Project description
Key framework for expanding SMBH formation understanding
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are crucial for understanding the growth of supermassive black holes across cosmic time, but their formation remains a mystery. The ERC-funded IMblack project aims to develop a theoretical framework to help expand our understanding of IMBH formation through electromagnetic and GW data. The project will leverage the recent and crucial detection of gravitational-wave events that match the IMBH regime. The project will address key data regarding the states and locations of massive stars collapsing into IMBHs, and the conditions under which stellar collisions in clusters can lead to IMBH formation. It will also deduce the properties of IMBHs born from the hierarchical mergers of stellar-sized black holes.
Objective
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), with masses ranging from 10^2 to 10^5 solar masses, are crucial for understanding the growth of supermassive black holes across cosmic ages, but their formation mechanisms remain an open question, despite being in the spotlight for several years. The recent detection of gravitational-wave (GW) events in the IMBH regime demonstrates the potential of GW astronomy to discover IMBHs, and underscores the need for new models to interpret this emerging population. IMblack aims to develop the theoretical framework to probe IMBH formation by exploiting both electromagnetic and GW data. My models will address i) whether, when, and where very massive stars collapse to IMBHs, ii) whether, when, and where runaway stellar collisions in clusters lead to IMBH formation, and iii) the properties of IMBHs born from hierarchical mergers of stellar-sized black holes. This will be key to reconstructing the IMBH mass function, predicting their formation efficiency, and estimating their merger rate density across cosmic time. To achieve these goals, I will implement new methods across various astrophysical domains, including stellar evolution, GW population analysis, star cluster formation, and dynamics. Specifically, I will interface an ambitious suite of stellar collision simulations with advanced stellar evolution calculations, direct N-body models of star cluster dynamics, a population-synthesis semi-analytic approach to explore the multi-dimensional parameter space, and a new framework for the hierarchical assembly of star clusters. I will use GW and electromagnetic data to set constraints on the models. The results of IMblack will pave the way for interpreting GW data from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA and next-generation interferometers, such as the Cosmic Explorer, Einstein Telescope, and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.
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.
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.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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.
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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-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
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69117 Heidelberg
Germany
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