Intermediate-mass black holes born via repeated mergers are unlikely thermodynamically stable

TL;DR

This paper investigates the thermodynamic stability of intermediate-mass black holes formed through repeated mergers, finding most are unstable unless they have high charges, with future gravitational wave observations potentially testing these predictions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the thermodynamic stability of IMBHs formed via repeated mergers, incorporating charge effects and linking to upcoming GW observations.

Findings

Less than 20% of non-charged IMBHs are thermodynamically unstable.

Up to 40% of moderately-charged IMBHs are unstable.

Over 60% of highly-charged IMBHs could be thermodynamically stable.

Abstract

Black hole (BH) thermodynamics is one of the most fascinating aspects of BH physics. While its direct proof is challenging to observe for astrophysical BHs, gravitational waves (GWs) have recently offered a new indirect powerful method to probe that it is operating in the Universe. In this paper, we discuss the thermodynamic stability of IMBHs that are born through repeated mergers of stellar-mass BHs via GW emission in dense star clusters. We show that $\lesssim 20\%$ of the IMBHs born via repeated mergers are thermodynamically unstable for a non-charged BH, while $\lesssim 40\%$ are thermodynamically unstable for a moderately-charged BH. Only in the case of unlikely high charges, $\gtrsim 60\%$ of the IMBHs are thermodynamically stable. With the present and upcoming GW missions, such as LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, LISA, DECIGO, and ET that promise to detect tens, or even hundreds, of IMBH mergers via GW emission in the next decade, IMBH thermodynamics may soon be tested.