Only a small fraction of local galaxies harbor an accreting black hole, classified as an active galactic nucleus. However, many stellar systems are plausibly expected to host black holes, from globular clusters to nuclear star clusters, to massive galaxies. The mere presence of stars in the vicinity of a black hole provides a source of fuel via mass loss of evolved stars. In this paper, we assess the expected luminosities of black holes embedded in stellar systems of different sizes and properties, spanning a large range of masses. We model the distribution of stars and derive the amount of gas available to a central black hole through a geometrical model. We estimate the luminosity of the black holes under simple, but physically grounded, assumptions on the accretion flow. Finally, we discuss the detectability of "quiescent" black holes in the local universe

Volonteri, M., Dotti, M., Campbell, D., Mateo, M. (2011). Massive Black Holes in Stellar Systems: "Quiescent" Accretion and Luminosity. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 730(2) [10.1088/0004-637X/730/2/145].

Massive Black Holes in Stellar Systems: "Quiescent" Accretion and Luminosity

DOTTI, MASSIMO;
2011

Abstract

Only a small fraction of local galaxies harbor an accreting black hole, classified as an active galactic nucleus. However, many stellar systems are plausibly expected to host black holes, from globular clusters to nuclear star clusters, to massive galaxies. The mere presence of stars in the vicinity of a black hole provides a source of fuel via mass loss of evolved stars. In this paper, we assess the expected luminosities of black holes embedded in stellar systems of different sizes and properties, spanning a large range of masses. We model the distribution of stars and derive the amount of gas available to a central black hole through a geometrical model. We estimate the luminosity of the black holes under simple, but physically grounded, assumptions on the accretion flow. Finally, we discuss the detectability of "quiescent" black holes in the local universe
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
black hole physics, galaxies: nuclei, galaxies: structure, stars: mass-loss
English
2011
730
2
145
none
Volonteri, M., Dotti, M., Campbell, D., Mateo, M. (2011). Massive Black Holes in Stellar Systems: "Quiescent" Accretion and Luminosity. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 730(2) [10.1088/0004-637X/730/2/145].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/21654
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