Seeds of first supermassive black holes could be revealed by gravitational waves detected in space
National Astronomy Meeting press release
RAS PR 16/29 (NAM 03)
24 June 2016
EMBARGOED UNTIL 0001 BST, 27 JUNE 2016
Gravitational waves captured by space-based detectors could help identify the origins of supermassive black holes, according to new computer simulations of the Universe. Scientists led by Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology ran the huge cosmological simulations that can be used to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between the monster black holes might be detected. The amplitude and frequency of these waves could reveal the initial mass of the seeds from which the first black holes grew since they were formed 13 billion years ago and provide further clues about what caused them and where they formed, the researchers said. The research will be presented on Monday, 27th June at the National Astronomy Meeting 2016 in Nottingham. It was funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the European Research Council and the Belgian Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme.
The study combined simulations from the EAGLE project – which aims to create a realistic simulation of the known Universe inside a computer – with a model to calculate gravitational wave signals. Two detections of gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes should be possible each year using space-based instruments such as the Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) detector that is due to launch in 2034, the researchers said.
In February the international LIGO and Virgo collaborations announced that they had detected gravitational waves for the first time using ground-based instruments and in June reported a second detection. As eLISA will be in space – and will be at least 250,000 times larger than detectors on Earth – it should be able to detect the much lower frequency gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes that are up to a million times the mass of our sun.
Current theories suggest that the seeds of these black holes were the result of either the growth and collapse of the first generation of stars in the Universe; collisions between stars in dense stellar clusters; or the direct collapse of extremely massive stars in the early Universe. As each of these theories predicts different initial masses for the seeds of supermassive black hole seeds, the collisions would produce different gravitational wave signals. This means that the potential detections by eLISA could help pinpoint the mechanism that helped create supermassive black holes and when in the history of the Universe they formed.
Lead author Jaime Salcido, PhD student in Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, said, “Understanding more about gravitational waves means that we can study the Universe in an entirely different way. These waves are caused by massive collisions between objects with a mass far greater than our sun. By combining the detection of gravitational waves with simulations we could ultimately work out when and how the first seeds of supermassive black holes formed.”
Co- author Professor Richard Bower, of Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, added, “Black holes are fundamental to galaxy formation and are thought to sit at the centre of most galaxies, including our very own Milky Way. Discovering how they came to be where they are is one of the unsolved problems of cosmology and astronomy. Our research has shown how space based detectors will provide new insights into the nature of supermassive black holes.”
Gravitational waves were first predicted 100 years ago by Albert Einstein as part of his Theory of General Relativity. The waves are concentric ripples caused by violent events in the Universe that squeeze and stretch the fabric of space time but most are so weak they cannot be detected. LIGO detected gravitational waves using ground-based instruments, called interferometers, that use laser beams to pick up subtle disturbances caused by the waves. eLISA will work in a similar way, detecting the small changes in distances between three satellites that will orbit the sun in a triangular pattern connected by beams from lasers in each satellite.
In June it was reported that the LISA Pathfinder, the forerunner to eLISA, had successfully demonstrated the technology that opens the door to the development of a large space observatory capable of detecting gravitational waves in space.
Science Contacts
Mr Jaime Salcido
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Jaime Salcido will be at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Nottingham on Monday, June 27, and Tuesday, June 28, 2016.
Prof Richard Bower
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Images/video
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Wallpaper: Gas and stars in a slice of the EAGLE simulations at the present day. The intensity shows the gas density, while the colour encodes the gas temperature. Researchers used the EAGLE simulations to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes might be detected. Credit: The EAGLE project/Stuart McAlpine
Wallpaper_Gas_EVO: 13.8 billion years of evolution of the gas in the EAGLE simulations. The intensity shows the gas density, while the colour encodes the gas temperature. Researchers used EAGLE simulations to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes might be detected. Credit: The EAGLE project/Stuart McAlpine
Wallpaper_DM_EVO: 13.8 billion years of evolution of the dark matter in the EAGLE simulations. The intensity shows the density of dark matter. Researchers used EAGLE simulations to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes might be detected. Credit: The EAGLE project/Stuart McAlpine
Video_Gas_EVO: 13.8 billion years of evolution of the gas in the EAGLE simulations. Gas is heated by supermassive black holes creating the red bubbles that expand from the centres of the galaxies. Researchers used EAGLE simulations to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes might be detected. Credit: The EAGLE project /Stuart McAlpine
Zoom Gas and DM: The evolution of an individual galaxy within the EAGLE simulations shown in both gas and dark matter. When galaxies collide, the supermassive black holes in their centres will also coalesce emitting gravitational waves. Researchers used EAGLE simulations to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between supermassive black holes might be detected. Credit: The EAGLE project / Stuart McAlpine
Source information
Music from the heavens – Gravitational waves from supermassive black hole mergers in the EAGLE simulations, Salcido J, Bower, RG, et al, presented at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting, at the University of Nottingham, Monday, June 27, 2016. The paper has been submitted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
A pdf copy of this paper is available from Durham University Marketing and Communications Office on +44 (0)191 334 6075; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Useful web links
Institute for Computational Cosmology: http://icc.dur.ac.uk/
The EAGLE project: http://icc.dur.ac.uk/Eagle/
Professor Richard Bower profile: www.dur.ac.uk/physics/staff/profiles/?username=dph0rgb
Jaime Salcido profile: www.dur.ac.uk/research/directory/staff/?mode=staff&id=13153
Royal Astronomical Society NAM 2016: https://nam2016.org/
eLISA: www.elisascience.org/articles/elisa-mission/elisa-mission-gravitational-universe
LIGO: www.ligo.caltech.edu/
STFC: www.stfc.ac.uk
STFC short film on Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XSAVqm0XBI
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The RAS National Astronomy Meeting 2016 (NAM 2016, http://nam2016.org) takes place this year at the University of Nottingham from 27 June to 1 July. NAM 2016 brings together more than 550 space scientists and astronomers to discuss the latest research in their respective fields. The conference is principally sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Follow the conference on Twitter via @rasnam2016
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About the EAGLE Project
The EAGLE simulation project is a flagship of the Virgo consortium, and is led by scientists in Durham, Leiden and Liverpool John Moores Universities. The simulations created by the project were carried out on the DiRAC computing facility in Durham and at the Curie computing facility based in France: http://icc.dur.ac.uk/Eagle/
About Durham University
- A world top 100 university with a global reputation and performance in research and education
- Ranked 61 globally in the QS World University Rankings 2015/16
- Ranked 31 globally for the employability of its students by blue-chip companies world-wide (QS World University Rankings 2015/16)
- Ranked 70 globally in the THE World University Rankings 2015/16
- In the global top 50 for Arts and Humanities (THE World University Rankings 2014/15)
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- Research at Durham shapes local, national and international agendas, and directly informs the teaching of our students
- In the 2016 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide and the 2016 Complete University Guide, Durham was ranked fifth in the UK.
- Durham was named as The Times and Sunday Times 'Sports University of the Year 2015' in recognition of outstanding performance in both the research and teaching of sport, and student and community participation in sport at all levels.
