No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA

With a goal of searching for accreting intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), we report the results of ultra-deep Jansky Very Large Array radio continuum observations of the cores of three Galactic globular clusters: M15, M19, and M22. We reach rms noise levels of 1.5–2.1 μJy beam−1 at an average f...

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Main Authors: Strader, J., Chomiuk, L., Maccarone, T., Miller-Jones, James, Seth, A., Heinke, C, Sivakoff, G.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd. 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43068
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author Strader, J.
Chomiuk, L.
Maccarone, T.
Miller-Jones, James
Seth, A.
Heinke, C
Sivakoff, G.
author_facet Strader, J.
Chomiuk, L.
Maccarone, T.
Miller-Jones, James
Seth, A.
Heinke, C
Sivakoff, G.
author_sort Strader, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description With a goal of searching for accreting intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), we report the results of ultra-deep Jansky Very Large Array radio continuum observations of the cores of three Galactic globular clusters: M15, M19, and M22. We reach rms noise levels of 1.5–2.1 μJy beam−1 at an average frequency of 6 GHz. No sources are observed at the center of any of the clusters. For a conservative set of assumptions about the properties of the accretion, we set 3σ upper limits on IMBHs from 360 to 980 M☉ . These limits are among the most stringent obtained for any globular cluster. They add to a growing body of work that suggests either (1) IMBHs >~ 1000 M☉ are rare in globular clusters or (2) when present, IMBHs accrete in an extraordinarily inefficient manner.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-430682023-02-22T06:24:24Z No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA Strader, J. Chomiuk, L. Maccarone, T. Miller-Jones, James Seth, A. Heinke, C Sivakoff, G. general-radio continuum: general black hole physics-globular clusters With a goal of searching for accreting intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), we report the results of ultra-deep Jansky Very Large Array radio continuum observations of the cores of three Galactic globular clusters: M15, M19, and M22. We reach rms noise levels of 1.5–2.1 μJy beam−1 at an average frequency of 6 GHz. No sources are observed at the center of any of the clusters. For a conservative set of assumptions about the properties of the accretion, we set 3σ upper limits on IMBHs from 360 to 980 M☉ . These limits are among the most stringent obtained for any globular cluster. They add to a growing body of work that suggests either (1) IMBHs >~ 1000 M☉ are rare in globular clusters or (2) when present, IMBHs accrete in an extraordinarily inefficient manner. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43068 10.1088/2041-8205/750/2/L27 Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd. unknown
spellingShingle general-radio continuum: general
black hole physics-globular clusters
Strader, J.
Chomiuk, L.
Maccarone, T.
Miller-Jones, James
Seth, A.
Heinke, C
Sivakoff, G.
No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA
title No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA
title_full No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA
title_fullStr No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA
title_full_unstemmed No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA
title_short No evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: Strong constraints from the JVLA
title_sort no evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters: strong constraints from the jvla
topic general-radio continuum: general
black hole physics-globular clusters
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43068