Title: 14 orders of magnitude - from the multi-phase ISM to IMBH formation

Speaker: Thorsten Naab

Abstract: The rapid collision of stars and compact objects in young, dense and massive star clusters has been proposed in the late 70’s as a formation channel for the first massive black holes as the seeds for supermassive black holes. Confirming this process with numerical models has been a challenge since then. A self-consistent model following the formation of a galactic star cluster in a massive gas cloud down to the coalescence of black holes would have to cover more than 14 orders of magnitude in spatial resolution and complex physical processes. We present recent progress in high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the formation of compact massive star clusters in galactic starbursts with resolved multi-phase ISM and individually sampled stars. With accurate Nbody simulations of such compact star clusters we show that stellar and compact object collisions can result in the formation of massive black holes consistent with recent gravitational wave detections. We discuss successes and limitations of novel simulations techniques which will eventually bridge the gap between galaxy formation, interstellar medium, star formation and stellar evolution studies. Such approaches are required for a comprehensive understanding the formation of massive black holes – a fundamental science question in the era of JWST, ELT and gravitational wave detectors.

Zoom: https://huji.zoom.us/j/86991266018?pwd=UWRmWDhGM3NudnhHVUJXdmQ4RnFTZz09

Meeting ID: 869 9126 6018

Passcode: 537391

Contact: Zhaozhou Li