Simulation-Driven Study of Black Hole Binary Dynamics and Gravitational-Wave Emission in Young Star Clusters

Most stars form in dense star clusters (SCs), where frequent stellar and binary interactions make them unique laboratories for studying, e.g., compact-object binaries and gravitational-wave (GW) sources. This Thesis focuses on the formation and evolution of black hole (BH) binaries and intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in young and intermediate-mass SCs (10⁴ to 10⁵ Msun).

In the first phase of the PhD, the candidate will compare Monte Carlo (MOCCA) and direct N-body (NBODY6++GPU, PeTar) simulations, implementing or refining prescriptions for binary evolution, stellar winds, supernovae, and compact-object formation. Controlled simulations will explore how methodological differences affect BH binary formation, retention in their natal environment, and potential GW mergers. This also includes studying stellar accretion onto BHs and IMBHs, and providing early predictions of observable GW and astrometric signatures.

In the second phase of their PhD, the candidate will investigate dynamical formation channels of GW sources and IMBH growth, including hierarchical mergers, and analyse their impact on the mass, spin, and eccentricity distributions of GW sources. Results will inform detection rates and signal properties for current and future GW observatories (i.e., LISA, Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer).

Literatura:

Aarseth, 2003, Gravitational N-Body Simulations. Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521432723
Askar et al., 2017a, MNRAS, 464, L36
Binney & Tremaine, 2008, Galactic Dynamics: 2nd Ed. Princeton, ISBN: 9780691130279
Giersz et al., 2013, MNRAS, 431, 2184
Morawski et al., 2018, MNRAS, 481, 2168
Pavlík et al., 2018, A&A, 617, A69
Wang et al., 2015, MNRAS, 450, 4070

https://space.asu.cas.cz/~pavlik/