mergers of gas-rich disc galaxies, from smooth and clumpy circum-nuclear discs to circum-binary discs present on the smallest scales inside galactic nuclei.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics G. Occhialini, University of Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20123, Milano, Italy

    Monica Colpi

  2. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)—Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20123, Milano, Italy

    Monica Colpi

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  1. Monica Colpi
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Correspondence to Monica Colpi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    Maurizio Falanga

  2. The National Institute of Astrophysics, Merate, Italy

    Tomaso Belloni

  3. The National Institute of Astrophysics, Rome, Italy

    Piergiorgio Casella

  4. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany

    Marat Gilfanov

  5. Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Peter Jonker

  6. University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Andrew King

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Colpi, M. (2014). Massive Binary Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei and Their Path to Coalescence. In: Falanga, M., Belloni, T., Casella, P., Gilfanov, M., Jonker, P., King, A. (eds) The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 49. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2227-7_11

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