TY - GEN
T1 - Black hole binary mergers within gas discs
AU - Cuadra, Jorge
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - We investigate numerically the evolution of black hole binaries embedded within geometrically thin gas discs. We find that the binary decays at a rate which is in good agreement with analytical estimates. Scaling our results, we calculate the maximum rate of binary decay that is possible without fragmentation occurring within the surrounding gas disc. We find that decay due to gas discs can be more efficient than that due to stellar scattering for separations below a∼0.01-0.1 pc. The minimum merger time scale is shorter than the Hubble time for M<107 M⊙. This implies that gas discs could commonly attend relatively low mass black hole mergers, and that a significant population of binaries might exist at separations of a few hundredths of a pc. For more massive binaries, scattering of stars formed within a fragmenting gas disc could act as a significant additional sink of binary angular momentum.
AB - We investigate numerically the evolution of black hole binaries embedded within geometrically thin gas discs. We find that the binary decays at a rate which is in good agreement with analytical estimates. Scaling our results, we calculate the maximum rate of binary decay that is possible without fragmentation occurring within the surrounding gas disc. We find that decay due to gas discs can be more efficient than that due to stellar scattering for separations below a∼0.01-0.1 pc. The minimum merger time scale is shorter than the Hubble time for M<107 M⊙. This implies that gas discs could commonly attend relatively low mass black hole mergers, and that a significant population of binaries might exist at separations of a few hundredths of a pc. For more massive binaries, scattering of stars formed within a fragmenting gas disc could act as a significant additional sink of binary angular momentum.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77955680683&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.3458494
DO - 10.1063/1.3458494
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:77955680683
SN - 9780735407862
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
SP - 231
EP - 234
BT - Hunting for the Dark
T2 - International Conference "Hunting for the Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy Formation"
Y2 - 19 October 2009 through 23 October 2009
ER -