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Massive black holes lurking in Milky Way satellites
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Submitted 29 Jan 2010
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim We find that for the most part MBHs retain the original mass, thus providing a clear indication of what the properties of the seeds were.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
As massive black holes (MBHs) grow from lower-mass seeds, it is natural to expect that a leftover population of progenitor MBHs should also exist in the present universe. Dwarf galaxies undergo a quiet merger history, and as a result, we expect that dwarfs observed in the local Universe retain some `memory' of the original seed mass distribution. Consequently, the properties of MBHs in nearby dwarf galaxies may provide clean indicators of the efficiency of MBH formation. In order to examine the properties of MBHs in dwarf galaxies, we evolve different MBH populations within a Milky Way halo from high-redshift to today. We consider two plausible MBH formation mechanisms: `massive seeds' formed via gas-dynamical instabilities and a Population III remnant seed model. `Massive seeds' have larger masses than PopIII remnants, but form in rarer hosts. We dynamically evolve all halos merging with the central system, taking into consideration how the interaction modifies the satellites, stripping their outer mass layers. We compute different properties of the MBH population hosted in these satellites. We find that for the most part MBHs retain the original mass, thus providing a clear indication of what the properties of the seeds were. We derive the black hole occupation fraction (BHOF) of the satellite population at z=0. MBHs generated as `massive seeds' have large masses that would favour their identification, but their typical BHOF is always below 40 per cent and decreases to less than per cent for observed dwarf galaxy sizes. In contrast, Population III remnants have a higher BHOF, but their masses have not grown much since formation, inhibiting their detection.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | As massive black holes (MBHs) grow from lower-mass seeds, it is natural to expect that a leftover population of progenitor MBHs should also exist in the present universe. | background 1.00 | 0.06 | 0.04 | hedged possibility 0.73 |
| s1 | Dwarf galaxies undergo a quiet merger history, and as a result, we expect that dwarfs observed in the local Universe retain some `memory' of the original seed mass distribution. | background 0.97 | 0.10 | 0.04 | hedged possibility 0.79 |
| s2 | Consequently, the properties of MBHs in nearby dwarf galaxies may provide clean indicators of the efficiency of MBH formation. | background 0.76 | 0.07 | 0.08 | hedged possibility 1.00 |
| s3 | In order to examine the properties of MBHs in dwarf galaxies, we evolve different MBH populations within a Milky Way halo from high-redshift to today. | method 0.88 | 0.93 | 0.03 | asserted 0.91 |
| s4 | We consider two plausible MBH formation mechanisms: `massive seeds' formed via gas-dynamical instabilities and a Population III remnant seed model. `Massive seeds' have larger masses than PopIII remnants, but form in rarer hosts. | method 0.93 | 0.45 | 0.03 | asserted 0.64 |
| s5 | We dynamically evolve all halos merging with the central system, taking into consideration how the interaction modifies the satellites, stripping their outer mass layers. | method 1.00 | 0.92 | 0.03 | asserted 0.96 |
| s6 | We compute different properties of the MBH population hosted in these satellites. | method 0.84 | 0.93 | 0.03 | asserted 0.70 |
| s7 | We find that for the most part MBHs retain the original mass, thus providing a clear indication of what the properties of the seeds were. | result 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.63 | asserted 1.00 |
| s8 | We derive the black hole occupation fraction (BHOF) of the satellite population at z=0. | result 0.38 | 0.96 | 0.06 | asserted 0.92 |
| s9 | MBHs generated as `massive seeds' have large masses that would favour their identification, but their typical BHOF is always below 40 per cent and decreases to less than per cent for observed dwarf galaxy sizes. | result 0.99 | 0.92 | 0.23 | asserted 0.99 |
| s10 | In contrast, Population III remnants have a higher BHOF, but their masses have not grown much since formation, inhibiting their detection. | result 0.96 | 0.85 | 0.12 | asserted 1.00 |
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The paper
Original abstract
As massive black holes (MBHs) grow from lower-mass seeds, it is natural to expect that a leftover population of progenitor MBHs should also exist in the present universe. Dwarf galaxies undergo a quiet merger history, and as a result, we expect that dwarfs observed in the local Universe retain some `memory' of the original seed mass distribution. Consequently, the properties of MBHs in nearby dwarf galaxies may provide clean indicators of the efficiency of MBH formation. In order to examine the properties of MBHs in dwarf galaxies, we evolve different MBH populations within a Milky Way halo from high-redshift to today. We consider two plausible MBH formation mechanisms: `massive seeds' formed via gas-dynamical instabilities and a Population III remnant seed model. `Massive seeds' have larger masses than PopIII remnants, but form in rarer hosts. We dynamically evolve all halos merging with the central system, taking into consideration how the interaction modifies the satellites, stripping their outer mass layers. We compute different properties of the MBH population hosted in these satellites. We find that for the most part MBHs retain the original mass, thus providing a clear indication of what the properties of the seeds were. We derive the black hole occupation fraction (BHOF) of the satellite population at z=0. MBHs generated as `massive seeds' have large masses that would favour their identification, but their typical BHOF is always below 40 per cent and decreases to less than per cent for observed dwarf galaxy sizes. In contrast, Population III remnants have a higher BHOF, but their masses have not grown much since formation, inhibiting their detection.
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References
How the literature uses it
4 arXiv papers cite this in 7 sentences
Papers citing it · 4 sentences without a confident label
Compares with it 1 paper
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[ref] for a comparison with observational properties of the dSph population).
No WIMP Mini-Spikes in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies · Monte Carlo simulation of merger histories · 0.97
Cites it as background 2 papers
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Seed black holes that formed by direct collapse (e.g., at $z 15$) would have had less time to grow, but this would have been partly compensated by their larger initial masses. �Various direct collapse models for seed formation have been proposed [ref] , but so far only limited attempts have been made to place these models into the context of structure formation theories [ref] . �Because direct collapse models draw only indirectly on star formation lore, there is much less consensus about the initial conditions for direct collapse and the details of how it might have occurred.
Quasistars and the cosmic evolution of massive black holes · Introduction · 0.99
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Initial work on using dwarf galaxies as laboratories in which to test seeding models was pioneered by [ref] and [ref] .
Massive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei · Differentiating Seed Formation Channels through Observations · 0.89
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