We present a detailed analysis of the behavior of the triaxial Schwarzschild orbit superposition method near the axisymmetric limit. Orbit superposition modeling is the primary method used to determine dynamical masses of supermassive black holes ($M_\mathrm{BH}$) in nearby galaxies; however, prior studies have reported conflicting results when comparing the outcome from axisymmetric orbit codes with that from a triaxial orbit code in the axisymmetric limit. We show that in order to achieve (oblate) axisymmetry in a triaxial code, care needs to be taken to axisymmetrize the short-axis tube orbits and to exclude both the long-axis tube and box orbits from the orbit library. Using up to 12 Gauss-Hermite moments of the line-of-sight velocity distributions as constraints, we demonstrate the effects of orbit types on the best-fit $M_\mathrm{BH}$ in orbit modeling of the massive elliptical galaxy NGC 1453 reported in Liepold et al. 2020. In addition, we verify the efficacy of our updated code on a mock galaxy dataset. We identify a subset of slowly precessing quasi-planar orbits for which the typical integration times can be insufficient to fully capture the equilibrium orbital behavior in both axisymmetric and triaxial systems with central black holes. Further investigation is needed for a more reliable treatment of these orbits.
Most stellar-dynamical determinations of the masses of nearby supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have been obtained with the orbit superposition technique under the assumption of axisymmetry. However, few galaxies -- in particular massive early-type galaxies -- obey exact axisymmetry. Here we present a revised orbit superposition code and a new approach for dynamically determining the intrinsic shapes and mass parameters of triaxial galaxies based on spatially-resolved stellar kinematic data. The triaxial TriOS code described here corrects an error in the original van den Bosch et al. (2008) cod…
The effect of triaxial galaxy shapes on the dynamics of triple supermassive black holes in a cosmological context
Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg（海德堡大学天文中心）；Main Astronomical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院主天文台）；Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院尼古拉·哥白尼天文学中心）；New York University Abu Dhabi（阿布扎比纽约大学）
The MASSIVE Survey. XX. A Triaxial Stellar Dynamical Measurement of the Supermassive Black Hole Mass and Intrinsic Galaxy Shape of Giant Radio Galaxy NGC 315
Supermassive black holes in six triaxial galaxies: Insights from SINFONI and MUSE observations
University of Vienna（维也纳大学）；Leibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP)（波茨坦莱布尼茨天体物理研究所）；Sub-department of Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford（牛津大学物理系天体物理学小组）；Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh（爱丁堡大学天文研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik（马克斯·普朗克天体物理研究所）；Armagh Observatory and Planetarium（阿马赫天文台和天文馆）
Dynamical models are crucial for uncovering the internal dynamics of galaxies, however, most of the results to date assume axisymmetry, which is not representative for a significant fraction of massive galaxies. Here, we build triaxial Schwarschild orbit-superposition models of galaxies taken from the SAMI Galaxy Survey, in order to reconstruct their inner orbital structure and mass distribution. The sample consists of 161 passive galaxies with total stellar masses in the range $10^{9.5}$ to $10^{12} M_{\odot}$. We find that the changes in internal structures within 1$R_{\rm e}$ are correlated…
We investigate the accuracy and precision of triaxial dynamical orbit models by fitting two dimensional mock observations of a realistic N-body merger simulation resembling a massive early-type galaxy with a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We show that we can reproduce the triaxial N-body merger remnant's correct black hole mass, stellar mass-to-light ratio and total enclosed mass (inside the half-light radius) for several different tested orientations with an unprecedented accuracy of 5-10%. Our dynamical models use the entire non-parametric line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) rather …
Binary supermassive black holes (SMBH) are expected to form naturally during galaxy mergers. After the dynamical friction phase, when the two SMBHs become gravitationally bound to each other, and a brief stage of initial rapid hardening, the orbit gradually continues to shrink due to three-body interactions with stars that enter the loss cone of the binary. Using the stellar-dynamical Monte Carlo code Raga, we explore the co-evolution of the binary SMBH and the nuclear star cluster in this slow stage, for various combinations of parameters (geometry of the star cluster, primary/secondary SMBH …
We present a stellar dynamical mass measurement of a newly detected supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the center of the fast-rotating, massive elliptical galaxy NGC 2693 as part of the MASSIVE survey. We combine high signal-to-noise integral field spectroscopy (IFS) from the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) with wide-field data from the Mitchell Spectrograph at McDonald Observatory to extract and model stellar kinematics of NGC 2693 from the central $\sim 150$ pc out to $\sim2.5$ effective radii. Observations from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 are used to determine the stellar light…
We present a new stellar dynamical mass measurement ($M_\mathrm{BH}$) of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in NGC 1453, a fast-rotating massive elliptical galaxy in the MASSIVE survey. We measure stellar kinematics in 135 spatial bins in the central 1.5 kpc by 2 kpc region of the galaxy using high signal-to-noise ($S/N \sim 130$) spectra from the Gemini-North GMOS integral-field spectrograph (IFS). Combining with wide-field IFS kinematics out to $\sim 3$ effective radii and stellar light distributions from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 images, we perform Schwarzschild orbit-based mass mod…
We present SMART, a new 3D implementation of the Schwarzschild Method and its application to a triaxial N-body merger simulation. SMART fits full line-of-sight velocity distributions (LOSVDs) to determine the viewing angles, black hole, stellar and dark matter (DM) masses and the stellar orbit distribution of galaxies. Our model uses a 5D orbital starting space to ensure a representative set of stellar trajectories adaptable to the integrals-of-motion space and it is designed to deal with non-parametric stellar and DM densities. SMART's efficiency is demonstrated by application to a realistic …
The flat stellar density cores of massive elliptical galaxies form rapidly due to sinking supermassive black holes (SMBH) in gas-poor galaxy mergers. After the SMBHs form a bound binary, gravitational slingshot interactions with nearby stars drive the core regions towards a tangentially biased stellar velocity distribution. We use collisionless galaxy merger simulations with accurate collisional orbit integration around the central SMBHs to demonstrate that the removal of stars from the centre by slingshot kicks accounts for the entire change in velocity anisotropy. The rate of strong (unbindi…
We analyse VLT/MUSE observations of PGC 046832, the brightest cluster galaxy of Abell 3556. The velocity structure of this galaxy is startling and shows two reversals in sign along the minor axis, and one along the major axis. We use triaxial Schwarzschild models to infer the intrinsic shape, central black hole mass and orbit distribution of this galaxy. The shape determination suggests that the galaxy is highly triaxial in the centre (almost prolate) but has a low triaxiality (almost oblate) in the outer parts. The orbit distribution of the best-fit Schwarzschild model shows that the kinemati…
We investigate the evolution of supermassive binary black holes (BBHs) in galaxies with realistic property distributions and the gravitational-wave (GW) radiation from the cosmic population of these BBHs. We incorporate a comprehensive treatment of the dynamical interactions of the BBHs with their environments by including the effects of galaxy triaxial shapes and inner stellar distributions, and generate a large number of BBH evolution tracks. By combining these BBH evolution tracks, galaxy mass functions, galaxy merger rates, and supermassive black hole-host galaxy relations into our model, …
Swift coalescence of supermassive black holes in cosmological mergers of massive galaxies
超大质量黑洞（SMBH）在具有相当大质量的星系中无处不在。据推测，一对最初位于两个合并星系核中的SMBH将形成一个双星，并最终通过引力波的爆发而合并。到目前为止，理论模型和模拟已经无法直接预测的SMBH合并的时间尺度从头计算星系形成理论，只集中在有限的阶段的SMBH的轨道衰减的理想条件下的星系主机。预测的SMBH合并时间尺度很长，是Gyrs级的，这可能对未来的引力波搜索造成问题。在这里，我们提出了第一个多尺度的$Λ$ CDM宇宙学模拟，遵循轨道衰变的一对SMBH在合并的两个典型的大质量星系在$z\sim3$，所有的方式，以最终的合并驱动的引力波发射。质量为$\sim10^{8}$ M $_{\odot}$的两个SMBH迅速地沉降在合并残余物的核中。由于合并的耗散性质和高红移星系的内在致密性，残余物是三轴的，并且非常致密。这样的性质自然允许SMBH二进制的非常有效的硬化。SMBH合并发生在银河系核心合并后的$\sim10$百万年内，比哈勃时间小两个数量级。
Most dynamical models of galaxies to date assume axisymmetry, which is not representative of a significant fraction of massive galaxies. We have built triaxial orbit-superposition Schwarzschild models of galaxies observed by the SAMI Galaxy Survey, in order to reconstruct their inner orbital structure and mass distribution. The sample consists of 153 passive galaxies with total stellar masses in the range $10^{9.5}$ to $10^{12} M_{\odot}$. We present an analysis of the internal structures and intrinsic properties of these galaxies as a function of their environment. We measure their environmen…
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries represent the main target for missions such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna and Pulsar Timing Arrays. The understanding of their dynamical evolution prior to coalescence is therefore crucial to improving detection strategies and for the astrophysical interpretation of the gravitational wave data. In this paper, we use high-resolution $N$-body simulations to model the merger of two equal-mass galaxies hosting a central SMBH. In our models, all binaries are initially prograde with respect to the galaxy sense of rotation. But, binaries that form w…
A spectroscopic map of the Galactic centre: Integrated light and dynamical modelling
University of Vienna（维也纳大学）；SDB Science-driven Business Ltd.（SDB科学驱动商业有限公司）；Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade de Lisboa（里斯本大学空间与天体物理研究所）
利用DYNAMITE代码对银河系中心内~3 pc x 66 pc区域的恒星视线运动学进行三轴轨道动力学建模，成功恢复Sgr A*质量并约束质量分布和轨道分布。
