Binary Black Hole Mergers from Planet-like Migrations

Andrew Gould; Hans-Walter Rix

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Binary Black Hole Mergers from Planet-like Migrations

Andrew Gould, Hans-Walter Rix

Astrophysics · Submitted 6 Dec 1999

abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review

The authors' main claim BH binary mergers could therefore be responsible for many or most quasars.

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The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.

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Compiled by classifier-1.13-20260917 via OpenRouter, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 5,580 input tokens, $0.0002 reported.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.03 · states limitation 0.32 · human participants 0.01 · controlled comparison 0.05 · randomized assignment 0.01 · states quantitative result 0.07 · compares with prior results 0.55 · mentions code or data availability 0.01.

The abstract, sentence by sentence

arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; show every role.

If supermassive black holes (BHs) are generically present in galaxy centers, and if galaxies are built up through hierarchical merging, BH binaries are at least temporary features of most galactic bulges. Observations suggest, however, that binary BHs are rare, pointing towards a binary lifetime far shorter than the Hubble time. We show that, regardless of the detailed mechanism, all stellar-dynamical processes are insufficient to reduce significantly the orbital separation once orbital velocities in the binary exceed the virial velocity of the system. We propose that a massive gas disk surrounding a BH binary can effect its merger rapidly, in a scenario analogous to the orbital decay of super-jovian planets due to a proto-planetary disk. As in the case of planets, gas accretion onto the secondary (here a supermassive BH) is integrally connected with its inward migration. Such accretion would give rise to quasar activity. BH binary mergers could therefore be responsible for many or most quasars.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#	sentence	role	the authors' own work	states the main conclusion	strength
s0	If supermassive black holes (BHs) are generically present in galaxy centers, and if galaxies are built up through hierarchical merging, BH binaries are at least temporary features of most galactic bulges.	background 1.00	0.06	0.04	hedged possibility 0.72
s1	Observations suggest, however, that binary BHs are rare, pointing towards a binary lifetime far shorter than the Hubble time.	background 0.86	0.05	0.03	hedged possibility 0.97
s2	We show that, regardless of the detailed mechanism, all stellar-dynamical processes are insufficient to reduce significantly the orbital separation once orbital velocities in the binary exceed the virial velocity of the system.	result 0.96	0.72	0.13	asserted 1.00
s3	We propose that a massive gas disk surrounding a BH binary can effect its merger rapidly, in a scenario analogous to the orbital decay of super-jovian planets due to a proto-planetary disk.	contribution 0.98	0.41	0.45	speculative 0.46
s4	As in the case of planets, gas accretion onto the secondary (here a supermassive BH) is integrally connected with its inward migration.	interpretation 0.65	0.24	0.06	asserted 0.95
s5	Such accretion would give rise to quasar activity.	interpretation 0.96	0.15	0.08	hedged possibility 0.69
s6	BH binary mergers could therefore be responsible for many or most quasars.	interpretation 1.00	0.19	0.63	hedged possibility 1.00

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: theoretical result 0.62 · evidence from argument 0.97.

What was examined, and what was not

sources read

arXiv listing abstract v1

not examined

full text
figures and tables
references and citing sentences
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C citations
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Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

The paper

Original abstract

If supermassive black holes (BHs) are generically present in galaxy centers, and if galaxies are built up through hierarchical merging, BH binaries are at least temporary features of most galactic bulges. Observations suggest, however, that binary BHs are rare, pointing towards a binary lifetime far shorter than the Hubble time. We show that, regardless of the detailed mechanism, all stellar-dynamical processes are insufficient to reduce significantly the orbital separation once orbital velocities in the binary exceed the virial velocity of the system. We propose that a massive gas disk surrounding a BH binary can effect its merger rapidly, in a scenario analogous to the orbital decay of super-jovian planets due to a proto-planetary disk. As in the case of planets, gas accretion onto the secondary (here a supermassive BH) is integrally connected with its inward migration. Such accretion would give rise to quasar activity. BH binary mergers could therefore be responsible for many or most quasars.

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References

Forward citations

Cited by 3 Pith papers

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

Dynamics and detectability of long-lived non-accretion phases for massive black hole binaries in cold, thermally regulating disks
astro-ph.HE 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

Self-consistent thermal regulation in circumbinary disks permits long-lived non-accretion phases that suppress binary feeding rates toward the Eddington limit while leaving optical/near-IR detectability intact.
Ultralight Boson Ionization from Comparable-Mass Binaries
gr-qc 2025-09 conditional novelty 7.0 of 10

Ionization of boson molecules bound to a black hole binary can dominate gravitational-wave losses during early inspiral, imprinting a turnover in the nanohertz GW background and circularizing the orbit.
Balmer breaks in accreting super-massive black hole binaries
astro-ph.HE 2026-10 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

Truncated circumbinary disks around supermassive black hole binaries can produce Balmer breaks, with the strongest breaks predicted for binaries with months-to-years periods and masses above one million solar masses.

How the literature uses it

5 arXiv papers cite this in 6 sentences

Each citing sentence is taken from the citing paper's LaTeX source and typed by Pith's classifier. A label appears at probability 0.8 or more (0.95 for support), a contest at 0.7 or more; the quoted words are the citing authors'. How each label was checked · JSON

Papers citing it · 3 sentences without a confident label

Cites it as background 3 papers

An important problem in galactic dynamics is determining how the merger process of the two (initially) central black holes proceeds after the collision of the host galaxies [ref] .

Foundations of multiple black hole evolutions · Discussion · 0.98
To determine which, if any, proposed mechanisms, [ref] , solve the final-parsec problem in nature, one must characterize a population of sub-pc SBHBs.

Detecting the Orbital Motion of Nearby Supermassive Black Hole Binaries with Gaia · Introduction · 0.85
The long-standing consensus on gas-rich systems says that higher accretion rates can lead to dynamical torques and viscous drag contributing significantly to shrinking of the binary separation [ref] .

Massive black hole binary inspiral and spin evolution in a cosmological framework · Introduction · 0.91

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