The collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda and the fate of their Supermassive Black Holes

Abstract

Our Galaxy and the nearby Andromeda Galaxy (M31) form a bound system, even though the relative velocity vector of M31 is currently not well constrained. Their orbital motion is highly dependent on the initial conditions, but all the reliable scenarios imply a first close approach in the next 3-5 Gyrs. In our study, we simulate this interaction via direct N-body integration, using the HiGPUs code. Our aim is to investigate the dependence of the time of the merger on the physical and dynamical properties of the system. Finally, we study the dynamical evolution of the two Supermassive Black Holes placed in the two galactic centers, with the future aim to achieve a proper resolution to follow their motion until they form a tight binary system.

arXiv commentProceedings of IAU Symposium No. 351, 2019A, (MODEST-19), "Star Clusters: From the Milky Way to the Early Universe". Bragaglia, M.B. Davies, A. Sills & E. Vesperini, eds. 4 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Equilibrium Disk-Bulge-Halo Models for the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies
• The M31 Velocity Vector. III. Future Milky Way-M31-M33 Orbital Evolution, Merging, and Fate of the Sun
• First Gaia Dynamics of the Andromeda System: DR2 Proper Motions, Orbits, and Rotation of M31 and M33
• The Collision Between The Milky Way And Andromeda
• A fully parallel, high precision, N-body code running on hybrid computing platforms
• Where Do Galaxies End?
• The Transverse velocity of the Andromeda system, derived from the M31 satellite population

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Future merger of the Milky Way with the Andromeda galaxy and the fate of their supermassive black holes
• Apocalypse When? No Certainty of a Milky Way -- Andromeda Collision