Merger of Massive Black Holes using N-Body Simulations with Post-Newtonian Corrections

Understand

We present preliminary results from self-consistent, high resolution direct {\it N}-body simulations of massive black hole binaries in mergers of galactic nuclei.

• The dynamics of the black hole binary includes the full Post-Newtonian corrections (up to 2.5PN) to its equations of motion.
• We show that massive black holes starting at separations of 100 pc can evolve down to gravitational-wave-induced coalescence in less than a Hubble time.
• The binaries, in our models, often form with very high eccentricity and, as a result, reach separations of 50 Schwarzschild radius with eccentricities which are clearly distinct from zero -- even though gravitational wave emission damps the eccentricity during the inspiral.