Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Black hole spin and mass function in gaseous proto-clusters

Project description

Probing black holes in gaseous protostellar clusters

Gravitational-wave astronomy offers a unique glimpse into the universe from its infant state to the present by detecting gravitational radiation emitted by black holes paired in binaries. When a significant amount of primordial gas is still present, stellar clusters at their birth and early stages of evolution offer an ideal environment for these objects to form and grow in mass by accretion. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ProtoBH project aims to understand better and provide coherent models for the formation and growth of massive black holes in gaseous environments. Project results will be assessed against LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA data and linked with the LISA mission.

Objective

Gravitational-wave (GW) Astronomy opened a new window to the Universe from its infant state to the present. The key physical systems which allow probing the Universe through these vast time and length scales are Black Holes (BH). Low metallicity clouds, composed primarily of atomic hydrogen, before and during the epoch of reionization, are a natural environment for BHs to be born and form Binary Black Holes (BBH) which can merge via GW emission. Stellar BHs, being the remnants of the death of very massive stars, are generated early when a huge gas reservoir is available for accretion. Mass segregation leads the BHs close to the center of the system and a dense BH-subcluster, supported by gravitational fluctuations, is formed. The low metallicity of the gas suppresses cooling, while turbulence of the gas and the BHs’ motion further favor quasi-spherical accretion, surpassing the Eddington limit. For sufficiently compact configurations, the BHs shall grow in mass before the gas is depleted by stellar evolution and formation feedback processes. This rapid mass growth through turbulent hot accretion shall leave a distinct spin signature on the BHs. The BBH that accrete gas quasi-spherically may harden if there is not significant angular momentum loss from the system. Furthermore, these are also ideal conditions for high-redshift Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBH) to form. We shall calculate the spin distribution of stellar BHs accreting gas in proto-clusters, calculate the BH mass function following such accretion events, investigate the evolution of separation in accreting BBH in low-metallicity hot turbulent gas, develop theoretical models for the evolution of a BH-subcluster inside proto-clusters and investigate the formation of IMBH. Finally, we shall develop methods for identifying the origin of GW observations, confront our results with LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA data, and investigate synergetically the implications for the GW mission LISA and the X-ray mission Athena.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO-BICOCCA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 188 590,08
Address
PIAZZA DELL'ATENEO NUOVO 1
20126 Milano
Italy

See on map

Region
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data
My booklet 0 0