Three-Body Dynamics with Gravitational Wave Emission

We present numerical three-body experiments that include the effects of gravitational radiation reaction by using equations of motion that include the 2.5-order post-Newtonian force terms, which are the leading order terms of energy loss from gravitational waves. We simulate binary-single interactions and show that close approach cross sections for three 1 solar mass objects are unchanged from the purely Newtonian dynamics except for close approaches smaller than 1.0e-5 times the initial semimajor axis of the binary. We also present cross sections for mergers resulting from gravitational radiation during three-body encounters for a range of binary semimajor axes and mass ratios including those of interest for intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Building on previous work, we simulate sequences of high-mass-ratio three-body encounters that include the effects of gravitational radiation. The simulations show that the binaries merge with extremely high eccentricity such that when the gravitational waves are detectable by LISA, most of the binaries will have eccentricities e > 0.9 though all will have circularized by the time they are detectable by LIGO. We also investigate the implications for the formation and growth of IMBHs and find that the inclusion of gravitational waves during the encounter results in roughly half as many black holes ejected from the host cluster for each black hole accreted onto the growing IMBH.Comment: 34 pages, 14 figures, minor corrections to match version accepted by Ap

Study of multi black hole and ring singularity apparent horizons

We study critical black hole separations for the formation of a common apparent horizon in systems of $N$ - black holes in a time symmetric configuration. We study in detail the aligned equal mass cases for $N=2,3,4,5$, and relate them to the unequal mass binary black hole case. We then study the apparent horizon of the time symmetric initial geometry of a ring singularity of different radii. The apparent horizon is used as indicative of the location of the event horizon in an effort to predict a critical ring radius that would generate an event horizon of toroidal topology. We found that a good estimate for this ring critical radius is $20/(3\pi) M$. We briefly discuss the connection of this two cases through a discrete black hole 'necklace' configuration.Comment: 31 pages, 21 figure

Revisiting the black hole mass of M87* using VLT/MUSE Adaptive Optics Integral Field Unit data I: Ionized gas kinematics

The stellar dynamic-based black hole mass measurements of M87 are twice that determined via ionized gas kinematics; the former is closer to the estimation from the diameter of the gravitationally-lensed ring around the black hole. Using deeper and more comprehensive ionized gas kinematic data, we aim to better constrain the morphology and kinematics of the nuclear ionized gas, thus gaining insights into the reasons behind the disagreement of the measurements. We use both Narrow and Wide Field Mode integral field spectroscopic data from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer instrument, to model the morphology and kinematics of multiple ionized gas emission lines in the nucleus of M87. The new deep dataset reveals complexities in the nuclear ionized gas kinematics. Several ionized gas filaments can be traced down into the projected sphere of influence. We also found evidence of a partially-filled biconical outflow. The velocity isophotes of the ionized gas disk are twisted and the position angle of the innermost gas disk tends toward a value perpendicular to the radio jet axis. The complexity of the nuclear morphology and kinematics precludes the measurement of an accurate black hole mass. The results support a 6.0 $\times 10^{9}\rm M_{\odot}$ black hole in a 25\deg disk, rather than a 3.5 $\times 10^{9}\rm M_{\odot}$ black hole in a 42\deg disk. The specific RIAF model earlier proposed to reconcile the mass measurement discrepancy was also tested. In general, Keplerian disk models perform better than the RIAF model when fitting the sub-arcsec ionized gas disk. A disk inclination close to 25\deg for the nuclear gas disk, and the warp in the sub-arcsec ionized gas disk, help to reconcile the contradictory nature of the mass discrepancy between stellar and ionized gas black hole masses, and the mis-orientation between the axes of the ionized gas disk and the jet.Comment: 21 pages, 22 figures (5 of them in the appendix). Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic

A Single Circumbinary Disk in the HD 98800 Quadruple System

We present sub-arcsecond thermal infrared imaging of HD 98800, a young quadruple system composed of a pair of low-mass spectroscopic binaries separated by 0.8'' (38 AU), each with a K-dwarf primary. Images at wavelengths ranging from 5 to 24.5 microns show unequivocally that the optically fainter binary, HD 98800B, is the sole source of a comparatively large infrared excess upon which a silicate emission feature is superposed. The excess is detected only at wavelengths of 7.9 microns and longer, peaks at 25 microns, and has a best-fit black-body temperature of 150 K, indicating that most of the dust lies at distances greater than the orbital separation of the spectroscopic binary. We estimate the radial extent of the dust with a disk model that approximates radiation from the spectroscopic binary as a single source of equivalent luminosity. Given the data, the most-likely values of disk properties in the ranges considered are R_in = 5.0 +/- 2.5 AU, DeltaR = 13+/-8 AU, lambda_0 = 2(+4/-1.5) microns, gamma = 0+/-2.5, and sigma_total = 16+/-3 AU^2, where R_in is the inner radius, DeltaR is the radial extent of the disk, lambda_0 is the effective grain size, gamma is the radial power-law exponent of the optical depth, tau, and sigma_total is the total cross-section of the grains. The range of implied disk masses is 0.001--0.1 times that of the moon. These results show that, for a wide range of possible disk properties, a circumbinary disk is far more likely than a narrow ring.Comment: 11 page Latex manuscript with 3 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Postscript version of complete paper also available at http://www.hep.upenn.edu/PORG/web/papers/koerner00a.p

Multi-Wavelength Coverage of State Transitions in the New Black Hole X-Ray Binary Swift J1910.2-0546

Understanding how black holes accrete and supply feedback to their environment is one of the outstanding challenges of modern astrophysics. Swift J1910.2-0546 is a candidate black hole low-mass X-ray binary that was discovered in 2012 when it entered an accretion outburst. To investigate the binary configuration and the accretion morphology we monitored the evolution of the outburst for ~3 months at X-ray, UV, optical (B,V,R,I), and near-infrared (J,H,K) wavelengths using Swift and SMARTS. The source evolved from a hard to a soft X-ray spectral state with a relatively cold accretion disk that peaked at ~0.5 keV. A Chandra/HETG spectrum obtained during this soft state did not reveal signatures of an ionized disk wind. Both the low disk temperature and the absence of a detectable wind could indicate that the system is viewed at relatively low inclination. The multi-wavelength light curves revealed two notable features that appear to be related to X-ray state changes. Firstly, a prominent flux decrease was observed in all wavebands ~1-2 weeks before the source entered the soft state. This dip occurred in (0.6-10 keV) X-rays ~6 days later than at longer wavelengths, which could possibly reflect the viscous time scale of the disk. Secondly, about two weeks after the source transitioned back into the hard state, the UV emission significantly increased while the X-rays steadily decayed. We discuss how these observations may reflect changes in the accretion flow morphology, perhaps related to the quenching/launch of a jet or the collapse/recovery of a hot flow.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. To be published in Ap

A Swift survey of accretion onto stellar-mass black holes

We present a systemic analysis of all of the stellar mass black hole binaries (confirmed & candidate) observed by the Swift observatory up to June 2010. The broad Swift bandpass enables a trace of disk evolution over an unprecedented range in flux and temperature. The final data sample consists of 476 X-ray spectra containing greater than 100 counts, in the 0.6 -- 10 keV band. This is the largest sample of high quality CCD spectra of accreting black holes published to date. In addition, strictly simultaneous data at optical/UV wavelengths are available for 255 (54%) of these observations. The data are modelled with a combination of an accretion disk and a hard spectral component. For the hard component we consider both a simple power-law and a thermal Comptonization model. An accretion disk is detected at greater than the 5sigma confidence level in 61% of the observations. Lightcurves and color-color diagrams are constructed for each system. Hardness luminosity and disk fraction luminosity diagrams are constructed and are observed to be consistent with those typically observed by RXTE, noting the sensitivity below 2 keV provided by Swift. The observed spectra have an average luminosity of ~ 1% Eddington, though we are sensitive to accretion disks down to a luminosity of 10^{-3} L_Edd. Thus this is also the largest sample of such cool accretion disks studied to date. (abridged)Comment: 28 pages, 5 tables, 21 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ. This is the final revised versio