The Black Hole Mass Function Across Cosmic Times. I. Stellar Black Holes and Light Seed Distribution

This is the first paper in a series aimed at modeling the black hole (BH) mass function, from the stellar to the intermediate to the (super)massive regime. In the present work, we focus on stellar BHs and provide an ab initio computation of their mass function across cosmic times; we mainly consider the standard, and likely dominant, production channel of stellar-mass BHs constituted by isolated single/binary star evolution. Specifically, we exploit the state-of-the-art stellar and binary evolutionary code SEVN, and couple its outputs with redshift-dependent galaxy statistics and empirical scaling relations involving galaxy metallicity, star formation rate and stellar mass. The resulting relic mass function dN / dVd log m • as a function of the BH mass m • features a rather flat shape up to m • ≈ 50 M ⊙ and then a log-normal decline for larger masses, while its overall normalization at a given mass increases with decreasing redshift. We highlight the contribution to the local mass function from isolated stars evolving into BHs and from binary stellar systems ending up in single or binary BHs. We also include the distortion on the mass function induced by binary BH mergers, finding that it has a minor effect at the high-mass end. We estimate a local stellar BH relic mass density of ρ • ≈ 5 × 107 M ⊙ Mpc−3, which exceeds by more than two orders of magnitude that in supermassive BHs; this translates into an energy density parameter Ω• ≈ 4 × 10−4, implying that the total mass in stellar BHs amounts to ≲1% of the local baryonic matter. We show how our mass function for merging BH binaries compares with the recent estimates from gravitational wave observations by LIGO/Virgo, and discuss the possible implications for dynamical formation of BH binaries in dense environments like star clusters. We address the impact of adopting different binary stellar evolution codes (SEVN and COSMIC) on the mass function, and find the main differences to occur at the high-mass end, in connection with the numerical treatment of stellar binary evolution effects. We highlight that our results can provide a firm theoretical basis for a physically motivated light seed distribution at high redshift, to be implemented in semi-analytic and numerical models of BH formation and evolution. Finally, we stress that the present work can constitute a starting point to investigate the origin of heavy seeds and the growth of (super)massive BHs in high-redshift star-forming galaxies, that we will pursue in forthcoming papers.

Testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis with the continuum-fitting and the iron line methods: the case of GRS 1915+105

The continuum-fitting and the iron line methods are currently the two leading techniques for probing the strong gravity region around accreting black holes. In the present work, we test the Kerr black hole hypothesis with the stellar-mass black hole in GRS 1915+105 by analyzing five disk-dominated RXTE spectra and one reflection-dominated Suzaku spectrum. The combination of the constraints from the continuum-fitting and the iron line methods has the potential to provide more stringent tests of the Kerr metric. Our constraint on the Johannsen deformation parameter α13 is -0.15 < α13 < 0.14 at 3σ, where the Kerr metric is recovered when α13 = 0.

The Environmental Dependence of Gas Properties in Dense Cores of a Protocluster at z ∼ 2.5 Revealed with ALMA

In a protocluster USS1558-003 at z = 2.53, galaxies in the dense cores show systematically elevated star-forming activity compared to those in less dense regions. To understand its origin, we look into the gas properties of the galaxies in the dense cores by conducting deep 1.1 mm observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. We detect interstellar dust continuum emission from 12 member galaxies and estimate their molecular gas masses. Comparing these gas masses with our previous measurements from the CO(3–2) line, we infer that the latter might be overestimated. We find that the gas to stellar mass ratios of the galaxies in the dense cores tend to be higher (at M * ∼ 1010 M ⊙ where we see the enhanced star-forming activity), suggesting that such large gas masses can sustain their high star-forming activity. However, if we compare the gas properties of these protocluster galaxies with the gas scaling relations constructed for field galaxies at a similar cosmic epoch, we find no significant environmental difference at the same stellar mass and star formation rate. Although both gas mass ratios and star-forming activity are enhanced in the majority of member galaxies, they appear to follow the same scaling relation as field galaxies. Our results are consistent with the scenario in which the cold gas is efficiently supplied to protocluster cores and to galaxies therein along surrounding filamentary structures, which leads to the high gas mass fractions and thus the elevated star formation activity, but without changing the star formation law.

Simulating Globular Clusters in Dark Matter Subhalos

A cosmological zoom-in simulation that develops into a Milky Way-like halo begins at redshift 7. The initial dark matter distribution is seeded with dense star clusters of median mass 5 × 105 M ⊙, placed in the largest subhalos present, which have a median peak circular velocity of 25 km s−1. Three simulations are initialized using the same dark matter distribution with the star clusters starting on approximately circular orbits having initial median radii 6.8, 0.14 kpc, and, at the exact center of the subhalos. The simulations are evolved to the current epoch at which time the median galactic orbital radii of the three sets of clusters are 30, 5, and 16 kpc, with the clusters losing about 2%, 50%, and 15% of their mass, respectively. Clusters beginning at small orbital radii have so much tidal forcing that they are often not in equilibrium. Clusters that start at larger subhalo radii have a velocity dispersion that declines smoothly to ≃20% of the central value at ≃20 half-mass radii. The clusters that begin in the subhalo centers can show a rise in velocity dispersion beyond 3–5 half-mass radii. That is, the clusters that form without local dark matter always have stellar-mass-dominated kinematics at all radii, whereas about 25% of the clusters that begin in subhalo centers have remnant local dark matter.

Spatially resolved properties of supernova host galaxies in SDSS-IV MaNGA

We crossmatch galaxies from Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory with the Open Supernova Catalog, obtaining a total of 132 SNe within MaNGA bundle. These 132 SNe can be classified into 67 Type Ia and 65 Type CC. We study the global and local properties of supernova host galaxies statistically. Type Ia SNe are distributed in both star-forming galaxies and quiescent galaxies, while Type CC SNe are all distributed along the star-forming main sequence. As the stellar mass increases, the Type Ia/CC number ratio increases. We find: (1) there is no obvious difference in the interaction possibilities and environments between Type Ia SN hosts and a control sample of galaxies with similar stellar mass and SFR distributions, except that Type Ia SNe tend to appear in galaxies which are more bulge-dominated than their controls. For Type CC SNe, there is no difference between their hosts and the control galaxies in galaxy morphology, interaction possibilities as well as environments; (2) compared to galaxy centers, the SN locations have smaller velocity dispersion, lower metallicity, and younger stellar population. This is a natural result of radius gradients for all these parameters. The SN location and its symmetrical position relative to the galaxy center, as well as regions with similar effective radii have very similar [Mg/Fe], gas-phase metallicity, gas velocity dispersion and stellar population age.

Detection of a 100,000 M ⊙ black hole in M31's Most Massive Globular Cluster: A Tidally Stripped Nucleus

We investigate the presence of a central black hole (BH) in B023-G078, M31's most massive globular cluster. We present high-resolution, adaptive-optics assisted, integral-field spectroscopic kinematics from Gemini/NIFS that show a strong rotation (∼20 km s−1) and a velocity dispersion rise toward the center (37 km s−1). We combine the kinematic data with a mass model based on a two-component fit to HST ACS/HRC data of the cluster to estimate the mass of a putative BH. Our dynamical modeling suggests a >3σ detection of a BH component of 9.1 − 2.8 + 2.6 × 10 4 M ⊙ (1σ uncertainties). The inferred stellar mass of the cluster is 6.22 − 0.05 + 0.03 × 10 6 M ⊙ , consistent with previous estimates, thus the BH makes up 1.5% of its mass. We examine whether the observed kinematics are caused by a collection of stellar mass BHs by modeling an extended dark mass as a Plummer profile. The upper limit on the size scale of the extended mass is 0.56 pc (95% confidence), which does not rule out an extended mass. There is compelling evidence that B023-G078 is the tidally stripped nucleus of a galaxy with a stellar mass >109 M ⊙, including its high-mass, two-component luminosity profile, color, metallicity gradient, and spread in metallicity. Given the emerging evidence that the central BH occupation fraction of >109 M ⊙ galaxies is high, the most plausible interpretation of the kinematic data is that B023-G078 hosts a central BH. This makes it the strongest BH detection in a lower-mass (<107 M ⊙) stripped nucleus, and one of the few dynamically detected intermediate-mass BHs.

Observing Intermediate-mass Black Holes and the Upper Stellar-mass gap with LIGO and Virgo

Using ground-based gravitational-wave detectors, we probe the mass function of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) wherein we also include BHs in the upper mass gap at ∼60–130 M ⊙. Employing the projected sensitivity of the upcoming LIGO and Virgo fourth observing run (O4), we perform Bayesian analysis on quasi-circular nonprecessing, spinning IMBH binaries (IMBHBs) with total masses 50–500 M ⊙, mass ratios 1.25, 4, and 10, and dimensionless spins up to 0.95, and estimate the precision with which the source-frame parameters can be measured. We find that, at 2σ, the mass of the heavier component of IMBHBs can be constrained with an uncertainty of ∼10%–40% at a signal-to-noise ratio of 20. Focusing on the stellar-mass gap with new tabulations of the 12C(α, γ)16O reaction rate and its uncertainties, we evolve massive helium core stars using MESA to establish the lower and upper edges of the mass gap as ≃ 59 − 13 + 34 M ⊙ and ≃ 139 − 14 + 30 M ⊙ respectively, where the error bars give the mass range that follows from the ±3σ uncertainty in the 12C(α, γ)16O nuclear reaction rate. We find that high resolution of the tabulated reaction rate and fine temporal resolution are necessary to resolve the peak of the BH mass spectrum. We then study IMBHBs with components lying in the mass gap and show that the O4 run will be able to robustly identify most such systems. Finally, we reanalyze GW190521 with a state-of-the-art aligned-spin waveform model, finding that the primary mass lies in the mass gap with 90% credibility.

Finite-resolution Deconvolution of Multiwavelength Imaging of 20,000 Galaxies in the COSMOS Field: The Evolution of Clumpy Galaxies over Cosmic Time

Compact star-forming clumps observed in distant galaxies are often suggested to play a crucial role in galaxy assembly. In this paper, we use a novel approach of applying finite-resolution deconvolution on ground-based images of the COSMOS field to resolve 20,185 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 0.5 < z < 2 to an angular resolution of 0.″3 and study their clump fractions. A comparison between the deconvolved images and HST images across four different filters shows good agreement and validates image deconvolution. We model spectral energy distributions using the deconvolved 14-band images to provide resolved surface brightness and stellar-mass density maps for these galaxies. We find that the fraction of clumpy galaxies decreases with increasing stellar masses and with increasing redshift: from ∼30% at z ∼ 0.7 to ∼50% at z ∼ 1.7. Using abundance matching, we also trace the progenitors for galaxies at z ∼ 0.7 and measure the fractional mass contribution of clumps toward their total mass budget. Clumps are observed to have a higher fractional mass contribution toward galaxies at higher redshift: increasing from ∼1% at z ∼ 0.7 to ∼5% at z ∼ 1.7. Finally, the majority of clumpy SFGs have higher specific star formation rates (sSFR) compared to the average SFGs at fixed stellar mass. We discuss the implication of this result for in situ clump formation due to disk instability.