Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Globular Clusters

Joseph Alexander Stoiko A37508007

AST 410 Senior Thesis May 7, 2010

Abstract: In this paper I will review the evidence for and against the existence of intermediate-mass black holes in the centers of globular clusters. The case for M15, which has been the focus of this debate for over thirty years, is discussed in detail. Near the end of this paper I will also describe the cases for two other candidate clusters, G1 and Cen. I conclude that the evidence for intermediate-mass black holes is present yet not significant, and that there is

no general consensus whether or not they are commonly formed at the heart of globular clusters.

Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Globular Clusters

Joseph Alexander Stoiko I. Introduction 1. Black holes overview a. General description b. Stellar mass black holes c. Supermassive black holes 2. Globular clusters overview a. General description b. Characteristics of core-collapse II. History of black holes in globular clusters 1. Early findings and theories 2. The case for M15 a. Peculiar surface brightness profile b. Velocity dispersion studies c. Modern fits to dynamical models III. Other candidates 1. G1 2. Omega Centauri IV. Conclusion V. References

I. Introduction
Black Holes The subject of black holes is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing topics in all of astronomy. A black hole warps the fabric of spacetime around it, and at its center space and time cease to exist as we know them. A black hole is a region in space of extremely high gravity. The gravity is so strong that there is no way for objects that get too near it to break away from its gravitational pull. Nothing can escape a close encounter with a black hole, not even light, a fact which lends them their name. Black holes are inherently difficult to detect directly, but they can be observed when they interact with something in space, such as infalling gas which heats up and glows in X-rays. Once black holes are discovered, their masses can be determined by measuring the orbital velocity data of the stars around them. Black holes are known to exist in at least two sizes: stellar mass and supermassive. Stellar mass black holes typically range from three to thirty times the mass of our sun (3-30 M). It is speculated that 100 million of these reside in our own Milky Way galaxy, with similar numbers in other galaxies. Stellar mass black holes are formed by the death of massive stars as supernovas. When a significantly massive star runs out of fuel, it becomes unable to support itself against its own gravitational pull. It then collapses inward to form a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. In the case of black hole formation, if the mass of the remnant (what is left of the star that wasnt expelled in the supernova) exceeds 3 4 M, even neutron degeneracy pressure cannot support it, and it collapses to form a

singularity. This singularity, an infinitely small and infinitely dense point in space, is the heart of the black hole. Supermassive black holes, however, can be millions to billions of times the mass of our sun (106 109 M). It is believed that these behemoths exist at the center of most if not every large galaxy, including our own Milky Way. Unlike their stellar mass counterparts, the process of forming supermassive black holes is not completely understood. One theory suggests that they are formed by the direct collapse of a large gas cloud into a massive relativistic star, which would be unstable and collapse into a massive black hole without going supernova. Another more popular theory however involves the slow accretion of matter onto a stellar mass black hole. This seeded growth model implies the existence of intermediate-mass black holes (103 105 M), a class which observationally seems to be quite rare. New research suggests that these intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) can be found in the hearts of globular clusters. Globular Clusters Globular clusters are vast, roughly spherical shaped distributions of stars that orbit a galactic core. In this sense, the relationship between a globular cluster and its galactic core resemble the relationship between a moon and its planet. The globular clusters known in the Milky Way exist in our galaxys halo, above and below the spiral-armed galactic disk. Most globular clusters are very crowded; some can be 60,000 times as dense in stars as our own galactic neighborhood. They are made up of hundreds of thousands of very old, low metallicity Population II stars. Because the clusters are so old, any massive bright stars they may have had at one point have long since burned out. All of the stars in a

globular cluster are at approximately the same stage in stellar evolution, meaning that they formed at about the same time. Additionally, globular clusters are free of interstellar gas and dust and no known clusters appear to have active star formation. There are about 160 globular clusters known in the Milky Way, but it is believed there were once many more of them. Their presence in the halo, outside the influence of the galactic disk, may figure into the way they keep their spherical form. It may be that any globular clusters near the disk dissipated long ago. Nevertheless, the origin of globular clusters and their role in galactic evolution remain uncertain. Globular clusters have been classified into two groups due to differing surface brightness profiles. When measuring the luminosity curve of a globular cluster as a function of distance from its core, most clusters in the Milky Way show a steady increase in luminosity towards the core, up to a certain distance where the luminosity levels off, or flattens. These clusters are said to have an isothermal core brightness profile. However, about 20% of the globular clusters have undergone a process called "core-collapse". In these types of clusters, luminosity continues to increase steadily all the way to the core. Core-collapse is thought to occur by the more massive stars losing kinetic energy from encounters with smaller ones, and settling near the core. Over time, this leads to a concentration of massive stars and stellar remnants near the core, a process called mass segregation.

II. History of Black Holes in Globular Clusters

Early Findings and Theories

The early 1970s saw the discovery of variable X-ray sources within globular clusters. Previous discoveries of galactic X-ray sources were mostly with bright, young Population 1 stars or with relatively recent supernova remnants. It was initially assumed that the globular cluster X-ray sources were like those identified with the Population 1 stars: close binary systems in which an evolving post-main-sequence star transfers matter onto a collapsed companion, thereby producing X-rays.1 At the time, the observation technology was not advanced enough to determine exactly what these globular cluster sources were. A new theory for the explanation of these X-ray sources was discussed by Joseph Silk and Jonathan Arons in 1975. They stated that the expected frequency of globular cluster X-ray sources was an order of magnitude greater than the observed frequency, making the conventional close binary model unlikely. Silk and Arons proposed that the globular cluster X-ray sources can be interpreted in terms of mass shed by evolving postmain-sequence stars in the central regions of the globular cluster and accreting onto a massive (~100 1000 M) central black hole.2 In a letter to Nature that same year, John Bahcall and Jeremiah Ostriker reached a similar conclusion. They offered further support by stating that the existence of a massive central object could also explain the post-corecollapse surface brightness profiles of the clusters.3 The Case for M15 A specific example of this lies with the case of M15, a globular cluster located 10.3 kpc away in the constellation Pegasus. M15 is one of the clusters in which Silk and Arons (1975) found to contain an X-ray source. One of the oldest known globular clusters and one of the most densely packed, M15 has a surface brightness profile that suggests it has

undergone core collapse. This fact, along with X-ray emission from the cluster, made M15 a prime candidate for the search for a central intermediate-mass black hole. In 1976, Barry Newell, G.S. Da Costa, and John Norris studied the surface brightness profile and spectra of the central region of M15. The surface brightness profile increases continually from the clusters edge inward along its radius, which differs from the typically flat profile seen in clusters of similar overall structure. Newell et al. noted that the central light excess may result from a chance superposition of a bright star on the cluster center,4 so they also obtained spectra of the cluster as a whole. They concluded that the excess light at the center of M15 results not from a single star but rather from a mixture of stars typical of the rest of the cluster. After a reasonable compromise fit to a multiple-mass-class model with a central massive object, Newell et al. estimated an 800 300 M central object in M15. The existence of a central black hole would provide a natural explanation for the X-ray emission observed in the vicinity of M15. However, at the time, it was unknown if the X-ray source was actually located at the center of the cluster. Newell et al. acknowledged that further research of M15 and other globular clusters was needed before the status of the central black hole theory could be determined. The model proposed by Newell at al. was challenged the following year by Garth Illingworth and Ivan King (1977), who declared that the surface brightness profile of M15 could be equally explained by a dense core of neutron stars.5 Illingworth and King fitted the observed velocity dispersion and brightness profile of the cluster to a model with a central concentration of neutron stars of mass ~2 M . They stated that their model was simply meant to show that there was no need to propose an intermediate-mass black hole at the center of M15. Illingworth and King continued,

The desire to imagine black holes at the center of X-ray globular clusters arises, of course, from the need to find some mechanism that will provide the X-ray emission. We have not, of course, proved the nonexistence of a black hole, but the removal of one of its observational supports suggests more examination of alternatives.5 Illingworth and King went on to discuss how close binary systems consisting of a neutron star and a post-main-sequence star could provide a possible explanation of the X-ray source seen in M15. However they did not provide any conclusive results on this theory and left it only as a hypothesis to be explored at a later time. In 1982, Grindlay et al. determined that the X-ray sources in the globular clusters were indeed low-mass binary systems (accreting neutron stars or white dwarfs).6 Speculation about the existence of a massive black hole in the center of M15 appeared to have ended until the idea was revived in 1989 by the radial velocity study of Peterson, Seitzer, and Cudworth. They found that the velocity dispersion profile gradually increased inward from ~ 5.5 to 8.0 km/s and rapidly rose to 25 km/s at the clusters center, strongly suggesting the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole.7 However, in 1994, a similar study done by Dubath, Meylan, and Mayor found the core velocity dispersion to be only 14 km/s. The anomalously high estimate reported by Peterson et al. was shown to have been caused by the spectral line broadening of two bright cluster stars on the integrated light spectra.8 Additional measurements obtained by Dull et al. in 1997 found that the velocity dispersion profile could be explained by a post core-collapse model in which the most massive objects are neutron stars, [and] there appears to be no need to invoke the presence of a massive central black hole in M15.9 The uncertainty arising from

the velocity dispersion data meant that the velocities of individual stars were needed for greater accuracy. In 2003, Gerssen et al. used the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrometer (STIS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain spectra of 64 individual stars in the central region of M15. By fitting the radial velocity data to a dynamical model and assuming an isotropic velocity distribution, Gerssen et al. asserted that M15 must have a central concentration of non-luminous material. This central mass could be a single intermediatemass black hole, or a collection of dark remnants (neutron stars and/or stellar mass black holes) that have sunk to the center of the cluster by mass segregation. Claiming that the models constructed by Dull et al. (1997, hereafter D97) do not predict a large enough concentration of dark remnants to explain the observed kinematics, Gerssen et al. supported the idea that M15 contains an intermediate-mass black hole, with a mass of (3.9 2.2) x 103 M . 10 Shortly after the paper of Gerssen et al. was published in September of 2002, Dull et al. discovered an unfortunate error in a figure of their own 1997 paper. The mass-tolight ratio (M/L) profile in Figure 12 of D97, which was used by Gerssen et al. in their research, had incorrect labeling along the horizontal axes. The top axis was mislabeled as pc instead of arcmin, and the scaling along the bottom axis was off, resulting in the radial scale being compressed by a factor of 2.82 (See original and corrected figures below).

From Dull et al. 1997, original and corrected Figure 12

In the addendum to their original paper, Gerssen et al. (2003) wrote, The true total mass of the centrally concentrated population of dark remnants in the Fokker-Planck models is therefore considerably larger than what was implied by the M/L profile shown in Figure 12 of D97.11 This meant that the models for M15 do in fact have enough dark remnants to account for the observed kinematics. Gerssen et al. (2003) went on to say that models of M15 without a central black hole are now statistically acceptable, yet a model with a black hole of mass (1.7 ) x 103 M still fits to the data. In the end, Gerssen et al. stated, with the presently available models and data it is neither uniquely implied nor ruled out that M15 has an intermediate-mass black hole.11 Recent research has further weakened the case for an intermediate-mass black hole in the center of M15. In 2003, the advanced dynamical simulations completed by Baumgardt et al. showed that the radial velocity data obtained by Gerssen et al. (2002) could be explained if M15 contained a central concentration of stellar-mass compact 10

objects, i.e. neutron stars and white dwarfs. However, the presence of a black hole of mass ~500 1000 M could not be ruled out.12 Additionally, the results of an internal proper motion analysis of M15 by McNamara et al. agreed with the predictions of the Baumgardt et al. simulations. McNamara et al. concluded that there is little direct evidence that M15 possesses an intermediate-mass black hole.13 The existence or nonexistence of an intermediate-mass black hole in M15 is far from being conclusive. The concentrated dark mass believed to be at its center could be an intermediate-mass black hole, or it could be a large number of compact objects, or it could be a combination of both. If there is indeed a black hole, its predicted mass would seem to be consistent with the relation between black hole mass and velocity dispersion that has been established for galaxies (MBH relation), seen below.

From Noyola et al. (2008)

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III. Other Candidates

G1 In the midst of the recent debate over M15, another globular cluster was being closely observed as a candidate for having a central intermediate-mass black hole. G1, also known as Mayall II, is the largest globular cluster in the neighboring Andromeda galaxy (M31). Despite being roughly 770 kpc away, G1 is one of the brightest globular clusters in the Local Group. In 2002, Gebhardt, Rich, and Ho used the STIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain spectra of the nucleus of G1. The measured velocity dispersion near the center of the cluster led Gebhardt et al. to argue for the presence of a (2.0 ) x 104 M black hole, by extrapolating the MBH relation noted above.14 The report of Gebhardt et al. was subsequently challenged by Baumgardt et al. (2003b), who argued that a model without a central dark mass fits the observed data equally well.15 After additional studies, Gebhardt et al. refuted this analysis in 2005. They claimed that the black hole of G1 has a very small sphere of influence (even less than the spatial resolution of the observations), meaning the interpretation of the data is sensitive to the exact details of the model comparison.16 Nevertheless, it was still uncertain whether the central dark mass in G1 was a single black hole or a collection of dark remnants. In 2007, evidence supporting the case for an intermediate-mass black hole came from the detection of weak X-ray and radio emission near the cluster center. Ulvestad, Greene, and Ho stated The radio/X-ray ratio of G1 is a few hundred times higher than that expected for a high-mass X-ray binary in the cluster center, but is consistent with the expected value for accretion onto an IMBH with the reported mass. 17

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Omega Centauri A third globular cluster candidate for containing an intermediate-mass black hole is Omega Centauri ( Cen), located 4.85 kpc away in the constellation Centaurus. Cen is the largest and brightest globular cluster associated with the Milky Way; second only to G1 as the brightest and most massive cluster within the Local Group of galaxies. In 2008, Noyola, Gebhardt, and Bergmann used the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Observatory in Chile to measure the surface brightness profile and velocity dispersion of the center of Cen. Noting a sharp rise in the velocity dispersion in the cluster center, Noyola et al. compared their observations to isotropic models and argued for the presence of a (4.0 ) x 104 M black hole.18 The work of Noyola et al. was recently challenged by Jay Anderson and Roeland van der Marel (2010), who measured the proper motions of some 70,000 stars within the center of Cen. Anderson and van der Marel claimed that Noyola et al. did not accurately identify the cluster center, thereby overestimating their suggested black hole mass. The arguments of Anderson and van der Marel set the upper limit to the mass of any possible intermediate-mass black hole in Cen at 1.2 x 104 M .19

IV. Conclusion
Although it has been a leading candidate for over thirty years, the case for M15 harboring an intermediate-mass black hole is no longer as strong as it once was. The observed dynamics of M15 can be explained by a central concentration of dark remnants, and the models of a central black hole remain to be not statistically significant. Despite

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this fact, it is important to note that there have been no black hole mass estimates that are below the expected value from the MBH correlation.20 Both the cases for G1 and Cen are better than that for M15, yet it has been suggested that these two enormous objects may not really be globular clusters. Perhaps they are actually the remaining cores of former dwarf galaxies, stripped of their outer stars by an earlier encounter with the galaxy they now orbit. Evidence for this exists in the range of metallicities and stellar ages found in G1 and Cen, which contradicts the longheld belief that globular clusters consist of just one generation of old stars. In an article from the 2006 IAU General Assembly, Rasio et al. wrote, while the existence of a massive black hole in [these clusters] would not necessarily answer the question as to whether [globular clusters] contain black holes, it would help establish the existence and frequency of intermediate-mass black holes in general.20

V. References

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1. van den Heuvel E.P.J., 1975, Modes of Mass Transfer and Classes of Binary X-ray Sources, ApJ, 198, L109 2. Silk J., Arons J., 1975, On the Nature of the Globular Cluster X-ray Sources, ApJ, 200, L131 3. Bahcall J. N., Ostriker J. P., 1975, Massive Black Holes in Globular Clusters, Nature, 256, 23 4. Newell B., Dacosta G. S., & Norris J., 1976, Evidence for a Central Massive Object in the X-ray Cluster M15, ApJ, 208, L55 5. Illingworth G., King I. R., 1977, Dynamical Models for M15 Without a Black Hole, ApJ, 218, L109 6. Grindlay J. E., Hertz P., Steiner J. E., Murray S. S., & Lightman A. P., 1984, Determination of the Mass of Globular Cluster X-ray Sources, ApJ, 282, L13 7. Peterson, R. C., Seitzer, P., & Cudworth K. M., 1989, The Nonthermal Stellar Dynamics of the Globular Cluster M15, ApJ, 347, 251 8. Dubath, P., Meylan, G., & Mayor, M., 1994, One the Velocity Dispersion in the Core of the Globular Cluster M15, ApJ, 426, 192 9. Dull, J. D., Cohn, H. N., Lugger, P. M., Murphy, B. W., Seitzer, P. O., Callanan, P. J., Rutten, R. G. M., & Charles, P. A., 1997, The Dynamics of M15: Observations of the Velocity Dispersion Profile and Fokker-Planck Models, ApJ, 481, 267 10. Gerssen, J., van der Marel, R., Gebhardt, K., Guhathakurta, P., Peterson, R., & Pryor, C., 2002, Hubble Space Telescope Evidence for an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in the Globular cluster M15 II. Kinematical Analysis and Dynamical Modeling, AJ, 124, 3270 11. Gerssen, J., van der Marel, R., Gebhardt, K., Guhathakurta, P., Peterson, R., & Pryor, C., 2003, Addendum: Hubble Space Telescope Evidence for an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in the Globular cluster M15 II. Kinematical Analysis and Dynamical Modeling, AJ, 125, 376 12. Baumgardt, H., Hut, P., Makino, J., McMillan, S., & Zwart, S. P., 2003, On the Central Structure of M15, ApJ, 582, L21 13. McNamara, B. J., Harrison, T. E., & Anderson, J., 2003, Does M15 Possess an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in Its Core?, ApJ, 595, 187

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14. Gebhardt, K., Rich, R. M., & Ho, L. C., 2002, A 20,000 M Black Hole in the Stellar Cluster G1, ApJ, 578, L41 15. Baumgardt, H., Makino, J., Hut, P., McMillan, S., & Zwart, S. P., 2003, A Dynamical Model for the Globular Cluster G1, ApJ 589, L25 16. Gebhardt, K., Rich, R. M., & Ho, L. C., 2005, An Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in the Globular Cluster G1: Improved Significance from New Keck and Hubble Space Telescope Observations, ApJ 634, 1093 17. Ulvestad, J. S., Greene, J. E., & Ho, L. C., 2007, Radio Emission from the Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in the Globular Cluster G1, ApJ 661, L151 18. Noyola, E., Gebhardt, K., Bergmann, M., 2008, Gemini and Hubble Space Telescope Evidence for an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in Centauri, ApJ, 676, 1008 19. van der Marel, R. P., Anderson, J., 2010, New Limits on an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in Omega Centauri. II. Dynamical Models, ApJ, 710, 1063 20. Rasio F. A. et al., 2006, Highlights of Astronomy Vol.14, in press (astro-ph/0611615)

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