The effect of stellar-mass black holes on the central kinematics of omega Cen: a cautionary tale for IMBH interpretations

Abstract

The search for intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in the centre of globular clusters is often based on the observation of a central cusp in the surface brightness profile and a rise towards the centre in the velocity dispersion profiles. Similar signatures, however, could result from other effects, that need to be taken into account in order to determine the presence (or the absence) of an IMBH in these stellar systems. Following our previous exploration of the role of radial anisotropy in shaping these observational signatures, we analyse here the effects produced by the presence of a population of centrally concentrated stellar-mass black holes. We fit dynamical models to omega Cen data, and we show that models with ~5% of their mass in black holes (consistent with ~100% retention fraction after natal kicks) can reproduce the data. When simultaneously considering both radial anisotropy and mass segregation, the best-fit model includes a smaller population of remnants, and a less extreme degree of anisotropy with respect to the models that include only one of these features. These results underline that before conclusions about putative IMBHs can be made, the effects of stellar-mass black holes and radial anisotropy need to be properly accounted for.

13 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (14)

• The Dynamical Evolution of Stellar Black Holes in Globular Clusters
• Gemini and Hubble Space Telescope Evidence for an Intermediate Mass Black Hole in omega Centauri
• Investigating stellar-mass black hole kicks
• Concurrent formation of supermassive stars and globular clusters: implications for early self-enrichment
• A stellar census in globular clusters with MUSE: The contribution of rotation to cluster dynamics studied with 200 000 stars
• N-body modeling of globular clusters: Masses, mass-to-light ratios and intermediate-mass black holes
• Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters
• The HST large programme on $\omega$ Centauri - II. internal kinematics
• The Galactic distribution of X-ray binaries and its implications for compact object formation and natal kicks
• A stellar-mass black hole population in the globular cluster NGC 6101?
• Investigating mass segregation process in globular clusters with Blue Straggler Stars: the impact of dark remnants
• Intermediate Mass Black Hole Induced Quenching of Mass Segregation in Star Clusters
• The Rotation of Sub-Populations in omega Centauri
• Biases in the inferred mass-to-light ratio of globular clusters: no need for variations in the stellar mass function

Cited by in corpus (59)

• Intermediate-Mass Black Holes
• Properties and astrophysical implications of the 150 Msun binary black hole merger GW190521
• Modeling Dense Star Clusters in the Milky Way and Beyond with the $\text{CMC}$ Cluster Catalog
• A Multi-Mass Velocity Dispersion Model of 47 Tucanae Indicates No Evidence for an Intermediate Mass Black Hole
• A stellar census in globular clusters with MUSE: Binaries in NGC 3201
• Populating the upper black hole mass gap through stellar collisions in young star clusters
• Population synthesis of black hole binary mergers from star clusters
• Fast-moving stars around an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri
• Intermediate mass black holes from stellar mergers in young star clusters
• No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in the globular clusters $\omega$ Cen and NGC 6624
• A Dynamical Survey of Stellar-Mass Black Holes in 50 Milky Way Globular Clusters
• A black hole detected in the young massive LMC cluster NGC 1850
• Tidal Disruptions of Stars by Black Hole Remnants in Dense Star Clusters
• Detection of a $\sim$100,000 M${}_{\odot }$ black hole in M31's most massive globular cluster: A tidally stripped nucleus
• Stellar Escape from Globular Clusters. I. Escape Mechanisms and Properties at Ejection
• On the black hole content and initial mass function of 47 Tuc
• Simulations predict intermediate-mass black hole formation in globular clusters
• Formation of super-massive black holes in galactic nuclei I: delivering seed intermediate-mass black holes in massive stellar clusters
• Does NGC 6397 contain an intermediate-mass black hole or a more diffuse inner subcluster?
• The mass-loss rates of star clusters with stellar-mass black holes: implications for the globular cluster mass function
• Stellar graveyards: Clustering of compact objects in globular clusters NGC 3201 and NGC 6397
• Dynamical analysis of the dark matter and central black hole mass in the dwarf spheroidal Leo I
• Spherical models of star clusters with potential escapers
• Dynamical modelling of globular clusters: challenges for the robust determination of IMBH candidates
• Dark and luminous mass components of Omega Centauri with stellar kinematics
• Spectral properties and detectability of supermassive stars in protoglobular clusters at high redshift
• A consistency-test for determining whether ultra-compact dwarf galaxies could be the remnant nuclei of threshed galaxies
• Finding Black Holes with Black Boxes -- Using Machine Learning to Identify Globular Clusters with Black Hole Subsystems
• Action-based models for dwarf spheroidal galaxies and globular clusters
• An elusive dark central mass in the globular cluster M4
• MOCCA-SURVEY Database II -- Properties of Intermediate Mass Black Holes escaping from star clusters
• Stellar-mass black holes in the Hyades star cluster?
• Efficiency of black hole formation via collisions in stellar systems: An analysis of data from simulations and observations
• The luminosity function of quasars by the Principle of Maximum Entropy
• Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in binary-rich star clusters
• Potential Black Hole Seeding of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 4424 via an Infalling Star Cluster
• New constraints on the central mass contents of Omega Centauri from combined stellar kinematics and pulsar timing
• oMEGACat. VI. Analysis of the overall kinematics of Omega Centauri in 3D: velocity dispersion, kinematic distance, anisotropy, and energy equipartition
• Central kinematics of the Galactic globular cluster M80
• Timing of Pulsars in the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri
• Exploring the nature of ultra-luminous X-ray sources across stellar population ages using detailed binary evolution calculations
• Upper limits on the dark matter content in globular clusters
• Exploring the Mass Segregation Effect of X-ray Sources in Globular Clusters. IV. Evidence of Black Hole Burning in $\omega$ Centauri
• The proper motion of sub-populations in Omega Centauri
• Weighing stars from birth to death: mass determination methods across the HRD
• A Chandra Survey of Milky Way Globular Clusters. III. Searching for X-ray Signature of Intermediate-mass Black Holes
• Constraining Black Hole Populations in Globular Clusters using Microlensing: Application to Omega Centauri
• Assessing Uncertainties in the Predicted Very-High-Energy Flux of Globular Clusters in the Cherenkov Telescope Array Era
• Multiple stellar populations in MOCCA globular cluster models: Transient spatial over-concentration of pristine red giant stars driven by strong dynamical encounters
• Probing populations of dark stellar remnants in the globular clusters 47 Tuc and Terzan 5 using pulsar timing
• Supermassive stars as the origin of the multiple populations in globular clusters
• Origin of High Dark Remnant Fractions in Milky Way Globular Clusters: The Crucial Role of Initial Black Hole Retention
• Compact stellar systems hosting an intermediate mass black hole: magnetohydrodynamic study of inflow-outflow dynamics
• Hierarchical Bayesian Inference of Globular Cluster Properties
• A population of luminous globular clusters and stripped nuclei with elevated mass to light ratios around NGC 5128
• A Search for Wandering Black Holes in the Milky Way with Gaia and DECaLS
• Predicting Images for the Dynamics Of stellar Clusters (π-DOC): a deep learning framework to predict mass, distance and age of globular clusters
• Dynamical double black holes and their host cluster properties
• Using Binaries in Globular Clusters to Catch Sight of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes