Brownian motion of supermassive black holes in galaxy cores. Issue Volume 14:Issue S351(2019) (May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Di Cintio, Pierfrancesco; Ciotti, Luca; Nipoti, Carlo
• Editors: Bragaglia, Angela; Davies, Melvyn; Sills, Alison; Vesperini, Enrico
• Is Part Of: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. Volume 14:Issue S351(2019)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 96
• Publication Date: 2019-05
• Subjects: stellar dynamics, -- black hole physics, -- methods: n-body simulations, -- methods: statistical; Astronomy -- Congresses; Astronomy -- Periodicals; 520
• DOI: 10.1017/S1743921319007221
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1743-9213

Abstract

Abstract: We investigate the dynamics of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic cores by means of a semi-analytic model based on the Langevin equation, including dynamical friction and stochastic noise accounting for the gravitational interactions with stars. The model is validated against direct N -body simulations of intermediate-mass black holes in stellar clusters where a realistic number of particles is accessible. For the galactic case, we find that the SMBH experiences a Brownian-like motion with a typical displacement from the geometric center of the Galaxy of a few parsecs, for system parameters compatible with M87.