No Arabic abstract
Numerical simulations have shown that black holes (BHs) can strongly influence the evolution and present-day observational properties of globular clusters (GCs). Using a Monte Carlo code, we construct GC models that match the Milky Way (MW) cluster NGC 3201, the first cluster in which a stellar-mass BH was identified through radial-velocity measurements. We predict that NGC 3201 contains $gtrsim 200$ stellar-mass BHs. Furthermore, we explore the dynamical formation of main sequence-BH binaries and demonstrate that systems similar to the observed BH binary in NGC 3201 are produced naturally. Additionally, our models predict the existence of bright blue-straggler-BH binaries unique to core-collapsed clusters, which otherwise retain few BHs.
Over a hundred millisecond radio pulsars (MSPs) have been observed in globular clusters (GCs), motivating theoretical studies of the formation and evolution of these sources through stellar evolution coupled to stellar dynamics. Here we study MSPs in GCs using realistic $N$-body simulations with our Cluster Monte Carlo code. We show that neutron stars (NSs) formed in electron-capture supernovae (including both accretion-induced and merger-induced collapse of white dwarfs) can be spun up through mass transfer to form MSPs. Both NS formation and spin-up through accretion are greatly enhanced through dynamical interaction processes. We find that our models for average GCs at the present day with masses $approx 2 times 10^5,M_odot$ can produce up to $10-20$ MSPs, while a very massive GC model with mass $approx 10^6,M_odot$ can produce close to $100$. We show that the number of MSPs is anti-correlated with the total number of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) retained in the host cluster. The radial distributions are also affected: MSPs are more concentrated towards the center in a host cluster with a smaller number of retained BHs. As a result, the number of MSPs in a GC could be used to place constraints on its BH population. Some intrinsic properties of MSP systems in our models (such as the magnetic fields and spin periods) are in good overall agreement with observations, while others (such as the distribution of binary companion types) less so, and we discuss the possible reasons for such discrepancies. Interestingly, our models also demonstrate the possibility of dynamically forming NS--NS and NS--BH binaries in GCs, although the predicted numbers are very small.
The outskirts of globular clusters (GCs) simultaneously retain crucial information about their formation mechanism and the properties of their host galaxy. Thanks to the advent of precision astrometry both their morphological and kinematic properties are now accessible. Here we present the first dynamical study of the outskirts of the retrograde GC NGC 3201 until twice its Jacobi radius (< 100 pc), using specifically-selected high-quality astrometric data from Gaia DR2. We report the discovery of a stellar overdensity along the South-East/North-West direction that we identify as tidal tails. The GC is characterized globally by radial anisotropy and a hint of isotropy in the outer parts, with an excess of tangential orbits around the lobes corresponding to the tidal tails, in qualitative agreement with an N-body simulation. Moreover, we measure flat velocity dispersion profiles, reaching values of $3.5pm0.9$ km/s until beyond the Jacobi radius. While tidal tails could contribute to such a flattening, this high velocity dispersion value is in disagreement with the expectation from the sole presence of potential escapers. To explain this puzzling observation, we discuss the possibility of an accreted origin of the GC, the presence of a dark matter halo --leftover of its formation at high redshift -- and the possible effects of non-Newtonian dynamics. Our study uncovers a new path for the study of GC formation and of the properties of the Milky Way potential in the era of precision astrometry.
We derive the observable gravitational wave (GW) peak frequency ($f$) distribution of binary black holes (BBHs) that currently reside inside their globular clusters (GCs), with and without 2.5 Post-Newtonian (2.5PN) effects included in the dynamical evolution of the BBHs. Recent Newtonian studies have reported that a notable number of nearby non-merging BBHs, i.e. those BBHs that are expected to undergo further dynamical interactions before merger, in GCs are likely to be observable by LISA. However, our 2.5PN calculations show that the distribution of $log f$ for the non-merging BBH population above $sim 10^{-3.5}$ Hz scales as $f^{-34/9}$ instead of the $f^{-2/3}$ scaling found in the Newtonian case. This leads to an approximately two-orders-of-magnitude reduction in the expected number of GW sources at $sim 10^{-3}$ Hz, which lead us to conclude that observing nearby BBHs with LISA is not as likely as has been claimed in the recent literature. In fact, our results suggest that it might be more likely that LISA detects the population of BBHs that will merge before undergoing further interactions. This interestingly suggests that the BBH merger rate derived from LIGO can be used to forecast the number of nearby LISA sources, as well as providing insight into the fraction of BBH mergers forming in GCs.
For a sample of nine Galactic globular clusters we measured the inner kinematic profiles with integral-field spectroscopy that we combined with existing outer kinematic measurements and HST luminosity profiles. With this information we are able to detect the crucial rise in the velocity-dispersion profile which indicates the presence of a central black hole. In addition, N-body simulations compared to our data will give us a deeper insight in the properties of clusters with black holes and stronger selection criteria for further studies. For the first time, we obtain a homogeneous sample of globular cluster integral- field spectroscopy which allows a direct comparison between clusters with and without an intermediate-mass black hole.
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) by definition have masses of $M_{rm IMBH} sim 10^{2-5}~M_odot$, a range with few observational constraints. Finding IMBHs in globular star clusters (GCs) would validate a formation channel for massive black-hole seeds in the early universe. Here, we simulate a 60-hour observation with the next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) of 728 GC candidates in the Virgo Cluster galaxy NGC,4472. Interpreting the radio detection thresholds as signatures of accretion onto IMBHs, we benchmark IMBH mass thresholds in three scenarios and find the following: (1) Radio analogs of ESO,243-49 HLX-1, a strong IMBH candidate with $M_{rm IMBH}^{rm HLX} sim 10^{4-5}~M_odot$ in a star cluster, are easy to access in all 728 GC candidates. (2) For the 30 GC candidates with extant X-ray detections, the empirical fundamental-plane relation involving black hole mass plus X-ray and radio luminosities suggests access to $M_{rm IMBH}^{rm FP} sim 10^{1.7-3.6}~M_odot$, with an uncertainty of 0.44 dex. (3) A fiducial Bondi accretion model was applied to all 728 GC candidates and to radio stacks of GC candidates. This model suggests access to IMBH masses, with a statistical uncertainty of 0.39 dex, of $M_{rm IMBH}^{rm B} sim 10^{4.9-5.1}~M_odot$ for individual GC candidates and $M_{rm IMBH}^{rm B,stack} sim 10^{4.5}~M_odot$ for radio stacks of about 100-200 GC candidates. The fiducial Bondi model offers initial guidance, but is subject to additional systematic uncertainties and should be superseded by hydrodynamical simulations of gas flows in GCs.