Massive Black Hole Binaries: Dynamical Evolution and Observational Signatures

Figure 1

Different stages of an equal mass gas-rich merger (from [54]). The color code refers to gas density. The four panels to the left show the large-scale evolution at different times. The strong inflow of gas onto the two galactic centers is observable after the first pericenter. The boxes are 120 kps on a side (top) and 60 kpc on a side (bottom). The panels on the upper right are zoom-ins (8 kpc on a side) of the central region during the merger of the two galactic cores. The two bottom panels show the circumnuclear disk forming in the center of the galaxy remnant. The MBHs are shown as black spheres.