scholarly journals Black holes in active galactic nuclei

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S261) ◽  
pp. 260-268
Author(s):  
M. J. Valtonen ◽  
S. Mikkola ◽  
D. Merritt ◽  
A. Gopakumar ◽  
H. J. Lehto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
General Relativity ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Strong Field ◽  
Equations Of Motion ◽  
Binary Black Holes ◽  
Time Dynamic ◽  
Black Hole Spacetime ◽  
First Time ◽  
Black Hole Masses

AbstractSupermassive black holes are common in centers of galaxies. Among the active galaxies, quasars are the most extreme, and their black hole masses range as high as to 6⋅1010M⊙. Binary black holes are of special interest but so far OJ287 is the only confirmed case with known orbital elements. In OJ287, the binary nature is confirmed by periodic radiation pulses. The period is twelve years with two pulses per period. The last four pulses have been correctly predicted with the accuracy of few weeks, the latest in 2007 with the accuracy of one day. This accuracy is high enough that one may test the higher order terms in the Post Newtonian approximation to General Relativity. The precession rate per period is 39°.1 ± 0°.1, by far the largest rate in any known binary, and the (1.83 ± 0.01)⋅1010M⊙primary is among the dozen biggest black holes known. We will discuss the various Post Newtonian terms and their effect on the orbit solution. The over 100 year data base of optical variations in OJ287 puts limits on these terms and thus tests the ability of Einstein's General Relativity to describe, for the first time, dynamic binary black hole spacetime in the strong field regime. The quadrupole-moment contributions to the equations of motion allows us to constrain the ‘no-hair’ parameter to be 1.0 ± 0.3 which supports the black hole no-hair theorem within the achievable precision.

scholarly journals Driven black holes: from Kolmogorov scaling to turbulent wakes

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Andrade ◽  
Christiana Pantelidou ◽  
Julian Sonner ◽  
Benjamin Withers
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear Dynamics ◽  
Black Holes ◽  
General Relativity ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Strong Field ◽  
De Sitter ◽  
Event Horizons ◽  
Binary Mergers ◽  
Tidal Deformations ◽  
Proof Of Principle

Abstract General relativity governs the nonlinear dynamics of spacetime, including black holes and their event horizons. We demonstrate that forced black hole horizons exhibit statistically steady turbulent spacetime dynamics consistent with Kolmogorov’s theory of 1941. As a proof of principle we focus on black holes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes in a large number of dimensions, where greater analytic control is gained. We focus on cases where the effective horizon dynamics is restricted to 2+1 dimensions. We also demonstrate that tidal deformations of the horizon induce turbulent dynamics. When set in motion relative to the horizon a deformation develops a turbulent spacetime wake, indicating that turbulent spacetime dynamics may play a role in binary mergers and other strong-field phenomena.

scholarly journals Venturing beyond the ISCO: detecting X-ray emission from the plunging regions around black holes

2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (4) ◽  
pp. 5532-5550 ◽  
Author(s):  
D R Wilkins ◽  
C S Reynolds ◽  
A C Fabian
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
General Relativity ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Energy Band ◽  
Strong Field ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Region Detection ◽  
Improving Accuracy

ABSTRACT We explore how X-ray reverberation around black holes may reveal the presence of the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO), predicted by general relativity, and probe the dynamics of the plunging region between the ISCO and the event horizon. Being able to directly detect the presence of the ISCO and probe the dynamics of material plunging through the event horizon represents a unique test of general relativity in the strong field regime. X-ray reverberation off of the accretion disc and material in the plunging region is modelled using general relativistic ray tracing simulations. X-ray reverberation from the plunging region has a minimal effect on the time-averaged X-ray spectrum and the overall lag-energy spectrum, but is manifested in the lag in the highest frequency Fourier components, above $0.01\, c^{3}\, (GM)^{-1}$ (scaled for the mass of the black hole) in the 2–4 keV energy band for a non-spinning black hole or the 1–2 keV energy band for a maximally spinning black hole. The plunging region is distinguished from disc emission not just by the energy shifts characteristic of plunging orbits, but by the rapid increase in ionization of material through the plunging region. Detection requires measurement of time lags to an accuracy of 20 per cent at these frequencies. Improving accuracy to 12 per cent will enable constraints to be placed on the dynamics of material in the plunging region and distinguish plunging orbits from material remaining on stable circular orbits, confirming the existence of the ISCO, a prime discovery space for future X-ray missions.

scholarly journals Fundamental Tone and Overtones of Quasinormal Modes in Ringdown Gravitational Waves: A Detailed Study in Black Hole Perturbation

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 357
Author(s):  
Norichika Sago ◽  
Soichiro Isoyama ◽  
Hiroyuki Nakano
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Gravitational Wave ◽  
Gravitational Waves ◽  
Strong Field ◽  
Quasinormal Modes ◽  
Compact Object ◽  
Perturbation Scheme ◽  
Fundamental Tone ◽  
Binary Black Holes

Ringdown gravitational waves of compact object binaries observed by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors encapsulate rich information to understand remnant objects after the merger and to test general relativity in the strong field. In this work, we investigate the ringdown gravitational waves in detail to better understand their property, assuming that the remnant objects are black holes. For this purpose, we perform numerical simulations of post-merger phase of binary black holes by using the black hole perturbation scheme with the initial data given under the close-limit approximation, and we generate data of ringdown gravitational waves with smaller numerical errors than that associated with currently available numerical relativity simulations. Based on the analysis of the data, we propose an orthonormalization of the quasinormal mode functions describing the fundamental tone and overtones to model ringdown gravitational waves. Finally, through some demonstrations of the proposed model, we briefly discuss the prospects for ringdown gravitational-wave data analysis including the overtones of quasinormal modes.

scholarly journals Horizon radiation reaction forces

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter D. Goldberger ◽  
Ira Z. Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Equations Of Motion ◽  
Finite Size ◽  
Radiation Reaction ◽  
Effective Field ◽  
Compact Objects ◽  
Finite Size Effect ◽  
Binary Black Holes ◽  
Dissipative Effects ◽  
Reaction Forces

Abstract Using Effective Field Theory (EFT) methods, we compute the effects of horizon dissipation on the gravitational interactions of relativistic binary black hole systems. We assume that the dynamics is perturbative, i.e it admits an expansion in powers of Newton’s constant (post-Minkowskian, or PM, approximation). As applications, we compute corrections to the scattering angle in a black hole collision due to dissipative effects to leading PM order, as well as the post-Newtonian (PN) corrections to the equations of motion of binary black holes in non-relativistic orbits, which represents the leading order finite size effect in the equations of motion. The methods developed here are also applicable to the case of more general compact objects, eg. neutron stars, where the magnitude of the dissipative effects depends on non-gravitational physics (e.g, the equation of state for nuclear matter).

scholarly journals Toward Precision Measurement of Central Black Hole Masses

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley M. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Reverberation Mapping ◽  
Line Region ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Black Hole Masses ◽  
Intrinsic Scatter ◽  
Direct And Indirect Methods

AbstractWe review briefly direct and indirect methods of measuring the masses of black holes in galactic nuclei, and then focus attention on supermassive black holes in active nuclei, with special attention to results from reverberation mapping and their limitations. We find that the intrinsic scatter in the relationship between the AGN luminosity and the broad-line region size is very small, ~0.11 dex, comparable to the uncertainties in the better reverberation measurements. We also find that the relationship between reverberation-based black hole masses and host-galaxy bulge luminosities also seems to have surprisingly little intrinsic scatter, ~0.17 dex. We note, however, that there are still potential systematics that could affect the overall mass calibration at the level of a factor of a few.

scholarly journals Mimicking Black Holes in General Relativity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Berry
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
General Relativity ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Thin Shell ◽  
Classical General Relativity ◽  
Regular Black Hole ◽  
Regular Black Holes ◽  
Traversable Wormholes ◽  
Hole Model ◽  
Linearised Stability

<p><b>The central theme of this thesis is the study and analysis of black hole mimickers. The concept of a black hole mimicker is introduced, and various mimicker spacetime models are examined within the framework of classical general relativity. The mimickers examined fall into the classes of regular black holes and traversable wormholes under spherical symmetry. The regular black holes examined can be further categorised as static spacetimes, however the traversable wormhole is allowed to have a dynamic (non-static) throat. Astrophysical observables are calculated for a recently proposed regular black hole model containing an exponential suppression of the Misner-Sharp quasi-local mass. This same regular black hole model is then used to construct a wormhole via the "cut-and-paste" technique. The resulting wormhole is then analysed within the Darmois-Israel thin-shell formalism, and a linearised stability analysis of the (dynamic) wormhole throat is undertaken. Yet another regular black hole model spacetime is proposed, extending a previous work which attempted to construct a regular black hole through a quantum "deformation" of the Schwarzschild spacetime. The resulting spacetime is again analysed within the framework of classical general relativity. </b></p><p>In addition to the study of black hole mimickers, I start with a brief overview of the theory of special relativity where a new and novel result is presented for the combination of relativistic velocities in general directions using quaternions. This is succeed by an introduction to concepts in differential geometry needed for the successive introduction to the theory of general relativity. A thorough discussion of the concept of spacetime singularities is then provided, before analysing the specific black hole mimickers discussed above.</p>

Frontiers of Quantum Black Holes

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 10-16
Author(s):  
Wontae KIM ◽  
Mu-In PARK
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
General Relativity ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Direct Detection ◽  
Occupation Number ◽  
Theory Of Relativity ◽  
General Theory Of Relativity ◽  
Quantum Radiation ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Massless Quantum

A black hole is a theoretical prediction of Einstein’s general theory of relativity, differently from Newtonian gravity, which is a non-relativistic gravity. In recent few years, its direct detection via gravitational waves and other multi-messenger observations have made it possible to test the prediction and hence its associated general relativity. From purely theoretical points of view, general relativity cannot be a complete description due to its not being compatible with quantum mechanics, which is a successful description of microscopic objects. In this article, we introduce the conceptional development of quantum-gravity theories and give brief sketches of fundamental problems in quantum black holes. As an interesting model of quantum black holes, we consider a collapsing shell of matter to form a Hayward black hole and investigate semiclassically quantum radiation from the shell. By using the Israel’s formulation and the functional Schrödinger formulation for massless quantum radiation, we find that the Hawking temperature can be deduced from the occupation number of excited states when the shell approaches its own horizon.

scholarly journals Probing black hole accretion tracks, scaling relations, and radiative efficiencies from stacked X-ray active galactic nuclei

2019 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. 1500-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Shankar ◽  
David H Weinberg ◽  
Christopher Marsden ◽  
Philip J Grylls ◽  
Mariangela Bernardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Selection Bias ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Black Hole Accretion ◽  
Black Hole Masses ◽  
Hole Accretion

ABSTRACT The masses of supermassive black holes at the centres of local galaxies appear to be tightly correlated with the mass and velocity dispersions of their galactic hosts. However, the local Mbh–Mstar relation inferred from dynamically measured inactive black holes is up to an order-of-magnitude higher than some estimates from active black holes, and recent work suggests that this discrepancy arises from selection bias on the sample of dynamical black hole mass measurements. In this work, we combine X-ray measurements of the mean black hole accretion luminosity as a function of stellar mass and redshift with empirical models of galaxy stellar mass growth, integrating over time to predict the evolving Mbh–Mstar relation. The implied relation is nearly independent of redshift, indicating that stellar and black hole masses grow, on average, at similar rates. Matching the de-biased local Mbh–Mstar relation requires a mean radiative efficiency ε ≳ 0.15, in line with theoretical expectations for accretion on to spinning black holes. However, matching the ‘raw’ observed relation for inactive black holes requires ε ∼ 0.02, far below theoretical expectations. This result provides independent evidence for selection bias in dynamically estimated black hole masses, a conclusion that is robust to uncertainties in bolometric corrections, obscured active black hole fractions, and kinetic accretion efficiency. For our fiducial assumptions, they favour moderate-to-rapid spins of typical supermassive black holes, to achieve ε ∼ 0.12–0.20. Our approach has similarities to the classic Soltan analysis, but by using galaxy-based data instead of integrated quantities we are able to focus on regimes where observational uncertainties are minimized.

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