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At least 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

A PRECISION TEST FOR AN EXTRA SPATIAL DIMENSION USING BLACK-HOLE-PULSAR BINARIES

We discuss the observable effects of enhanced black hole mass loss in a black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) binary, due to the presence of a warped extra spatial dimension of curvature radius L in the braneworld scenario. For some masses and orbital parameters in the expected ranges the binary components would outspiral-the opposite of the behavior due to energy loss from gravitational radiation alone. If the NS is a pulsar, observations of the rate of change of the orbital period with a precision obtained for the binary pulsar B1913+16 could easily detect the effect of mass loss. For M{sub BH} = 7 M{sub sun}, M{sub NS} = 1.4 M{sub sun}, eccentricity e = 0.1, and L = 10 {mu}m, the critical orbital period dividing systems that inspiral from systems that outspiral is P {approx} 6.5 hr, which is within the range of expected orbital periods; this value drops to P {approx} 4.2 hr for M{sub BH} = 5 M{sub sun}. Observations of a BH-pulsar system could set considerably better limits on L in these braneworld models than could be determined by torsion-balance gravity experiments in the foreseeable future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Calculating the mass fraction of primordial black holes

We reinspect the calculation for the mass fraction of primordial black holes (PBHs) which are formed from primordial perturbations, finding that performing the calculation using the comoving curvature perturbation R{sub c} in the standard way vastly overestimates the number of PBHs, by many orders of magnitude. This is because PBHs form shortly after horizon entry, meaning modes significantly larger than the PBH are unobservable and should not affect whether a PBH forms or not—this important effect is not taken into account by smoothing the distribution in the standard fashion. We discuss alternative methods and argue that the density contrast, Δ, should be used instead as super-horizon modes are damped by a factor k{sup 2}. We make a comparison between using a Press-Schechter approach and peaks theory, finding that the two are in close agreement in the region of interest. We also investigate the effect of varying the spectral index, and the running of the spectral index, on the abundance of primordial black holes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Gravitational waves from the collision of tidally disrupted stars with massive black holes

We use simulations of hydrodynamics coupled with full general relativity to investigate the gravitational waves produced by a star colliding with a massive black hole when the star's tidal disruption radius lies far outside of the black hole horizon. We consider both main-sequence and white-dwarf compaction stars, and nonspinning black holes, as well as those with near-extremal spin. We study the regime in between where the star can be accurately modeled by a point particle, and where tidal effects completely suppress the gravitational wave signal. We find that nonnegligible gravitational waves can be produced even when the star is strongly affected by tidal forces, as well as when it collides with large angular momentum. We discuss the implications that these results have for the potential observation of gravitational waves from these sources with future detectors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2006

The Galactic Black Hole Transient H1743-322 During Outburst Decay Connections Between Timing Noise, State Transitions, And Radio Emission

Multiwavelength observations of Galactic black hole transients during outburst decay are instrumental for our understanding of the accretion geometry and the formation of outflows around black hole systems. H1743-322, a black hole transient observed intensely in X-rays and also covered in the radio band during its 2003 decay, provides clues about the changes in accretion geometry during state transitions and also the general properties of X-ray emission during the intermediate and low-hard states. In this work, we report on the evolution of spectral and temporal properties in X-rays and the flux in the radio band, with the goal of understanding the nature of state transitions observed in this source. We concentrate on the transition from the thermal dominant state to the intermediate state that occurs on a timescale of 1 day. We show that the state transition is associated with a sudden increase in power-law flux. We determine that the ratio of the power-law flux to the overall flux in the 3-25 keV band must exceed 0.6 for us to observe strong timing noise. Even after the state transition, once this ratio was below 0.6, the system transited back to the thermal dominant state for 1 day. We show that the emission from the compact radio core does not turn on during the transition from the thermal dominant state to the intermediate state but does turn on when the source reaches the low-hard state, as seen in 4U 1543-47 and GX 339-4. We find that the photon index correlates strongly with the QPO frequency and anticorrelates with the rms amplitude of variability. We also show that the variability is more likely to be associated with the power-law emission than the disk emission.

Kalemci, E.↗
DOE OSTI2014

PROSPECTS FOR MEASURING THE MASS OF BLACK HOLES AT HIGH REDSHIFTS WITH RESOLVED KINEMATICS USING GRAVITATIONAL LENSING

Application of the most robust method of measuring black hole masses, spatially resolved kinematics of gas and stars, is presently limited to nearby galaxies. The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) and 30m class telescopes (the Thirty Meter Telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope, and the European Extremely Large Telescope) with milli-arcsecond resolution are expected to extend such measurements to larger distances. Here, we study the possibility of exploiting the angular magnification provided by strong gravitational lensing to measure black hole masses at high redshifts (z ∼ 1-6), using resolved gas kinematics with these instruments. We show that in ∼15% and ∼20% of strongly lensed galaxies, the inner 25 and 50 pc could be resolved, allowing the mass of ≳ 10{sup 8} M {sub ☉} black holes to be dynamically measured with ALMA, if moderately bright molecular gas is present at these small radii. Given the large number of strong lenses discovered in current millimeter surveys and future optical surveys, this fraction could constitute a statistically significant population for studying the evolution of the M-σ relation at high redshifts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wormholes versus black holes: quasinormal ringing at early and late times

Recently it has been argued that the phantom thin-shell wormholes matched with the Schwarzschild space-time near the Schwarzschild radius ring like Schwarzschild black holes at early times, but differently at late times [1]. Here we consider perturbations of the wormhole which was constructed without thin-shells: the Bronnikov-Ellis wormhole supported by the phantom matter and electromagnetic field. This wormhole solution is known to be stable under specific equation of state of the phantom matter. We show that if one does not use the above thin-shell matching, the wormhole, depending on the values of its parameters, either rings as the black hole at all times or rings differently also at all times . The wormhole's spectrum, investigated here, posses a number of distinctive features. In the final part we have considered general properties of scattering around arbitrary rotating traversable wormholes. We have found that symmetric and non-symmetric (with respect to the throat) wormholes are qualitatively different in this respect: first, superradiance is allowed only if for those non-symmetric wormholes for which the asymptotic values of the rotation parameters are different on both sides from the throat. Second, the symmetric wormholes cannot mimic effectively the ringing of a black hole at a few various dominant multipoles at the same time, so that the future observations of various events should easily tell the symmetric wormhole from a black hole.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Membrane paradigm of black holes in Chern-Simons modified gravity

The membrane paradigm of black hole is studied in the Chern-Simons modified gravity. Derived with the action principle a la Parikh-Wilczek, the stress tensor of membrane manifests a rich structure arising from the Chern-Simons term. The membrane stress tensor, if related to the bulk stress tensor in a special form, obeys the low-dimensional fluid continuity equation and the Navier-Stokes equation. This paradigm is applied to spherically symmetric static geometries, and in particular, the Schwarzschild black hole, which is a solution of a large class of dynamical Chern-Simons gravity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Quantum entanglement produced in the formation of a black hole

A field in the vacuum state, which is in principle separable, can evolve to an entangled state in a dynamical gravitational collapse. We will study, quantify, and discuss the origin of this entanglement, showing that it could even reach the maximal entanglement limit for low frequencies or very small black holes, with consequences in micro-black hole formation and the final stages of evaporating black holes. This entanglement provides quantum information resources between the modes in the asymptotic future (thermal Hawking radiation) and those which fall to the event horizon. We will also show that fermions are more sensitive than bosons to this quantum entanglement generation. This fact could be helpful in finding experimental evidence of the genuine quantum Hawking effect in analog models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2011

IS THERE A BLACK HOLE IN NGC 4382?

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph observations of the galaxy NGC 4382 (M85) and axisymmetric models of the galaxy to determine mass-to-light ratio (Y{sub V}) and central black hole mass (M{sub BH}). We find Y{sub V} = 3.74 {+-} 0.1 M{sub sun}/L{sub sun} and M{sub BH} = 1.3{sup +5.2}{sub -1.2} Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 7} M{sub sun} at an assumed distance of 17.9 Mpc, consistent with no black hole. The upper limit, M{sub BH} < 9.6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 7} M{sub sun}(2{sigma}) or M{sub BH} < 1.4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8}(3{sigma}), is consistent with the current M-{sigma} relation, which predicts M{sub BH} = 8.8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 7} M{sub sun} at {sigma}{sub e} = 182 km s{sup -1}, but low for the current M - L relation, which predicts M{sub BH} = 7.8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8} M{sub sun} at L{sub V} = 8.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} L{sub sun,V}. HST images show the nucleus to be double, suggesting the presence of a nuclear eccentric stellar disk, analogous to the Tremaine disk in M31. This conclusion is supported by the HST velocity dispersion profile. Despite the presence of this non-axisymmetric feature and evidence of a recent merger, we conclude that the reliability of our black hole mass determination is not hindered. The inferred low black hole mass may explain the lack of nuclear activity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1991

Neutron stars and black holes

The radiation of neutron stars is powered by accretion, rotation, or internal heat; accreting black holes are thought to be the central engines of AGNs and of a handful of binary X-ray sources in the Galaxy. The evolution of a neutron star depends on the coupling between the rotating neutron and proton fluids in the interior, and between these fluids and the crust; it also depends on the magnetic and thermal properties of the star. Significant progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of radial and disk accretion by black holes. Radiation from pair plasmas may make an important contribution to the X- and gamma-ray spectra of AGNs and black holes in binary systems.

Lamb, F. K.↗
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 OSTI2013

The accretion disk and ionized absorber of the 9.7 hr dipping black hole binary MAXI J1305–704

We report the results from X-ray studies of the newly discovered black hole candidate MAXI J1305–704 based on Suzaku and Swift observations in the low/hard and high/soft states, respectively. The long Suzaku observation shows two types of clear absorption dips, both of which recur on a dip interval of 9.74 ± 0.04 hr, which we identify with the orbital period. There is also partially ionized absorption in the nondip (persistent) emission in both the high/soft state and, very unusually, the low/hard state. However, this absorption (in both states) has substantially lower ionization than that seen in other high inclination systems, where the material forms a homogeneous disk wind. Here instead the absorption is most likely associated with clumpy, compact structures associated with the dipping material, which we see uniquely in this source likely because we view it at a very large inclination angle. A large inclination angle is also favored, together with a low black hole mass, to explain the high disk temperature seen in the fairly low luminosity high/soft state, as Doppler boosting enhances the disk temperature at high inclination. The disk radius inferred from these data is significantly smaller than that of the soft component seen in the low/hard state, supporting models where the disk is truncated at low luminosities. We find, however, that the lack of variability power on timescales of ∼50 s in the Suzaku low/hard state data is difficult to explain, even with a low-mass black hole.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ON THE ROLE OF FAST MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN ACCRETING BLACK HOLE SOURCES

We attempt to explain the observed radio and gamma-ray emission produced in the surroundings of black holes by employing a magnetically dominated accretion flow model and fast magnetic reconnection triggered by turbulence. In earlier work, a standard disk model was used and we refine the model by focusing on the sub-Eddington regime to address the fundamental plane of black hole activity. The results do not change substantially with regard to previous work, ensuring that the details of accretion physics are not relevant in the magnetic reconnection process occurring in the corona. Rather, our work puts fast magnetic reconnection events as a powerful mechanism operating in the core region near the jet base of black hole sources on more solid ground. For microquasars and low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, the observed correlation between radio emission and the mass of the sources can be explained by this process. The corresponding gamma-ray emission also seems to be produced in the same core region. On the other hand, emission from blazars and gamma-ray bursts cannot be correlated to core emission based on fast reconnection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Searching for ultra-light bosons and constraining black hole spin distributions with stellar tidal disruption events

Stars that pass close to the supermassive black holes located in the center of galaxies can be disrupted by tidal forces, leading to flares that are observed as bright transient events in sky surveys. The rate for these events to occur depends on the black hole spins, which in turn can be affected by ultra-light bosons due to superradiance. We perform a detailed analysis of these effects and show that searches for stellar tidal disruptions have the potential to uncover the existence of ultra-light bosons. In particular, we find that upcoming stellar tidal disruption rate measurements by the Vera Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time can be used to either discover or rule out bosons with masses ranging from 10 –20 to 10 –18 eV. Our analysis also indicates that these measurements may be used to constrain a variety of supermassive black hole spin distributions and determine if close-to maximal spins are preferred.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

SDSS J0159+0105: a radio-quiet quasar with a centi-parsec supermassive black hole binary candidate

We report a candidate centi-parsec supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in the radio-quiet quasar SDSS J0159+0105 at z = 0.217. With a modified Lomb–Scargle code (GLSdeDRW) and auto-correlation analysis, we detect two significant (at P > 99%) periodic signals at ∼741 day and ∼1500 day from the 8.1 yr Catalina V-band light curve of this quasar. The period ratio, which is close to 1:2, is typical of a black hole binary system with a mass ratio of 0.05 < q < 0.8 according to recent numerical simulations. SDSS J0159+0105 has two SDSS spectroscopic observations separated by ∼10 yr. There is a significant change in the broad Hβ profile between the two epochs, which can be explained by a single broad-line region (BLR) around the binary system illuminated by the aforementioned mini-disks, or a stream of gas flowing from the circumbinary disk to one of the SMBHs. From the single BLR assumption and the orbital period t {sub orb} ∼ 1500 day, we estimate the total virial masses of M {sub SMBHB} ∼ 1.3 × 10{sup 8} M {sub ⊙}, the average distances of BLR of ∼0.04 pc (∼50 lt-day, with ±0.3 dex uncertainty), and an SMBHB separation of d = (0.01 pc)M{sub 8,tot}{sup 1/3} (T {sub rest}/3.3 yr){sup 2/3} ∼ 0.013 pc (15 lt-day). Based on analytical work, the postulated circumbinary disk has an inner radius of 2d = 0.026 pc (30 lt-day). SDSS J0159+0105 also displays unusual spectral energy distribution. The unique properties of SDSS J0159+0105 are consistent with it being a centi-parsec SMBHB.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE DISCOVERY OF PERIODIC MODULATIONS IN THE OPTICAL SPECTRA OF GALAXIES, POSSIBLY DUE TO ULTRARAPID LIGHT BURSTS FROM THEIR MASSIVE CENTRAL BLACK HOLES

A Fourier transform analysis of 2.5 million spectra in the SDSS survey was carried out to detect periodic modulations contained in the intensity versus frequency spectrum. A statistically significant signal was found for 223 galaxies, while the spectra of 0.9 million galaxies were observed. A plot of the periods as a function of redshift clearly shows that the effect is real without any doubt, because the modulations are quantized at two base periods that increase with redshift in two very tight parallel linear relations. We suggest that this result could be caused by light bursts separated by times on the order of 10{sup -13} s, but other causes may be possible. We investigate the hypothesis that the modulation is generated by the Fourier transform of spectral lines, but conclude that this hypothesis is not valid. Although the light burst suggestion implies absurdly high temperatures, it is supported by the fact that the Crab pulsar also has extremely short unresolved pulses (<0.5 ns) that imply similarly high temperatures. Furthermore, the radio spectrum of the Crab pulsar also has spectral bands similar to those that have been detected. Finally, decreasing the signal-to-noise threshold of detection gives results consistent with beamed signals having a small beam divergence, as expected from non-thermal sources that send a jet, like those seen in pulsars. Considering that galaxy centers contain massive black holes, exotic black hole physics may be responsible for the spectral modulation. However, at this stage, this idea is only a hypothesis to be confirmed with further work.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

TEARING UP THE DISK: HOW BLACK HOLES ACCRETE

We show that in realistic cases of accretion in active galactic nuclei or stellar-mass X-ray binaries, the Lense-Thirring effect breaks the central regions of tilted accretion disks around spinning black holes into a set of distinct planes with only tenuous flows connecting them. If the original misalignment of the outer disk to the spin axis of the hole is 45 Degree-Sign {approx}< {theta} {approx}< 135 Degree-Sign , as in {approx}70% of randomly oriented accretion events, the continued precession of these disks sets up partially counterrotating gas flows. This drives rapid infall as angular momentum is canceled and gas attempts to circularize at smaller radii. Disk breaking close to the black hole leads to direct dynamical accretion, while breaking further out can drive gas down to scales where it can accrete rapidly. For smaller tilt angles breaking can still occur and may lead to other observable phenomena such as quasi-periodic oscillations. For such effects not to appear, the black hole spin must in practice be negligibly small, or be almost precisely aligned with the disk. Qualitatively similar results hold for any accretion disk subject to a forced differential precession, such as an external disk around a misaligned black hole binary.

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↗