优先级 10 · 引力波电磁对应体 · 多信使触发与联合
Unveiling the properties of galaxy cores excavated by supermassive black hole binaries with SHARP
Bortolas, E., Portaluri, E., Dalla Bontà, E., et al.
原文摘要Abstract
Massive black hole (MBH) binaries form as a result of galaxy mergers and can coalesce into a single MBH by emitting gravitational waves detectable by LISA and pulsar timing array campaigns. Although electromagnetic observations of bound MBH binaries are extremely challenging, an indirect signature of their passage is the core scouring: a bound binary shrinks by ejecting nearby stars, creating a flat stellar density core of the size of the binary influence radius. Through this mechanism, stars on radial orbits are preferentially ejected, resulting in a central tangential anisotropy in the velocity field of stars that can be identified via IFU observations. At present, the sample of galaxies with such properties is limited by instrument resolution to the closest giant ellipticals within the nearest <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mo>≍</mml:mo><mml:mn>100</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> Mpc. The SHARP-VESPER IFU and MICADO+MORFEO instruments can work in concert to detect both these features: their unprecedented spatial resolution can allow us to detect central scourings with sizes above <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mo>∼</mml:mo><mml:mn>500</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> pc in principle up to reionization; smaller cores of <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mo>≍</mml:mo><mml:mn>150</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> pc can be detected up to <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>z</mml:mi><mml:mo>≍</mml:mo><mml:mn>0</mml:mn><mml:mo>.</mml:mo><mml:mn>14</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math>, encompassing a volume that is more than 40 times the one available at present. In addition, they can enable the search for these features in smaller galaxies, enhancing by a factor 30 the volume over which we can search for pc-size cores around <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>7</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>M</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>⊙</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math> MBHs. The fraction of scoured galaxies, combined with their kinematic and morphological properties, carry information on the amount of merging binaries, their masses and typical environment, thus knowing this will be fundamental to complement the forthcoming gravitational wave data.
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利用SHARP揭示超大质量黑洞双星挖掘的星系核性质 · 本文评估SHARP-VESPER和MICADO+MORFEO仪器如何通过探测恒星核凹陷和运动学各向异性,大幅扩展可观测的受黑洞双星影响的星系样本,为引力波研究提供补充。
预印本 2026-06-30 · 刊出 2026-06-12 · 收录 2026-08-20