arXiv subjects

Fabrice Dodu

Publications and source records attributed to Fabrice Dodu.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Looking for observational signatures of early binary black hole systems

Context. A lot of recent studies have focused on the observables associated with near merger binary black-holes (BBHs) embedded in a circumbinary disk (CBD) but we still we lack knowledge of observables of BBHs in their early stage. In that stage the separation between the two black holes is so large that both black holes could potentially retain their individual accretion disk existing before the creation of the BBH. For such early BBH systems, it is interesting to look for observables originating in those individual disks whose structure is likely to differ from mini-disks often observed in simulations of later stages of BBHs. Aims. In a companion paper we presented a set of hydrodynamical simulations of an individual disk surrounding a primary black hole while being impacted by the presence of a secondary black-hole in an early BBH system, leading to the creation of three well-known characteristic features in the disk's structure. Here we explore the imprints of these three features on the observables associated with the thermal emission of the pre-existing black hole disk. The aim is two-fold, first to see which observables are best suited for detecting those early systems and, secondly, what could be extrapolated about these systems from observations. Methods. We used general relativistic ray-tracing in order to produce synthetic observations of the thermal emission emitted by early BBHs with different mass ratio and separations in order to search for distinctive observational features of early systems. Results. We found that in the case of early BBH with pre-existing disk(s) a necessary, although not unique, observational feature is the truncation of their disk(s). Conclusions. Such observable could be used for automated search of potential BBHs and discriminate some existing candidates.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Sculpting the outer edge of accretion disks in pre-circumbinary binary black hole systems

Binary black hole systems (BBHs) have become a vivid reality in astrophysics as stellar-mass black hole mergers are now detected through their related gravitational wave emission during the merger stage. If many studies were recently dedicated to the last stages of BBH where black holes are surrounded by a circumbinary disk (CBD), the structure of these systems prior to the formation of the CBD remains mostly unexplored. The aim of the present article is to investigate the potential modifications induced by the presence of a secondary black hole onto the structure of the accretion disk surrounding the primary black hole. We performed 2D classical hydrodynamical simulations of an accretion disk surrounding the primary black hole while taking into account all gravitational effects induced by both the primary black hole and the secondary black hole orbiting on circular orbits around the center of mass of the system.We report three main effects of the presence of a secondary black hole orbiting a circular orbit beyond the outer edge of the accretion disk: 1/ the outer radius of the accretion disk is significantly reduced and its ratio to the black hole separation is directly linked to only the mass ratio of the black holes; 2/ two spiral arms are visible in the gas density structure of the disk and 3/ the outer edge of the accretion disk exhibits an elliptical shape that mainly depends on the mass ratio of the black holes. Our results show that an accretion disk orbiting a primary black hole in a pre-CBD BBH exhibits specific features induced by the gravitational force generated by the presence of a secondary black hole beyond its outer edge. Such features, directly linked to the binary separation and mass ratio, has therefore the potential to help in the search and identification of BBH in the pre-CBD stage.

astro-ph.HE↗