Detection of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Globular Clusters Using Gravitational Lensing
Recent observations suggest the presence of supermassive black holes at the centers of many galaxies. The existence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in globular clusters has also been predicted. We focus on gravitational lensing as a new way to explore these entities. It is known that the mass distribution of a self-gravitating system such as a globular cluster changes greatly depending on the presence or absence of a central massive object. After considering possible mass distributions for a globular cluster belonging to the Milky Way galaxy, we estimate that the effect on the separation angle of gravitational lensing due to an IMBH would be of milliarcsecond order.
astro-ph.GA↗