Roche-lobe overflow systems powered by black holes in young star clusters: the importance of dynamical exchanges

TL;DR

This study uses N-body simulations to explore black hole binaries in young star clusters, highlighting the role of dynamical exchanges in forming Roche lobe overflow systems, especially those powered by massive stellar black holes in metal-poor environments.

Contribution

It demonstrates the significance of dynamical exchanges in forming RLO binaries with massive black holes, a novel focus in the context of young star clusters.

Findings

44% of RLO binaries formed through dynamical exchange.

Over 20% of RLO binaries in metal-poor clusters are powered by MSBHs.

RLO binaries from primordial binaries are generally bluer.

Abstract

We have run 600 N-body simulations of intermediate-mass (~3500 Msun) young star clusters (SCs) with three different metallicities (Z=0.01, 0.1 and 1 Zsun). The simulations include the dependence of stellar properties and stellar winds on metallicity. Massive stellar black holes (MSBHs) with mass >25 Msun are allowed to form through direct collapse of very massive metal-poor stars (Z<0.3 Zsun). We focus on the demographics of black hole (BH) binaries that undergo mass transfer via Roche lobe overflow (RLO). We find that 44 per cent of all binaries that undergo an RLO phase (RLO binaries) formed through dynamical exchange. RLO binaries that formed via exchange (RLO-EBs) are powered by more massive BHs than RLO primordial binaries (RLO-PBs). Furthermore, the RLO-EBs tend to start the RLO phase later than the RLO-PBs. In metal-poor SCs (0.01-0.1 Zsun), >20 per cent of all RLO binaries are powered by MSBHs. The vast majority of RLO binaries powered by MSBHs are RLO-EBs. We have produced optical color-magnitude diagrams of the simulated RLO binaries, accounting for the emission of both the donor star and the irradiated accretion disk. We find that RLO-PBs are generally associated with bluer counterparts than RLO-EBs. We compare the simulated counterparts with the observed counterparts of nine ultraluminous X-ray sources. We discuss the possibility that IC 342 X-1, Ho IX X-1, NGC 1313 X-2 and NGC 5204 X-1 are powered by a MSBH.