Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources
Billions of isolated stellar-mass black holes (IBHs) are thought to wander through the interstellar medium (ISM) in the Galaxy, yet only one has been detected. IBHs embedded in ISM would accrete gas via Bondi–Hoyle–Littleton accretion, and with efficient magnetic flux accumulation, the magnetosphere...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcb3d |
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| author | Koki Kin Riku Kuze Shigeo S. Kimura |
| author_facet | Koki Kin Riku Kuze Shigeo S. Kimura |
| author_sort | Koki Kin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Billions of isolated stellar-mass black holes (IBHs) are thought to wander through the interstellar medium (ISM) in the Galaxy, yet only one has been detected. IBHs embedded in ISM would accrete gas via Bondi–Hoyle–Littleton accretion, and with efficient magnetic flux accumulation, the magnetosphere would be formed in the vicinity of IBHs. We explore the detectability of such IBHs through high-energy gamma-rays from spark gaps in their magnetospheres based on our recent numerical simulation. Spark gap gamma-rays can be bright at the GeV–TeV energies when IBHs are in the dense ISM. About 10 ^3 and 10 IBHs might be contained in unidentified objects of the Fermi Large Area Telescope and the High Energy Stereoscopic System, respectively. A future Galactic plane survey by the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory would lead to ∼10 ^2 detections. We also evaluate the combined gamma-ray emission of IBHs in the Galaxy and find that the IBHs may contribute to the Galactic diffuse gamma-rays. IBHs will emit optical and X-ray photons from their accretion disk as counterparts, potentially useful for identifying candidates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0a35e9ca5dbf4b96b5c6783afc26a606 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-0a35e9ca5dbf4b96b5c6783afc26a6062025-08-20T02:17:01ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01985225110.3847/1538-4357/adcb3dGalactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified SourcesKoki Kin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9712-3589Riku Kuze1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5916-788XShigeo S. Kimura2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-7266Astronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University , Sendai 980-8578, JapanAstronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University , Sendai 980-8578, Japan; Center for Gravitational Physics, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University , Kyoto 606-8502, JapanAstronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University , Sendai 980-8578, Japan; Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University , Sendai 980-8578, JapanBillions of isolated stellar-mass black holes (IBHs) are thought to wander through the interstellar medium (ISM) in the Galaxy, yet only one has been detected. IBHs embedded in ISM would accrete gas via Bondi–Hoyle–Littleton accretion, and with efficient magnetic flux accumulation, the magnetosphere would be formed in the vicinity of IBHs. We explore the detectability of such IBHs through high-energy gamma-rays from spark gaps in their magnetospheres based on our recent numerical simulation. Spark gap gamma-rays can be bright at the GeV–TeV energies when IBHs are in the dense ISM. About 10 ^3 and 10 IBHs might be contained in unidentified objects of the Fermi Large Area Telescope and the High Energy Stereoscopic System, respectively. A future Galactic plane survey by the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory would lead to ∼10 ^2 detections. We also evaluate the combined gamma-ray emission of IBHs in the Galaxy and find that the IBHs may contribute to the Galactic diffuse gamma-rays. IBHs will emit optical and X-ray photons from their accretion disk as counterparts, potentially useful for identifying candidates.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcb3dBlack holesAccretionGamma-ray sourcesPlasma astrophysics |
| spellingShingle | Koki Kin Riku Kuze Shigeo S. Kimura Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources The Astrophysical Journal Black holes Accretion Gamma-ray sources Plasma astrophysics |
| title | Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources |
| title_full | Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources |
| title_fullStr | Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources |
| title_full_unstemmed | Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources |
| title_short | Galactic Isolated Stellar-mass Black Holes with the Magnetospheric Spark Gap as Possible GeV–TeV Gamma-Ray Unidentified Sources |
| title_sort | galactic isolated stellar mass black holes with the magnetospheric spark gap as possible gev tev gamma ray unidentified sources |
| topic | Black holes Accretion Gamma-ray sources Plasma astrophysics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcb3d |
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