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Black hole mass and spin coevolution by mergers

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arxiv astro-ph/0208484 v2 pith:PJHNDM3J submitted 2002-08-27 astro-ph gr-qc

Black hole mass and spin coevolution by mergers

classification astro-ph gr-qc
keywords blackholesbinarymassmergerspincoevolutiongrowth
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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Massive black holes appear to be present in the nuclei of almost all galaxies, but their genesis and evolution are not well understood. As astrophysical black holes are completely characterized by their masses and spins, the observed joint distribution of these quantities contains important clues to their history. We examine the coevolution of mass and spin in binary merger growth scenarios. We find that holes are typically spun down by mergers. Rapid rotation results only if the binary's larger member already spins quickly and the merger with the smaller hole is consistently near prograde; or, if the binary's mass ratio approaches one. If, as some observations have suggested, observed black holes spin rapidly, then this limits the importance of merger scenarios for the growth of black holes.

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Cited by 2 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Gravity Echoes from Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

    astro-ph.HE 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 8.0

    Future microhertz detections combined with nanohertz pulsar terms can serve as gravity echoes to measure supermassive black hole binary inspiral rates from hundreds to thousands of years in the past.

  2. Progenitor of the recoiling super-massive black hole RBH-1 identified using HST/JWST imaging

    astro-ph.HE 2026-01 conditional novelty 4.0

    The 954 km/s runaway speed of RBH-1 implies its progenitor was a precessing, nearly equal-mass binary with a rapidly spinning primary black hole.