articleAstronomy and AstrophysicsApr 15, 2024DIAMOND OA

Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-mass black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · +136 more institutions

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Abstract

Context. Gravitational waves from black-hole (BH) merging events have revealed a population of extra-galactic BHs residing in short-period binaries with masses that are higher than expected based on most stellar evolution models – and also higher than known stellar-origin black holes in our Galaxy. It has been proposed that those high-mass BHs are the remnants of massive metal-poor stars. Aims. Gaia astrometry is expected to uncover many Galactic wide-binary systems containing dormant BHs, which may not have been detected before. The study of this population will provide new information on the BH-mass distribution in binaries and shed light on their formation mechanisms and progenitors. Methods. As part of the…

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