7 papers
-body modelling of the ED-2 stream progenitor shows Gaia BH3's formation involved dynamical interactions
Daniel MarÃn Pina, Mark Gieles, Sara Rastello +3
Context. The Gaia collaboration announced the discovery of a binary of a massive black hole (33 M) with a low-mass giant star (Gaia BH3) in the ED-2 stellar stream. The pro…
Hide and Seek with Gaia. Detectability of Predicted Thin-Disc Metal-Rich RR Lyrae Binaries in Gaia DR3 and DR4
Giuliano Iorio, Pranav Nagarajan, Alexey Bobrick +8
RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) are classical tracers of old stellar populations, yet growing evidence suggests the presence of a metal-rich ([Fe/H]>-0.5), intermediate-age (2-7 Gyr) sub-pop…
BE Lyncis is not a Black Hole Binary: Lessons From Gaia and Hipparcos Astrometry
Pranav Nagarajan, Kareem El-Badry, Thomas J. Maccarone +3
BE Lyncis (BE Lyn) is a well-studied high-amplitude Scuti variable star (HADS). Recently, Niu et al. (2026) analyzed a 39-year baseline of times of maximum light of BE Lyn, re…
Teen TITANS simulations -- I. Inefficient intermediate-mass black hole seeding via stellar collisions in young massive clusters
Benedetta Mestichelli, Sara Rastello, Michela Mapelli +2
Young massive clusters (YMCs) provide favorable environments for frequent stellar collisions, potentially leading to the formation of very massive stars (VMSs) and seeds of interme…
The formation of Gaia BH3
Daniel MarÃn Pina, Mark Gieles, Sara Rastello +1
The Gaia collaboration announced the discovery of a massive black hole (BH) with a low-mass giant star companion, Gaia BH3, located in the ED-2 stellar stream. The properties of Ga…
Star-Black Hole Interactions in Young Star Clusters
Sara Rastello, Giuliano Iorio, Mark Gieles +1
Close encounters between stars and black holes can trigger micro-tidal disruption events (micro-TDEs) in dense young star clusters (YSCs). Using direct N-body simulations with PETA…