On the uniqueness of kinematical signatures of intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters

Finding an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) in a globular cluster (GC), or proving its absence, is a crucial ingredient in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. The challenge is to identify a unique signature of an IMBH that cannot be accounted for by other processes. Observational...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2014-08, Vol.10 (S312), p.197-200
Main Authors: Zocchi, Alice, Gieles, Mark, Hénault-Brunet, Vincent
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Black holes
Black holes (astronomy)
Contributed Papers
Dispersions
Galaxy formation
Globular clusters
Kinematics
Signatures
Stars & galaxies
Uniqueness
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Summary:Finding an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) in a globular cluster (GC), or proving its absence, is a crucial ingredient in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. The challenge is to identify a unique signature of an IMBH that cannot be accounted for by other processes. Observational claims of IMBH detection are often based on analyses of the kinematics of stars, such as a rise in the velocity dispersion profile towards the centre. In this contribution we discuss the degeneracy between this IMBH signal and pressure anisotropy in the GC. We show that that by considering anisotropic models it is possible to partially explain the innermost shape of the projected velocity dispersion profile, even though models that do not account for an IMBH do not exhibit a cusp in the centre.
ISSN:1743-9213
1743-9221
DOI:10.1017/S1743921315007802