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Collapse of primordial gas clouds and the formation of quasar black holesThe formation of quasar black holes during the hydrodynamic collapse of protogalactic gas clouds is discussed. The dissipational collapse and long-term dynamical evolution of these systems is analyzed using three-dimensional numerical simulations. The calculations focus on the final collapse stages of the inner baryonic component and therefore ignore the presence of dark matter. Two types of initial conditions are considered: uniformly rotating spherical clouds, and iirotational ellipsoidal clouds. In both cases the clouds are initially cold, homogeneous, and not far from rotational support (T/(absolute value of W) approximately equals 0.1). Although the details of the dynamical evolution depend sensitively on the initial conditions, the qualitative features of the final configurations do not. Most of the gas is found to fragment into small dense clumps, that eventually make up a spheroidal component resembling a galactic bulge. About 5% of the initial mass remains in the form of a smooth disk of gas supported by rotation in the gravitational potential potential well of the outer spheroid. If a central seed black hole of mass approximately greater than 10(exp 6) solar mass forms, it can grow by steady accretion from the disk and reach a typical quasar black hole mass approximately 10(exp 8) solar mass in less than 5 x 10(exp 8) yr. In the absence of a sufficiently massive seed, dynamical instabilities in a strongly self-gravitating inner region of the disk will inhibit steady accretion of gas and may prevent the immediate formation of quasar.
Document ID
19950040757
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Loeb, Abraham
(Inst. for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ United States)
Rasio, Frederic A.
(Inst. for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 432
Issue: 1
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
95A72356
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-26555
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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