The Doubling of Stellar Black Hole Nuclei

TL;DR

This paper uses N-body simulations to demonstrate how interactions between eccentric stellar disks and triaxial clusters can naturally produce double nuclei in galaxies, providing a dynamical origin for observed features like in Andromeda.

Contribution

It presents the first self-consistent dynamical model showing how double stellar black hole nuclei can form through accretion-driven interactions between disks and clusters.

Findings

Simulations produce stable, precessing lopsided nuclei matching observations.

Eccentric disks and triaxial clusters naturally form from accretion events.

The model explains features of Andromeda's double nucleus.

Abstract

It is strongly believed that Andromeda's double nucleus signals a disk of stars revolving around its central super-massive black hole on eccentric Keplerian orbits with nearly aligned apsides. A self-consistent stellar dynamical origin for such apparently long-lived alignment has so far been lacking, with indications that cluster self-gravity is capable of sustaining such lopsided configurations if and when stimulated by external perturbations. Here, we present results of N-body simulations which show unstable counter-rotating stellar clusters around super-massive black holes saturating into uniformly precessing lopsided nuclei. The double nucleus in our featured experiment decomposes naturally into a thick eccentric disk of apo-apse aligned stars which is embedded in a lighter triaxial cluster. The eccentric disk reproduces key features of Keplerian disk models of Andromeda's double nucleus; the triaxial cluster has a distinctive kinematic signature which is evident in HST observations of Andromeda's double nucleus, and has been difficult to reproduce with Keplerian disks alone. Our simulations demonstrate how the combination of eccentric disk and triaxial cluster arises naturally when a star cluster accreted over a pre-existing and counter-rotating disk of stars, drives disk and cluster into a mutually destabilizing dance. Such accretion events are inherent to standard galaxy formation scenarios. They are here shown to double stellar black hole nuclei as they feed them.