Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2405.06015

Fast-moving stars around an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri

Maximilian Häberle·Nadine Neumayer·Anil Seth·Andrea Bellini·Mattia Libralato·Holger Baumgardt·Matthew Whitaker·Antoine Dumont·Mayte Alfaro Cuello·Jay Anderson·Callie Clontz·Nikolay Kacharov·Sebastian Kamann·Anja Feldmeier-Krause·Antonino Milone·Maria Selina Nitschai·Renuka Pechetti·Glenn van de Ven
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Black holes have been found over a wide range of masses, from stellar remnants with masses of 5-150 solar masses (Msun), to those found at the centers of galaxies with $M>10^5$ Msun. However, only a few debated candidate black holes exist between 150 and $10^5$ Msun. Determining the population of these intermediate-mass black holes is an important step towards understanding supermassive black hole formation in the early universe. Several studies have claimed the detection of a central black hole in $ω$ Centauri, the Milky Way's most massive globular cluster. However, these studies have been questioned due to the possible mass contribution of stellar mass black holes, their sensitivity to the cluster center, and the lack of fast-moving stars above the escape velocity. Here we report observations of seven fast-moving stars in the central 3 arcseconds (0.08 pc) of $ω$ Centauri. The velocities of the fast-moving stars are significantly higher than the expected central escape velocity of the star cluster, so their presence can only be explained by being bound to a massive black hole. From the velocities alone, we can infer a firm lower limit of the black hole mass of $\sim$8,200 Msun, making this a compelling candidate for an intermediate-mass black hole in the local universe.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph.GA

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Maximilian Häberle, Nadine Neumayer, Anil Seth, Andrea Bellini, Mattia Libralato, Holger Baumgardt, Matthew Whitaker, Antoine Dumont, Mayte Alfaro Cuello, Jay Anderson, Callie Clontz, Nikolay Kacharov, Sebastian Kamann, Anja Feldmeier-Krause, Antonino Milone, Maria Selina Nitschai, Renuka Pechetti, Glenn van de Ven. 2025-02-12. Fast-moving stars around an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07511-z

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

A Rest-frame K-band View of Bulge Growth in Massive Star-forming Galaxies at z~2

We study bulge formation in 16 massive dusty star-forming galaxies at z~2 by combining JWST MIRI F770W imaging, NIRCam imaging in eight bands, and ALMA 870 micron data. At the median redshift of z=2.18, the F770W band probes the rest-frame 2.4 micron light, close to the rest-frame K band, and traces the stellar mass distribution with much less dust attenuation than the NIRCam bands. The effective radii measured in F770W agree with those of the 870 micron dust emission, with a median ratio of 0.95, and are typically 23% smaller than those in F444W. The rest-frame K-band imaging is therefore essential to measure the true extent of the stellar mass, which is as compact as the dusty star-forming regions. In stacks of the 16 galaxies at a matched resolution, the 870 micron and F770W profiles agree closely out to 8 kpc, and a bulge plus disk decomposition of the F770W stack gives a bulge-to-total ratio of 0.50. Fitting the SEDs in radial bins with CIGALE, we find that the attenuation decreases from A_V = 3.7 mag at the center to 1.9 mag at r >~ 7 kpc, while the specific star formation rate profile is flat. In most of the galaxies, the bulge is already in place inside the dusty core. In two galaxies, by contrast, the 870 micron emission is 3 to 6 times more compact than the F770W light, which suggests that they are still in the bulge-building compaction phase. Our sample may thus catch massive galaxies in several phases of bulge formation.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2026

Spatially Resolved Physical Properties of Young Star Clusters and Star-forming Clumps in the Brightest z>6 Galaxy, the Strongly Lensed Cosmic Spear at z=6.2

We present spatially resolved analysis of stellar populations in the brightest $z>6$ galaxy known to date (AB mag 23), the strongly lensed MACS0308$-$zD1 (dubbed the ``Cosmic Spear'') at $z_{\rm spec}=6.2$. New JWST NIRCam imaging and high-resolution NIRSpec IFU spectroscopy span the rest-frame ultraviolet to optical. The NIRCam imaging reveals bright star-forming clumps and a tail consisting of three distinct, extremely compact star clusters that are multiply-imaged by gravitational lensing. The star clusters have delensed effective radii of $R_{\rm{eff}} \lesssim 8$ pc, stellar masses of $M_{*} \sim 10^{6}-10^{7}\,M_{\odot}$, and high stellar mass surface densities of $Σ_{*} \gtrsim 2\times 10^{4}\,M_{\odot}~\rm{pc}^{-2}$. While their stellar populations are very young ($\sim 6-11$ Myr), their dynamical ages exceed unity, consistent with the clusters being gravitationally bound systems. Placing the star clusters in the size vs.~stellar mass density plane, we find they occupy a region similar to other high-redshift star clusters within galaxies observed recently with JWST, being significantly more massive and denser than local star clusters. Spatially resolved analysis of the brightest clump reveals a compact, intensely star-forming core. The ionizing photon production efficiency ($ξ_{\rm{ion}}$) is slightly suppressed in this central region, potentially indicating a locally elevated Lyman continuum escape fraction facilitated by feedback-driven channels.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2026

The abundance of thin dwarf galaxies: a challenge for cosmological simulations

We study the prevalence of thin galaxies as a function of stellar mass in the range $10^7 < M_{\star} / \rm{M_\odot} < 10^{11}$ using data from the GAMA, DESI, ALFALFA, and Nearby Galaxy catalogs. We use the distribution of projected axis ratios, $q$, to infer the abundance of intrinsically flat galaxies needed to reproduce the observed abundance of highly elongated systems in projection. We find that as many as $40\%$ of galaxies in the mass range $10^9<M_{\star}/\rm{M_\odot}<10^{10}$ are intrinsically flatter than $1$:$5$ (i.e., $c/a<0.2$), a fraction that rises to $\sim 80\%$ for $c/a<0.3$. Although the incidence of thin galaxies decreases towards lower and higher $M_{\star}$, they are still quite common in dwarfs: $\sim 30\%$ and $\sim 65\%$ of $\sim 10^8 ~ \rm{M_\odot}$ galaxies are inferred to be intrinsically flatter than $c/a=0.2$ and $0.3$, respectively. A comparison of these results with several state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (TNG50, FIREbox, Romulus25) reveals a distinctive lack of thin simulated dwarfs. In particular, there are no $M_{\star} < 10^9 ~ \rm{M_{\odot}}$ simulated galaxies flatter than $c/a=0.2$, in clear contrast with observational samples. This discrepancy likely reflects limitations in resolution and in the treatment of baryonic physics, suggesting that our understanding of the mechanisms regulating the formation of disk galaxies less massive than the Milky Way is still quite incomplete. Our results present a clear challenge to current numerical models of dwarf galaxy formation, which future models should attempt to meet.

astro-ph.GA↗