Simulations predict intermediate-mass black hole formation in globular clusters.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38815090.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.adi4211.
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Abstract
The formation process of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), defined as those between 100 and 10<sup>5</sup> solar masses (<i>M</i><sub>⊙</sub>), is debated. One potential origin is the growth of less-massive black holes merging with stars and compact objects within globular clusters (GCs). However, previous simulations have indicated that this process only produces IMBHs under 500 <i>M</i><sub>⊙</sub> before gravitational wave recoil ejects them from the GC. We performed star-by-star simulations of GC formation, finding that high-density star formation in a GC's parent giant molecular cloud can produce sufficient mergers of massive stars to overcome that mass threshold. We conclude that GCs can form with IMBHs more than 10<sup>3</sup> <i>M</i><sub>⊙</sub>, which is sufficiently massive to be retained within the GC even with the expected gravitational wave recoil.