2006/10/11 by M. Trenti, Michele Trenti, Eliani Ardi +5 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Accretion (finance) #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Binary black hole #Black hole (networking) #Cluster (spacecraft) #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Globular cluster #Intermediate-mass black hole #Mass ratio #Mass segregation #Physics #Population #Primordial black hole #RADIUS #Spin-flip #Star cluster #Stars #Stellar black hole #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11189.x
11 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
arxiv created 2006/10/11 · openalex publication_date 2006/11/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present the first study of the dynamical evolution of an isolated star cluster that combines a significant population of primordial binaries with the presence of a central black hole. We use equal-mass direct N-body simulations, with N ranging from 4096 to 16 384 and a primordial binary ratio of 0–10 per cent; the black hole mass is about 1 per cent of the total mass of the cluster. The evolution of the binary population is strongly influenced by the presence of the black hole, which gives the cluster a large core with a central density cusp. Starting from a variety of initial conditions (Plummer and King models), we first encounter a phase, that last approximately 10 half-mass relaxation times, in which binaries are disrupted faster compared to analogous simulations without a black hole. Subsequently, however, binary disruption slows down significantly due to the large core size. The dynamical interplay between the primordial binaries and the black hole thus introduces new features with respect to the scenarios investigated so far, where the influence of the black hole and of the binaries have been considered separately. A large core to half-mass radius ratio appears to be a promising indirect evidence for the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole in old globular clusters.