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DOE OSTI2023

Primordial gravitational waves from black hole evaporation in standard and nonstandard cosmologies

Gravitons radiated from light, evaporating black holes contribute to the stochastic background of gravitational waves. The spectrum of such emission depends on both the mass and the spin of the black holes, as well as on the redshifting that occurs between the black hole formation and today. This, in turn, depends on the expansion history of the Universe, which is largely unknown and unconstrained at times prior to the synthesis of light elements. Here, we explore the features of the stochastic background of gravitational waves from black hole evaporation under a broad range of possible early cosmological histories. The resulting gravitational wave signals typically peak at very high frequencies, and offer opportunities for proposed ultrahigh-frequency gravitational wave detectors. Lower-frequency peaks are also possible, albeit with a suppressed intensity that is likely well below the threshold of detectability. We find that the largest intensity peaks correspond to cosmologies dominated by fluids with equations of state that have large pressure-to-density ratios. Such scenarios can be constrained on the basis of violation of Δ⁢N eff bounds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Constraints on late-forming exploding black holes

Black holes can be produced in collapse of small-scale dark matter structures, which can happen at any time from the early to present-day Universe. Microstructure black holes (MSBHs) can have a wide range of masses. Here, small MSBHs evaporate via Hawking radiation with lifetimes shorter than the age of the Universe, but they are not subject to the usual early-Universe bounds on the abundance of small primordial black holes. We investigate the possible signal of such a population of exploding, late-forming black holes, constraining their abundance with observations from diffuse extragalactic gamma- and x-ray sources, the Galactic Center, and dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Investigating Multi-Microgrid Black Start Methods Using Grid-Forming Inverters

This paper examines state-of-the-art microgrid (MG) black-start technologies with grid-forming (GFM) inverter-based resources (IBRs) and proposes black start and interconnection methods for 100% inverter-based MGs. A multiple-MG approach is proposed and compared to the existing methods in a 4-bus, 12-GFM inverter simulation test setup. This investigation involves intelligent synchronization units that enable the autonomous synchronization of multiple MGs based on their terminal measurements. MGs in this setup are held at different loading levels and comprise averaged models of GFM inverters. The results of the black-start techniques are compared, and conclusions are drawn to better prepare MG planners and distribution system operators for next-generation, multi-MG, GFM inverter-based, black-start procedures.

black start↗

DOE OSTI2012

Black hole evaporation in a noncommutative charged Vaidya model

We study the black hole evaporation and Hawking radiation for a noncommutative charged Vaidya black hole. For this purpose, we determine a spherically symmetric charged Vaidya model and then formulate a noncommutative Reissner-Nordstroem-like solution of this model, which leads to an exact (t - r)-dependent metric. The behavior of the temporal component of this metric and the corresponding Hawking temperature are investigated. The results are shown in the form of graphs. Further, we examine the tunneling process of charged massive particles through the quantum horizon. We find that the tunneling amplitude is modified due to noncommutativity. Also, it turns out that the black hole evaporates completely in the limits of large time and horizon radius. The effect of charge is to reduce the temperature from a maximum value to zero. We note that the final stage of black hole evaporation is a naked singularity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Charged fermions tunneling from regular black holes

We study Hawking radiation of charged fermions as a tunneling process from charged regular black holes, i.e., the Bardeen and ABGB black holes. For this purpose, we apply the semiclassical WKB approximation to the general covariant Dirac equation for charged particles and evaluate the tunneling probabilities. We recover the Hawking temperature corresponding to these charged regular black holes. Further, we consider the back-reaction effects of the emitted spin particles from black holes and calculate their corresponding quantum corrections to the radiation spectrum. We find that this radiation spectrum is not purely thermal due to the energy and charge conservation but has some corrections. In the absence of charge, e = 0, our results are consistent with those already present in the literature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2015

Clusters of primordial black holes and reionization problem

Clusters of primordial black holes may cause the formation of quasars in the early Universe. In turn, radiation from these quasars may lead to the reionization of the Universe. However, the evaporation of primordial black holes via Hawking’s mechanism may also contribute to the ionization of matter. The possibility of matter ionization via the evaporation of primordial black holes with allowance for existing constraints on their density is discussed. The contribution to ionization from the evaporation of primordial black holes characterized by their preset mass spectrum can roughly be estimated at about 10{sup −3}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Quantum electron levels in the field of a charged black hole

Stationary solutions of the Dirac equation in the metric of the charged Reissner–Nordstrom black hole are found. In the case of an extremal black hole, the normalization integral of the wave functions is finite, and the regular stationary solution is physically self-consistent. The presence of quantum electron levels under the Cauchy horizon can have an impact on the final stage of the Hawking evaporation of the black hole, as well as on the particle scattering in the field of the black hole.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

From the black hole conundrum to the structure of quantum gravity

Here, we portray the structure of quantum gravity emerging from recent progress in understanding the quantum mechanics of an evaporating black hole. Quantum gravity admits two different descriptions, based on Euclidean gravitational path integral and a unitarily evolving holographic quantum system, which appear to present vastly different pictures under the existence of a black hole. Nevertheless, these two descriptions are physically equivalent. Various issues of black hole physics — including the existence of the interior, unitarity of the evolution, the puzzle of too large interior volume, and the ensemble nature seen in certain calculations — are addressed very differently in the two descriptions, still leading to the same physical conclusions. The perspective of quantum gravity developed here is expected to have broader implications beyond black hole physics, especially for the cosmology of the eternally inflating multiverse.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

The universality of black hole thermodynamics

The thermodynamic properties of black holes — temperature, entropy and radiation rates — are usually associated with the presence of a horizon. We argue that any extremely compact object (ECO) must have the same thermodynamic properties. Here, quantum fields just outside the surface of an ECO have a large negative Casimir energy similar to the Boulware vacuum of black holes. If the thermal radiation emanating from the ECO does not fill the near-surface region at the local Unruh temperature, then we find that no solution of gravity equations is possible. In string theory, black holes microstates are horizonless quantum objects called fuzzballs that are expected to have a surface ~l p outside r = 2⁢GM; thus the information puzzle is resolved while preserving the semiclassical thermodynamics of black holes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2019

Recent progress in characterization of the core–shell structure of black titania

The recent observation of spectacular photocatalytic activity enhancements generated tremendous interest in the synthesis, properties, and potential applications of black titania. Most black titania are core-shell structures consisting of a perfect crystalline core surrounded by a defective surface shell. Because the properties are attributed to the defective shell it is particularly critical, but very challenging to obtain atomic structure information of the core, the shell, and the core-shell relationship on a single particle level. While the role of various synthesis approaches for producing black titania with different properties has been extensively reviewed, this review focuses on understanding the structure-functionality relationship in black titania on a single particle level. We begin by introducing the crystal and electronic band structure of different TiO 2 phases, followed by discussion of particle size effects, the origin of lattice distortions, and phase control by synthesis, and concluding with discussion of crystalline order formation and evolution creating the defective shell.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2016

Hydrodynamical numerical simulation of wind production from black hole hot accretion flows at very large radii

Previous works show that strong winds exist in hot accretion flows around black holes. Those works focus only on the region close to the black hole, so it is unknown whether or where the wind production stops at large radii. In this paper, we investigate this problem with hydrodynamical simulations. We take into account the gravities of both the black hole and the nuclear star clusters. For the latter, we assume that the velocity dispersion of stars is a constant and its gravitational potential ∝σ{sup 2}ln(r), where σ is the velocity dispersion of stars, and r is the distance from the center of the galaxy. We focus on the region where the gravitational potential is dominated by the star cluster. We find that, just as for the accretion flow at small radii, the mass inflow rate decreases inward, and the flow is convectively unstable. However, a trajectory analysis shows that there is very little wind launched from the flow. Our result, combined with the results of Yuan et al.’s study from 2015, indicates that the mass flux of wind launched from hot accretion flow M-dot {sub wind}= M-dot {sub BH}(r/20r{sub s}), with r≲R{sub A}≡GM{sub BH}/σ{sup 2}. Here, M-dot {sub BH} is the accretion rate at the black hole horizon, and R{sub A} is similar to the Bondi radius. We argue that the inward decrease of inflow rate is not due to mass loss via wind, but to convective motion. The disappearance of wind outside R{sub A} must be due to the change of the gravitational potential, but the exact reason remains to be probed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Supermassive black holes and their host spheroids. III. The M{sub BH}–n{sub sph} correlation

The Sérsic R{sup 1/n} model is the best approximation known to date for describing the light distribution of stellar spheroidal and disk components, with the Sérsic index n providing a direct measure of the central radial concentration of stars. The Sérsic index of a galaxy’s spheroidal component, n{sub sph}, has been shown to tightly correlate with the mass of the central supermassive black hole, M{sub BH}. The M{sub BH}--n{sub sph} correlation is also expected from other two well known scaling relations involving the spheroid luminosity, L{sub sph}: the L{sub sph}--n{sub sph} and the M{sub BH}--L{sub sph}. Obtaining an accurate estimate of the spheroid Sérsic index requires a careful modeling of a galaxy’s light distribution and some studies have failed to recover a statistically significant M{sub BH}--n{sub sph} correlation. With the aim of re-investigating the M{sub BH}--n{sub sph} and other black hole mass scaling relations, we performed a detailed (i.e., bulge, disks, bars, spiral arms, rings, halo, nucleus, etc.) decomposition of 66 galaxies, with directly measured black hole masses, that had been imaged at 3.6 μm with Spitzer. In this paper, the third of this series, we present an analysis of the L{sub sph}--n{sub sph} and M{sub BH}--n{sub sph} diagrams. While early-type (elliptical+lenticular) and late-type (spiral) galaxies split into two separate relations in the L{sub sph}--n{sub sph} and M{sub BH}--L{sub sph} diagrams, they reunite into a single M{sub BH}∝n{sub sph}{sup 3.39±0.15} sequence with relatively small intrinsic scatter (ϵ≃0.25 dex). The black hole mass appears to be closely related to the spheroid central concentration of stars, which mirrors the inner gradient of the spheroid gravitational potential.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

UNBOUND DEBRIS STREAMS AND REMNANTS RESULTING FROM THE TIDAL DISRUPTIONS OF STARS BY SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

The kinetic energy of a star in orbit about a supermassive black hole is a significant fraction of its rest mass energy when its periapse is comparable to its tidal radius. Upon its destruction, a fraction of this energy is extracted and injected into the stellar debris, half of which becomes unbound from the black hole, with the fastest material moving at ∼0.03c. In this paper, we present a formalism for determining the fate of these unbound debris streams (UDSs) as they depart from the black hole and interact with the surrounding gas. As the density and velocity varies along the length of a UDS, we find that hydrodynamical drag quickly shapes UDSs into loop-like structures, with the densest portions of the streams leading portions of lower density. As UDSs travel outwards, their drag against the ISM increases quadratically with distance, which causes UDSs to deposit their momentum and energy into the ambient medium before the surrounding shocked ISM has a chance to cool. This sudden injection of ∼10{sup 50} erg into the ambient medium generates a Sedov-like unbound debris remnant (UDR) that mimics supernova remnants (SNRs) in energetics and appearance, accelerates particles which will produce cosmic rays and synchrotron emission, and provides momentum feedback into the molecular clouds surrounding a black hole. We estimate that a few of these UDRs might be present within a couple degrees of the Galactic Center masquerading as SNRs, and that the UDR scenario is a plausible explanation for Sgr A east.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Lyα signatures from direct collapse black holes

“Direct collapse black holes” (DCBHs) provide possible seeds for supermassive black holes that exist at z∼7. We study Lyα radiative transfer through simplified representations of the DCBH scenario. We find that gravitational heating of the collapsing cloud gives rise to a Lyα cooling luminosity of up to ∼10{sup 38}(M{sub gas}/10{sup 6}M{sub ⊙}){sup 2} erg s{sup −1}. Photoionization by a central source boosts the Lyα luminosity to L{sub α}∼10{sup 43}(M{sub BH}/10{sup 6} M{sub ⊙}) erg s{sup −1}, where M{sub BH} denotes the mass of the black hole powering this source. We predict that the width and velocity offsets of the Lyα spectral line range from a few tens to few thousands km s{sup −1}, depending sensitively on the evolutionary state of the cloud. We apply our predictions to observations of CR7, a luminous Lyα emitter at z∼7, which may be associated with a DCBH. If CR7 is powered by a black hole, then its Lyα flux requires that M{sub BH}>10{sup 7} M{sub ⊙}, which exceeds the mass of DCBHs when they first form. The observed width of the Lyα spectrum favors the presence of only a low column density of hydrogen, log[N{sub HI}/cm{sup −2}]∼19--20. The shape of the Lyα spectrum indicates that this gas is outflowing. These requirements imply that if CR7 harbors a DCBH, then the physical conditions that enabled its formation have been mostly erased, which is in agreement with theoretical expectations. These constraints weaken if the observed Lyα emission represents the central peak of a more extended halo.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

The spin of the black hole in the X-ray binary Nova Muscae 1991

The bright soft X-ray transient Nova Muscae 1991 was intensively observed during its entire eight-month outburst using the Large Area Counter on board the Ginga satellite. Recently, we obtained accurate estimates of the mass of the black hole primary, the orbital inclination angle of the system, and the distance. Using these crucial input data and Ginga X-ray spectra, we have measured the spin of the black hole using the continuum-fitting method. For four X-ray spectra of extraordinary quality we have determined the dimensionless spin parameter of the black hole to be a{sub ∗}=0.63{sub −0.19}{sup +0.16} (1σ confidence level), a result that we confirm using 11 additional spectra of lower quality. Our spin estimate challenges two published results: it is somewhat higher than the value predicted by a proposed relationship between jet power and spin; and we find that the spin of the black hole is decidedly prograde, not retrograde as has been claimed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

MODELS OF KILONOVA/MACRONOVA EMISSION FROM BLACK HOLE–NEUTRON STAR MERGERS

Black hole–neutron star (BH–NS) mergers are among the most promising gravitational-wave sources for ground-based detectors, and gravitational waves from BH–NS mergers are expected to be detected in the next few years. The simultaneous detection of electromagnetic counterparts with gravitational waves would provide rich information about merger events. Among the possible electromagnetic counterparts from BH–NS mergers is the so-called kilonova/macronova, emission powered by the decay of radioactive r-process nuclei, which is one of the best targets for follow-up observations. We derive fitting formulas for the mass and the velocity of ejecta from a generic BH–NS merger based on recently performed numerical-relativity simulations. We combine these fitting formulas with a new semi-analytic model for a BH–NS kilonova/macronova lightcurve, which reproduces the results of radiation-transfer simulations. Specifically, the semi-analytic model reproduces the results of each band magnitude obtained by the previous radiation-transfer simulations within ∼1 mag. By using this semi-analytic model we found that, at 400 Mpc, the kilonova/macronova is as bright as 22–24 mag for cases with a small chirp mass and a high black hole spin, and >28 mag for a large chirp mass and a low black hole spin. We also apply our model to GRB 130603B as an illustration, and show that a BH–NS merger with a rapidly spinning black hole and a large neutron star radius is favored.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Formation of overheated regions and truncated disks around black holes: three-dimensional general relativistic radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations

Using three-dimensional general relativistic radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations of accretion flows around stellar mass black holes, we report that the relatively cold disk (≳10{sup 7} K) is truncated near the black hole. Hot and less dense regions, of which the gas temperature is ≳10{sup 9} K and more than 10 times higher than the radiation temperature (overheated regions), appear within the truncation radius. The overheated regions also appear above as well as below the disk, sandwiching the cold disk, leading to the effective Compton upscattering. The truncation radius is ∼30r{sub g} for M-dot ∼L{sub Edd}/c{sup 2}, where r{sub g}, M-dot ,L{sub Edd},c are the gravitational radius, mass accretion rate, Eddington luminosity, and light speed, respectively. Our results are consistent with observations of a very high state, whereby the truncated disk is thought to be embedded in the hot rarefied regions. The truncation radius shifts inward to ∼10r{sub g} with increasing mass accretion rate M-dot ∼100L{sub Edd}/c{sup 2}, which is very close to an innermost stable circular orbit. This model corresponds to the slim disk state observed in ultraluminous X-ray sources. Although the overheated regions shrink if the Compton cooling effectively reduces the gas temperature, the sandwich structure does not disappear at the range of M-dot ≲100L{sub Edd}/c{sup 2}. Our simulations also reveal that the gas temperature in the overheated regions depends on black hole spin, which would be due to efficient energy transport from black hole to disks through the Poynting flux, resulting in gas heating.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

A broadband X-ray spectal study of the intermediate-mass black hold candidate M82 X-1 with NuSTAR, Chandra, AND Swift

M82 X-1 is one of the brightest ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) known, which, assuming Eddington-limited accretion and other considerations, makes it one of the best intermediate-mass black-hole (IMBH) candidates. However, the ULX may still be explained by super-Eddington accretion onto a stellar remnant black hole. We present simultaneous NuSTAR, Chandra, and Swift/XRT observations during the peak of a flaring episode with the aim of modeling the emission of M82 X-1 and yielding insights into its nature. We find that thin accretion disk models all require accretion rates at or above the Eddington limit in order to reproduce the spectral shape, given a range of black-hole masses and spins. Since at these high Eddington ratios the thin-disk model breaks down due to radial advection in the disk, we discard the results of the thin-disk models as unphysical. We find that the temperature profile as a function of disk radius (T(r)∝r{sup −p}) is significantly flatter (p=0.55{sub −0.04}{sup +0.07}) than expected for a standard thin disk (p = 0.75). A flatter profile is instead characteristic of a slim disk, which is highly suggestive of super-Eddington accretion. Furthermore, radiation hydrodynamical simulations of super-Eddington accretion have shown that the predicted spectra of these systems are very similar to what we observe for M82 X-1. We therefore conclude that M82 X-1 is a super-Eddington accretor. Our mass estimates inferred from the inner disk radius imply a stellar remnant black hole (M{sub BH} = 26{sub −6}{sup +9} M {sub ⊙}) when assuming zero spin and face-on inclination, or an IMBH for maximal spin and a highly inclined disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗