On the uniqueness of kinematical signatures of intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters
- Author(s)
- Alice Zocchi, Mark Gieles, Vincent Hénault-Brunet
- Abstract
Finding an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) in a globular cluster (GC), or proving its absence, is a crucial ingredient in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. The challenge is to identify a unique signature of an IMBH that cannot be accounted for by other processes. Observational claims of IMBH detection are often based on analyses of the kinematics of stars, such as a rise in the velocity dispersion profile towards the centre. In this contribution we discuss the degeneracy between this IMBH signal and pressure anisotropy in the GC. We show that that by considering anisotropic models it is possible to partially explain the innermost shape of the projected velocity dispersion profile, even though models that do not account for an IMBH do not exhibit a cusp in the centre.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- Journal
- Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
- Volume
- 10
- Pages
- 197-200
- No. of pages
- 4
- ISSN
- 1743-9213
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921315007802
- Publication date
- 08-2014
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nutrition and Dietetics, Medicine (miscellaneous), Space and Planetary Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/on-the-uniqueness-of-kinematical-signatures-of-intermediatemass-black-holes-in-globular-clusters(189653e3-42f5-4351-86d4-ad81c892ef05).html