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At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

ILLUMINATING BLACK HOLE BINARY FORMATION CHANNELS WITH SPINS IN ADVANCED LIGO

The recent detections of the binary black hole mergers GW150914 and GW151226 have inaugurated the field of gravitational-wave astronomy. For the two main formation channels that have been proposed for these sources, isolated binary evolution in galactic fields and dynamical formation in dense star clusters, the predicted masses and merger rates overlap significantly, complicating any astrophysical claims that rely on measured masses alone. Here, we examine the distribution of spin–orbit misalignments expected for binaries from the field and from dense star clusters. Under standard assumptions for black hole natal kicks, we find that black hole binaries similar to GW150914 could be formed with significant spin–orbit misalignment only through dynamical processes. In particular, these heavy-black hole binaries can only form with a significant spin–orbit anti -alignment in the dynamical channel. Our results suggest that future detections of merging black hole binaries with measurable spins will allow us to identify the main formation channel for these systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VI. The Shadow and Mass of the Central Black Hole

We present measurements of the properties of the central radio source in M87 using Event Horizon Telescope data obtained during the 2017 campaign. We develop and fit geometric crescent models (asymmetric rings with interior brightness depressions) using two independent sampling algorithms that consider distinct representations of the visibility data. We show that the crescent family of models is statistically preferred over other comparably complex geometric models that we explore. We calibrate the geometric model parameters using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) models of the emission region and estimate physical properties of the source. We further fit images generated from GRMHD models directly to the data. We compare the derived emission region and black hole parameters from these analyses with those recovered from reconstructed images. There is a remarkable consistency among all methods and data sets. We find that >50% of the total flux at arcsecond scales comes from near the horizon, and that the emission is dramatically suppressed interior to this region by a factor >10, providing direct evidence of the predicted shadow of a black hole. Across all methods, we measure a crescent diameter of 42 ± 3 μas and constrain its fractional width to be <0.5. Associating the crescent feature with the emission surrounding the black hole shadow, we infer an angular gravitational radius of GM/Dc2 = 3.8 ± 0.4 μas. Folding in a distance measurement of ${16.8}_{-0.7}^{+0.8}\,\mathrm{Mpc}$ gives a black hole mass of $M=6.5\pm 0.2{| }_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.7{| }_{\mathrm{sys}}\times {10}^{9}\hspace{2pt}{M}_{\odot }$. This measurement from lensed emission near the event horizon is consistent with the presence of a central Kerr black hole, as predicted by the general theory of relativity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Induced Metal-free Star Formation around a Massive Black Hole Seed

The direct formation of a massive black hole is a potential seeding mechanism of the earliest observed supermassive black holes. We investigate how the existence of a massive black hole seed impacts the ionization and thermal state of its pre-galactic host halo and subsequent star formation. We show that its X-ray radiation ionizes and heats the medium, enhancing H 2 formation in shielded regions, within the nuclear region in the span of a million years. The enhanced molecular cooling triggers the formation of a ~10 4 M⊙ metal-free stellar cluster at a star formation efficiency of ~0.1% in a single event. Star formation occurs near the edges of the H ii region that is partially ionized by X-rays; thus, the initial size depends on the black hole properties and surrounding environment. Furthermore, the simulated metal-free galaxy has an initial half-light radius of ~10 pc but expands to ~50 pc after 10 million years because of the outward velocities of their birth clouds. Supernova feedback then quenches any further star formation for tens of millions of years, allowing the massive black hole to dominate the spectrum once the massive metal-free stars die.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measuring Black Hole Light Echoes with Very Long Baseline Interferometry

Light passing near a black hole can follow multiple paths from an emission source to an observer due to strong gravitational lensing. Photons following different paths take different amounts of time to reach the observer, which produces an echo signature in the image. The characteristic echo delay is determined primarily by the mass of the black hole, but it is also influenced by the black hole spin and inclination to the observer. In the Kerr geometry, echo images are demagnified, rotated, and sheared copies of the direct image and lie within a restricted region of the image. Echo images have exponentially suppressed flux, and temporal correlations within the flow make it challenging to directly detect light echoes from the total light curve. In this Letter, we propose a novel method to search for light echoes by correlating the total light curve with the interferometric signal at high spatial frequencies, which is a proxy for indirect emission. We explore the viability of our method using numerical general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a near-face-on accretion system scaled to M87-like parameters. We demonstrate that our method can be used to directly infer the echo delay period in simulated data. An echo detection would be clear evidence that we have captured photons that have circled the black hole, and a high-fidelity echo measurement would provide an independent measure of fundamental black hole parameters. Our results suggest that detecting echoes may be achievable through interferometric observations with a modest space-based very long baseline interferometry mission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

BSEC Air Quality: Stationary Black and Brown Carbon Properties and Mass Concentration

Data is 1-min absorption/attenuation of aerosol collected on filter and sampled at seven wavelengths (950, 880, 660, 590, 520, 470, and 370 nm) with a Magee AE-33 dual spot aethalometer. The wavelength value for black carbon, as recommended by the manufacturer, is the 880 nm channel. The derived mass concentrations, using the factory default mass absorption cross-sections, are reported for all seven wavelengths. The absorption at all seven wavelengths are reported by dividing the derived mass concentrations by the factory default mass absorption cross-sections. The estimated mass concentration contribution from biomass burning and fossil fuel black carbon, using factory default values, are reported. The estimated brown carbon mass concentration is derived by finding the difference between the recommended black carbon wavelength (880 nm) and the ultra violet wavelength (370 nm), assuming that brown carbon absorption is strongest at 370 nm and minimal at 880 nm. Finally, the estimated absorption Angstrom exponent for black and brown carbon is derived. For black carbon, the slope between each minute log(AbsXXX), where XXX is the wavelength used versus log(XXX) is used, and the wavelengths are 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm. For brown carbon, the slope between each minute log(AbsXXX), where XXX is the wavelength used versus log(XXX) is used, and the wavelengths are 370, 470, and 520 nm.

aerosol↗
NASA NTRS2014

Black Hole Mass Determination In the X-Ray Binary 4U 1630-47: Scaling of Spectral and Variability Characteristics

We present the results of a comprehensive investigation on the evolution of spectral and timing properties of the Galactic black hole candidate 4U 1630-47 during its spectral transitions. In particular, we show how a scaling of the correlation of the photon index of the Comptonized spectral component gamma with low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), ν(sub L), and mass accretion rate, M, can be applied to the black hole mass and the inclination angle estimates.We analyze the transition episodes observed with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and BeppoSAX satellites.We find that the broadband X-ray energy spectra of 4U 1630-47 during all spectral states can be modeled by a combination of a thermal component, a Comptonized component, and a red-skewed iron-line component. We also establish that gamma monotonically increases during transition from the low-hard state to the high-soft state and then saturates for high mass accretion rates. The index saturation levels vary for different transition episodes. Correlations of gamma versus ν(sub L) also show saturation at gamma (is) approximately 3. Gamma -M and gamma -ν(sub L) correlations with their index saturation revealed in 4U 1630-47 are similar to those established in a number of other black hole candidates and can be considered as an observational evidence for the presence of a black hole in these sources. The scaling technique, which relies on XTE J1550-564, GRO 1655-40, and H1743-322 as reference sources, allows us to evaluate a black hole mass in 4U 1630-47 yielding M(sub BH) (is) approximately 10 +/- 0.1 solar masses and to constrain the inclination angle of i (is) approximately less than 70 deg.

accretion↗
DOE OSTI2024

Supergravity spectrum of AdS 5 black holes

We embed Kerr-Newman-AdS black holes into N = 8 gauged supergravity and study quadratic fluctuations around the black hole backgrounds of all fields in the larger theory. The equations of motion of the perturbations are partially diagonalized by the group theory of broken symmetry. Nearly all fields in theory have non-minimal couplings, so their equations of motion are not merely massive Klein-Gordon equations with minimal coupling to background gauge fields, and their analogues for fields with spin. In the special case of extremal black holes we identify specific modes of instability, some of which touch supersymmetric locus. For example, we identify scalar fields in supergravity that condense in the near horizon region and transition the black hole into a superconducting phase. We also identify supergravity modes that are susceptible to superradiant instability.

AdS-CFT Correspondence↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Yang-Mills duals of small AdS black holes

Abstract We study the largeNmatrix model for the index of 4d$$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 Yang-Mills theory and its truncations to understand the dual AdS 5 black holes. Numerical studies of the truncated models provide insights on the black hole physics, some of which we investigate analytically with the full Yang-Mills matrix model. In particular, we find many branches of saddle points which describe the known black hole solutions. We analytically construct the saddle points dual to the small black holes whose sizes are much smaller than the AdS radius. They include the asymptotically flat BMPV black holes embedded in large AdS with novel thermodynamic instabilities.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Probing supersymmetric black holes with surface defects

It has long been conjectured that the large N deconfinement phase transition of $\mathcal{N}$ = 4 SU(N) super-Yang-Mills corresponds via AdS/CFT to the Hawking-Page transition in which black holes dominate the thermal ensemble, and quantitative evidence of this has come through the recent matching of the superconformal index of $\frac{1}{16}$-BPS states to the supersymmetric black hole entropy. Here we introduce the half-BPS Gukov-Witten surface defect as a probe of the superconformal index, which also serves as an order parameter for the deconfinement transition. This can be studied directly in field theory as a modification of the usual unitary matrix model or in the dual description as a D3-brane probe in the background of a (complex) supersymmetric black hole. Using a saddle point approximation, we determine our defect index in the large N limit as a simple function of the chemical potentials and show independently that it is reproduced by the renormalized action of the brane in the black hole background. Along the way, we also comment on the Cardy limit and the thermodynamics of the D3-brane in the generalized ensemble. The defect index sharply distinguishes between the confining and the deconfining phases of the gauge theory and thus is a supersymmetric non-perturbative order parameter for these large N phase transitions which deserves further investigation. Finally, our work provides an example where the properties of a black hole coupled to an external system can be analyzed precisely.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Component Analysis and Identification of Black Tahitian Cultured Pearls From the Oyster Pinctada margaritifera Using Spectroscopic Techniques

Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (UV–Vis–NIR) reflectance spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy were used to characterize black Tahitian cultured pearls and imitations of these saltwater cultured pearls produced by γ-irradiation, and by coloring of cultured pearls with silver nitrate or organic dyes. Raman spectra indicated that aragonite was the major constituent of these four types of pearl. Using Raman spectroscopy at an excitation wavelength of 514 nm, black Tahitian cultured pearls exhibited characteristic 1100–1700 cm{sup –1} bands. These bands were attributed to various organic components, including conchiolin and other black biological pigments. The peaks shown by saltwater cultured pearls colored with organic dyes varied with the type of dye used. Tahitian cultured and organic-dye-treated saltwater cultured pearls were easily identified by Raman spectroscopy. UV–Vis–NIR reflectance spectra showed bands at 408, 497, and 700 nm derived from porphyrin pigment and other black pigments. The spectra of dye-treated black saltwater pearls showed absorption peaks at 216, 261, 300, and 578 nm. The 261-nm absorption band disappeared from the spectra of γ-irradiated saltwater cultured pearls. This suggests the degradation of conchiolin in the γ-irradiated saltwater cultured pearls. XRF analysis revealed the presence of Ag on the surface of silver nitrate-dyed saltwater cultured pearls.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Comparative analysis of silicon and black phosphorous as an add-layer in nanomaterial based plasmonic sensor

In the proposed article silicon and black phosphorous as an add-layer above the plasmonic metal in nanomaterial (graphene and MoS{sub 2}) based plasmonic sensor are compared. The reflectance curves are obtained for different thickness of silicon and black phosphorous by using transfer matrix method. The performance defining parameters i.e. shift in resonance angle, beam width of reflectance curve, and minimum reflectance intensity for a minute change of 0.005 in refractive index of sensing medium at the optimized thickness 5 nm of silicon and black-phosphorous, and conventional are (13.86, 10.96, 2.415), (4.956, 3.817, 1.419), and (0.012, 0.002, 0.002) respectively. Further, the addition of nanomaterials increases these parameters and generally follows the order MoS{sub 2}-graphene > MoS{sub 2} > graphene. Furthermore, transverse-magnetic electric field shows that nanomaterial covered silicon have higher penetration depth than the nanomaterial covered black-phosphorous. The analysis shows that nanomaterial covered silicon can replace nanomaterial covered black-phosphorous in terms of higher sensitivity and penetration depth.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Cobalt-Doped Black TiO 2 Nanotube Array as a Stable Anode for Oxygen Evolution and Electrochemical Wastewater Treatment

TiO 2 has long been recognized as a stable and reusable photocatalyst for water splitting and pollution control. However, it is an inefficient anode material in the absence of photoactivation due to its low electron conductivity. To overcome this limitation, a series of conductive TiO 2 nanotube array electrodes have been developed. Even though nanotube arrays are effective for electrochemical oxidation initially, deactivation is often observed within a few hours. To overcome the problem of deactivation, we have synthesized cobalt-doped Black-TiO 2 nanotube array (Co-Black NTA) electrodes that are stable for more than 200 h of continuous operation in a NaClO 4 electrolyte at 10 mA cm -2 . Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and DFT simulations, we are able to show that bulk oxygen vacancies (Ov) are the primary source of the enhanced conductivity of Co-Black. Cobalt doping both creates and stabilizes surficial oxygen vacancies, Ov, and thus prevents surface passivation. The Co-Black electrodes outperform dimensionally stable IrO 2 anodes (DSA) in the electrolytic oxidation of organic-rich wastewater. Increasing the loading of Co leads to the formation of a CoO x film on top of Co-Black electrode. The CoO x /Co-Black composite electrode was found to have a lower OER overpotential (352 mV) in comparison to a DSA IrO 2 (434 mV) electrode and a stability that is greater than 200 h in a 1.0 M KOH electrolyte at a current density of 10 mA cm -2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Transport properties of ultrathin black phosphorus on hexagonal boron nitride

Ultrathin black phosphorus, or phosphorene, is a two-dimensional material that allows both high carrier mobility and large on/off ratios. Similar to other atomic crystals, like graphene or layered transition metal dichalcogenides, the transport behavior of few-layer black phosphorus is expected to be affected by the underlying substrate. The properties of black phosphorus have so far been studied on the widely utilized SiO{sub 2} substrate. Here, we characterize few-layer black phosphorus field effect transistors on hexagonal boron nitride—an atomically smooth and charge trap-free substrate. We measure the temperature dependence of the field effect mobility for both holes and electrons and explain the observed behavior in terms of charged impurity limited transport. We find that in-situ vacuum annealing at 400 K removes the p-doping of few-layer black phosphorus on both boron nitride and SiO{sub 2} substrates and reduces the hysteresis at room temperature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

FORMATION OF BLACK WIDOWS AND REDBACKS—TWO DISTINCT POPULATIONS OF ECLIPSING BINARY MILLISECOND PULSARS

Eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars (MSPs; the so-called black widows and redbacks) can provide important information about accretion history, pulsar irradiation of their companion stars, and the evolutionary link between accreting X-ray pulsars and isolated MSPs. However, the formation of such systems is not well understood, nor the difference in progenitor evolution between the two populations of black widows and redbacks. Whereas both populations have orbital periods between 0.1 and 1.0 days, their companion masses differ by an order of magnitude. In this paper, we investigate the formation of these systems via the evolution of converging low-mass X-ray binaries by employing the MESA stellar evolution code. Our results confirm that one can explain the formation of most of these eclipsing binary MSPs using this scenario. More notably, we find that the determining factor for producing either black widows or redbacks is the efficiency of the irradiation process, such that the redbacks absorb a larger fraction of the emitted spin-down energy of the radio pulsar (resulting in more efficient mass loss via evaporation) compared to that of the black widow systems. We argue that geometric effects (beaming) are responsible for the strong bimodality of these two populations. Finally, we conclude that redback systems do not evolve into black widow systems with time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A ‘black hole theorem,’ and its implications

A general formulation of the basic conflict of the information problem is given, encapsulated in a 'black hole theorem.' This is framed in a more general context than the usual one of quantum field theory on a background, and is based on describing a black hole as a quantum subsystem of a larger system, including its environment. This sharpens the limited set of possible consistent options; as with the Coleman-Mandula theorem, the most important point is probably the loophole in the 'theorem,' and what this tells us about the fundamental structure of quantum gravity. This 'theorem' in particular involves the general question of how to define quantum subsystems in quantum gravity. If black holes do behave as quantum subsystems, at least to a good approximation, evolve unitarily, and do not leave remnants, the 'theorem' implies the presence of interactions between a black hole and its environment that go beyond a description based on local quantum fields. This provides further motivation for and connects to previous work giving a principled parameterization of these interactions, and investigating their possible observational signatures via electromagnetic or gravitational wave observations of black holes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Gravitational waves from primordial black hole evaporation with large extra dimensions

Abstract The spectra of gravitational waves from black hole evaporation generically peak at frequencies of order the Hawking temperature, making this signal ultra-high frequency for primordial black holes evaporating in the early universe. This motivates us to consider small black holes in theories with large extra dimensions, for which the peak frequency can be lowered substantially, since the true bulk Planck scaleM * can be much smaller than the effectiveM Pl . We study the emission of brane-localized gravitons during the Hawking evaporation of ultra-light primordial black holes in the context of theories with large extra dimensions, with the ultimate goal of computing the contribution to the stochastic gravitational wave background. To accurately model black hole evolution, we compute greybody factors for particles of spin-0, 1/2, 1, and 2 emitted on the brane and in the bulk, presuming the majority of emission proceeds during the Schwarzschild phase. We then compute the power spectrum and present day spectral density parameter for brane-localized gravitons contributing to a gravitational wave signal. We find that for an optimal choice of parameters, the peak frequency plateaus in the sub-MHz regime, within range of planned high-frequency gravitational wave detectors, making this scenario a target for detection once their sensitivity exceeds ΔN eff bounds.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

A VLBA-uGMRT search for candidate binary black holes: study of six X-shaped radio galaxies with double-peaked emission lines

ABSTRACT Identifying methods to discover dual active galactic nucleus (AGN) has proven to be challenging. Several indirect tracers have been explored in the literature, including X/S-shaped radio morphologies and double-peaked (DP) emission lines in the optical spectra. However, the detection rates of confirmed dual AGN candidates from the individual methods remain extremely small. We search for binary black holes (BBH) in a sample of six sources that exhibit both X-shaped radio morphology and DP emission lines using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). Three out of the six sources show dual VLBA compact components, making them strong candidates for BBH sources. In addition, we present deep uGMRT images revealing the exquisite details of the X-shaped wings in three sources. We present a detailed precession modeling analysis of these sources. The black hole separations estimated from the simplistic geodetic precession model are incompatible with those estimated from emission line offsets and the VLBA separations. However, precession induced by a non-coplanar secondary black hole is a feasible mechanism for explaining the observed X-shaped radio morphologies and the black hole separations estimated from other methods. The black hole separations estimated from the double-peaked emission lines agree well with the VLBA compact component separations. Future multifrequency VLBA observations will be critical in ruling out or confirming the BBH scenario in the three galaxies with dual component detections.

Sebastian, Biny (ORCID:0000000184286525)↗
DOE OSTI2017

Phosphorus allotropes: Stability of black versus red phosphorus re-examined by means of the van der Waals inclusive density functional method

We evaluate the energetic stabilities of white, red, and black allotropes of phosphorus using density functional theory (DFT) and hybrid functional methods, van der Waals (vdW) corrections (DFT+vdW and hybrid+vdW), vdW density functionals, and random phase approximation (RPA). In this work, we find that stability of black phosphorus over red-V (i.e., the violet form) is not ubiquitous among these methods, and the calculated enthalpies for the reaction phosphorus (red-V)→ phosphorus (black) are scattered between –20 and 40 meV/atom. With local density and generalized gradient approximations, and hybrid functionals, mean absolute errors (MAEs) in densities of P allotropes relative to experiments are found to be around 10%–25%, whereas with vdW-inclusive methods, MAEs in densities drop below ~5%. While the inconsistency among the density functional methods could not shed light on the stability puzzle of black versus red phosphorus, comparison of their accuracy in predicting densities and the supplementary RPA results on relative stabilities indicate that opposite to the common belief, black and red phosphorus are almost degenerate, or the red-V (violet) form of phosphorus might even be the ground state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗