Gravitational waves from remnants of ultraluminous X-ray sources

Abstract

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) with X-ray luminosities larger than the Eddington luminosity of stellar mass objects may be powered by intermediate mass black holes (IBHs) of masses Mbh~10^3Msun. If IBHs form in young dense stellar clusters, they can be fed by Roche lobe overflow from a tidally captured massive (Ms>10Msun) stellar companion. After the donor leaves the main sequence it forms a compact remnant, which spirals in due to gravitational wave (GW) emission. We show that space based detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna are likely to detect several of these sources. GW sources stemming from this scenario have small eccentricities which give distinct GW signals. Detection of such a GW signal will unambiguously prove the existence of IBHs, and support the hypothesis that some ULXs are powered by IBHs with captured companions.

Minor changes; MNRAS letters accepted

References in corpus (10)

• The Ultra-Luminous X-ray Source Population from the Chandra Archive of Galaxies
• A Comparison of Intermediate Mass Black Hole Candidate ULXs and Stellar-Mass Black Holes
• The orbital statistics of stellar inspiral and relaxation near a massive black hole: characterizing gravitational wave sources
• Stellar Mass Black Hole Binaries as ULXs
• The optical counterpart of an Ultra-luminous X-Ray Source in NGC 5204
• Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Accreting Binaries: Formation, Evolution and Observational Appearance
• Has the black hole in XTE J1118+480 experienced an asymmetric natal kick?
• Is M82 X-1 Really An Intermediate-Mass Black Hole? X-ray Spectral and Timing Evidence
• Detecting extreme mass ratio inspirals with LISA using time-frequency methods
• Evolution of Intermediate-Mass Black Hole X-Ray Binaries

Cited by in corpus (16)

• The effect of mass-segregation on gravitational wave sources near massive black holes
• Resonant relaxation near a massive black hole: the stellar distribution and gravitational wave sources
• Three-Body Dynamics with Gravitational Wave Emission
• Rates and Characteristics of Intermediate Mass Ratio Inspirals Detectable by Advanced LIGO
• Detection Rate Estimates of Gravity-waves Emitted During Parabolic Encounters of Stellar Black Holes in Globular Clusters
• The Close Stellar Companions to Intermediate Mass Black Holes
• Tidal Capture of Stars by Intermediate-Mass Black Holes
• Constraints on Galactic Intermediate Mass Black Holes
• Radio pulsars around intermediate mass black holes in super stellar clusters
• Extreme mass ratio inspiral rates: dependence on the massive black hole mass
• The Eclipsing ULX in NGC 3379
• Limits on Runaway Growth of Intermediate Mass Black Holes from Advanced LIGO
• Intermediate-mass black holes in dwarf galaxies: the case of Holmberg II
• Resonant Relaxation near the Massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center
• Neutron Stars and Black Holes in Star Clusters
• Influence of irradiation-driven winds on the evolution of intermediate-mass black hole X-ray binaries