The Number Density of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes
Abstract:
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) (M ∼ 10^3-5 solar masses) formed in the early Universe (at redshift z > 15) are likely the progenitors of more massive supermassive black holes (M > 10^9 solar masses) which fuel bright active galactic nuclei (luminosity L > 10^47 erg/s). Gravitational waves (GWs) from mergers of these black holes cannot be detected by LIGO/Virgo as they are outside its frequency range. Detection of these low-frequency GWs will be one of the goals of LISA (due to launch in 2034). Thus modelling their number density and merger rate is a matter of considerable urgency. In this work, I provide an updated estimate of the number density of IMBHs as a function of redshift z. I consider the influences of Lyman-Werner (LW) radiation and metal pollution from supernovae.
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