Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters

We investigate the evolution of star clusters containing intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) of 300–5000 M _⊙ , focusing on the formation and evolution of IMBH–stellar-mass black hole (M _BH ≲ 10 ^2 M _⊙ ) binaries. Dense stellar systems like globular clusters (GCs) or nuclear star clusters offer...

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Main Authors: Seungjae Lee, Hyung Mok Lee, Ji-hoon Kim, Rainer Spurzem, Jongsuk Hong, Eunwoo Chung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adde52
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author Seungjae Lee
Hyung Mok Lee
Ji-hoon Kim
Rainer Spurzem
Jongsuk Hong
Eunwoo Chung
author_facet Seungjae Lee
Hyung Mok Lee
Ji-hoon Kim
Rainer Spurzem
Jongsuk Hong
Eunwoo Chung
author_sort Seungjae Lee
collection DOAJ
description We investigate the evolution of star clusters containing intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) of 300–5000 M _⊙ , focusing on the formation and evolution of IMBH–stellar-mass black hole (M _BH ≲ 10 ^2 M _⊙ ) binaries. Dense stellar systems like globular clusters (GCs) or nuclear star clusters offer unique laboratories for studying the existence and impacts of IMBHs. IMBHs residing in GCs have been under speculation for decades, with their broad astrophysical implications for the cluster’s dynamical evolution, stellar population, and gravitational-wave (GW) signatures, among others. While existing GW observatories, such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (aLIGO), target binaries with relatively modest mass ratios, q ≲ 10, future observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope (ET) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will detect intermediate-mass ratio inspirals (IMRIs) with q > 10. This work explores the potential for detecting IMRIs by adopting these upcoming telescopes. For our experiments, we perform multiple direct N -body simulations with IMBHs, utilizing Nbody6++GPU , after implementing the GW merger schemes for IMBHs. We then study the statistical properties of the resulting IMRIs, such as the event rates and orbital properties. Assuming that IMRIs with a signal-to-noise ratio ​​> 8 are detectable, we derive the following detection rates for each observatory: ≲0.02 yr ^−1 for aLIGO, ∼101−355 yr ^−1 for ET, ∼186−200 yr ^−1 for LISA, ∼0.24−0.34 yr ^−1 for aSOGRO, and ∼3880−4890 yr ^−1 for DECIGO. Our result confirms the capability of detecting IMRIs with future GW telescopes.
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spelling doaj-art-1380aba7a77548279cd95e409c05dfd42025-08-20T02:36:06ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198811510.3847/1538-4357/adde52Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star ClustersSeungjae Lee0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4769-6431Hyung Mok Lee1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4412-7161Ji-hoon Kim2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4464-1160Rainer Spurzem3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2264-7203Jongsuk Hong4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5097-8707Eunwoo Chung5https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3230-8205Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea ; balgun1004@gmail.com, mornkr@snu.ac.krResearch Institute for Basic Sciences, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Seoul National University Astronomy Research Center , Seoul 08826, Republic of KoreaCenter for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea ; balgun1004@gmail.com, mornkr@snu.ac.kr; Seoul National University Astronomy Research Center , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Institute for Data Innovation in Science, Soul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of KoreaAstronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg , Mönchhofstr. 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany; National Astronomical Observatories and Key Laboratory of Computational Astrophysics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Rd., Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Yiheyuan Lu 5, Haidian Qu, 100871, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaKorea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , Daejeon 34055, Republic of KoreaCenter for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea ; balgun1004@gmail.com, mornkr@snu.ac.krWe investigate the evolution of star clusters containing intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) of 300–5000 M _⊙ , focusing on the formation and evolution of IMBH–stellar-mass black hole (M _BH ≲ 10 ^2 M _⊙ ) binaries. Dense stellar systems like globular clusters (GCs) or nuclear star clusters offer unique laboratories for studying the existence and impacts of IMBHs. IMBHs residing in GCs have been under speculation for decades, with their broad astrophysical implications for the cluster’s dynamical evolution, stellar population, and gravitational-wave (GW) signatures, among others. While existing GW observatories, such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (aLIGO), target binaries with relatively modest mass ratios, q ≲ 10, future observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope (ET) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will detect intermediate-mass ratio inspirals (IMRIs) with q > 10. This work explores the potential for detecting IMRIs by adopting these upcoming telescopes. For our experiments, we perform multiple direct N -body simulations with IMBHs, utilizing Nbody6++GPU , after implementing the GW merger schemes for IMBHs. We then study the statistical properties of the resulting IMRIs, such as the event rates and orbital properties. Assuming that IMRIs with a signal-to-noise ratio ​​> 8 are detectable, we derive the following detection rates for each observatory: ≲0.02 yr ^−1 for aLIGO, ∼101−355 yr ^−1 for ET, ∼186−200 yr ^−1 for LISA, ∼0.24−0.34 yr ^−1 for aSOGRO, and ∼3880−4890 yr ^−1 for DECIGO. Our result confirms the capability of detecting IMRIs with future GW telescopes.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adde52Star clustersIntermediate-mass black holesGeneral relativityGravitational waves
spellingShingle Seungjae Lee
Hyung Mok Lee
Ji-hoon Kim
Rainer Spurzem
Jongsuk Hong
Eunwoo Chung
Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
The Astrophysical Journal
Star clusters
Intermediate-mass black holes
General relativity
Gravitational waves
title Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
title_full Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
title_fullStr Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
title_full_unstemmed Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
title_short Formation and Evolution of Compact Binaries Containing Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
title_sort formation and evolution of compact binaries containing intermediate mass black holes in dense star clusters
topic Star clusters
Intermediate-mass black holes
General relativity
Gravitational waves
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adde52
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