Date:
Thursday, February 28, 2019, 11:00am to 12:00pm
Location:
Pratt
Black Holes in Simulated Dwarf Galaxies
Recent discoveries of dwarf galaxies hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) suggest that massive black holes (MBHs) may be a common occurrence in such low-mass systems. I examine the occupation fraction and characteristics of MBHs in dwarf galaxies using the MARVEL-ous Dwarfs and DC Justice League samples of high resolution cosmological simulations. Approximately 50% of MBHs in the dwarfs are off-center, as a result of being perturbed by a merger with another dwarf galaxy. The simulations include a subgrid model for dynamical friction; thus these off-center MBHs are a true dynamical consequence of mergers, and not a numerical effect. Since not every MBH in a dwarf is centrally located, some presupposed MBH-MBH mergers may not actually occur, which will affect the gravitational wave signal detected by LISA.
Recent discoveries of dwarf galaxies hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) suggest that massive black holes (MBHs) may be a common occurrence in such low-mass systems. I examine the occupation fraction and characteristics of MBHs in dwarf galaxies using the MARVEL-ous Dwarfs and DC Justice League samples of high resolution cosmological simulations. Approximately 50% of MBHs in the dwarfs are off-center, as a result of being perturbed by a merger with another dwarf galaxy. The simulations include a subgrid model for dynamical friction; thus these off-center MBHs are a true dynamical consequence of mergers, and not a numerical effect. Since not every MBH in a dwarf is centrally located, some presupposed MBH-MBH mergers may not actually occur, which will affect the gravitational wave signal detected by LISA.