Rochester Institute of Technology | 2017 Oct 30
[img3="RIT researchers propose that the outer gas disk of spiral galaxies could be teeming with black holes that emit gravitational waves as they collide. Shown here is the Southern Pinwheel galaxy seen in ultraviolet light (GALEX) and radio wavelengths (VLA). The radio data, colored here in red, reveal the boondocks of the galaxy where orbiting black holes might exist. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/VLA/MPIA"]http://www.rit.edu/news/lib/filelib/201 ... mVlacj.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]The outskirts of spiral galaxies like our own could be crowded with colliding black holes of massive proportions and a prime location for scientists hunting the sources of gravitational waves, said researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology in an upcoming paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The RIT study identifies an overlooked region that may prove to be rife with orbiting black holes and the origin of gravitational-wave chirps heard by observatories in the United States and Italy. Identifying the host galaxies of merging massive black holes could help explain how orbiting pairs of black holes form. ...
Until now, small satellite or dwarf galaxies were thought to have the most suitable environment for hosting black-hole populations: a sparse population of stars, unpolluted with heavy metals like iron, gold and platinum—elements spewed in supernovae explosions— and inefficient winds that leave massive stars intact.
Chakrabarti realized the edges of galaxies like the Milky Wavy have similar environments to dwarf galaxies but with a major advantage— big galaxies are easier to find. ...
The Contribution Of Outer HI Disks To The Merging Binary Black Hole Population - Sukanya Chakrabarti et al
- arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1710.09407 > 25 Oct 2017