1999/02/28 by Chigurupati Murali, C. Murali, P. Arras +3 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03222.x
13 pages, 10 figures, revised version, in press, Monthly Notices
arxiv created 1999/12/08 · openalex publication_date 2000/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We establish constraints on the mass and abundance of black holes in the Galactic halo by determining their impact on globular clusters, which are conventionally considered to be little evolved. Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations and simple evolutionary models, we argue that black holes with masses Mbh≳(1–3)×106 M⊙ can comprise no more than a fraction fbh≈0.17 of the total halo density at Galactocentric radius R≈8 kpc. This bound arises from requiring stability of the cluster mass function. A more restrictive bound may be derived if we demand that the probability of destruction of any given, low-mass Mc≈(2.5–7.5)×104 M⊙] globular cluster not exceed 50 per cent; this bound is fbh≲0.025−0.05 at R≈8 kpc. This constraint improves those based on disc heating and dynamical friction arguments as well as current lensing results. At smaller radius the constraint on fbh strengthens, while at larger radius an increased fraction of black holes is allowed.