Finding faint intermediate-mass black holes in the radio band

T. J. MacCarone, R. P. Fender, A. K. Tzioumis

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

We discuss the prospects for detecting faint intermediate-mass black holes, such as those predicted to exist in the cores of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies.We briefly summarize the difficulties of stellar dynamical searches, then show that recently discovered relations between black hole mass, X-ray luminosity and radio luminosity imply that in most cases, these black holes should be more easily detected in the radio than in the X-rays. Finally, we show upper limits from some radio observations of globular clusters, and discuss the possibility that the radio source in the core of the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal galaxy might be a ∼ 10,000-100,000 M· black hole.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAstrophysics and Space Science
Subtitle of host publicationFrom X-Ray Binaries to Quasars: Black Holes on all Mass Scales
PublisherSpringer Netherlands
Pages239-245
Number of pages7
ISBN (Print)1402040849, 9781402040849
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005

Keywords

  • accretion
  • accretion disks
  • black hole physics
  • globular clusters: general
  • globular clusters: individual: Omega cen
  • radio continuum: general

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