Navigation auf zora.uzh.ch

Search ZORA

ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive)

Orbital decay of supermassive black hole binaries in clumpy multiphase merger remnants

Roškar, Rok; Fiacconi, Davide; Mayer, Lucio; Kazantzidis, Stelios; Quinn, Thomas R; Wadsley, James (2015). Orbital decay of supermassive black hole binaries in clumpy multiphase merger remnants. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 449(1):494-505.

Abstract

We simulate an equal-mass merger of two Milky Way-size galaxy discs with moderate gas fractions at parsec-scale resolution ncluding a new model for radiative cooling and heating in a multi-phase medium, as well as star formation and feedback from supernovae. The two discs initially have a $2.6\times10^6\mathrm{~M_{\odot}}$ supermassive black hole (SMBH) embedded in their centers. As the merger completes and the two galactic cores merge, the SMBHs form a a pair with a separation of a few hundred pc that gradually decays. Due to the stochastic nature of the system immediately following the merger, the orbital plane of the binary is significantly perturbed. Furthermore, owing to the strong starburst the gas from the central region is completely evacuated, requiring $\sim10$~Myr for a nuclear disc to rebuild. Most importantly, the clumpy nature of the interstellar medium as a major impact on the the dynamical evolution of the SMBH pair, which undergo gravitational encounters with massive gas clouds and stochastic torquing by both clouds and spiral modes in the disk. These effects combine to greatly delay the decay of the two SMBHs to separations of a few parsecs by nearly two orders of magnitude, $\sim 10^8$ yr, compared to previous work. In mergers of more gas-rich, clumpier galaxies at high redshift stochastic torques will be even more pronounced and potentially lead to stronger modulation of the orbital decay. This suggests that SMBH pairs at separations of several tens of parsecs should be relatively common at any redshift.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Institute for Computational Science
Dewey Decimal Classification:530 Physics
Scopus Subject Areas:Physical Sciences > Astronomy and Astrophysics
Physical Sciences > Space and Planetary Science
Language:English
Date:May 2015
Deposited On:22 Feb 2016 14:24
Last Modified:15 Oct 2024 01:37
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:0035-8711
Additional Information:This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
OA Status:Hybrid
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv312
Other Identification Number:arXiv:1406.4505v1
Download PDF  'Orbital decay of supermassive black hole binaries in clumpy multiphase merger remnants'.
Preview
  • Content: Accepted Version
Download PDF  'Orbital decay of supermassive black hole binaries in clumpy multiphase merger remnants'.
Preview
  • Content: Published Version

Metadata Export

Statistics

Citations

Dimensions.ai Metrics
51 citations in Web of Science®
58 citations in Scopus®
Google Scholar™

Altmetrics

Downloads

127 downloads since deposited on 22 Feb 2016
14 downloads since 12 months
Detailed statistics

Authors, Affiliations, Collaborations

Similar Publications