GJC: Konstantinos Kritos "Merging black holes in star clusters"

Wednesday 25 Jun 2025, 13:00 → 14:00 Europe/Rome

Sala Lauree (Marconi)

Recent observations of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes have sparked interest in understanding how these binaries form. The reliable identification of stellar-mass black hole candidates in globular clusters indicates that these remnants can be retained in dense stellar environments, potentially leading to a significant population of  dynamically formed binary black holes with unique characteristics. In this presentation, I will introduce Rapster, a rapid simulation code designed to model the evolution of star clusters and the dynamic formation of merging black holes. I will discuss the properties of these dynamically merging binaries and highlight the signatures of their formation, such as orbital  eccentricity and repeated merging leading to the assembly of intermediate-mass black holes.