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The collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda and the fate of their Supermassive Black Holes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2020

Riccardo Schiavi Open the ORCID record for Riccardo Schiavi [Opens in a new window] ,
Roberto Capuzzo-Dolcetta ,
Manuel Arca Sedda  and
Mario Spera
Riccardo Schiavi
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Università La Sapienza, Roma, 00185, Italy email: riccardo.schiavi@uniroma1.it
Roberto Capuzzo-Dolcetta
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Università La Sapienza, Roma, 00185, Italy email: riccardo.schiavi@uniroma1.it
Manuel Arca Sedda
Affiliation:
ARI, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany
Mario Spera
Affiliation:
Dep. of Physics and Astronomy, Università di Padova, Italy Dep. of Physics and Astronomy, CIERA-Northwestern University
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Abstract

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Our Galaxy and the nearby Andromeda Galaxy (M31) form a bound system, even though the relative velocity vector of M31 is currently not well constrained. Their orbital motion is highly dependent on the initial conditions, but all the reliable scenarios imply a first close approach in the next 3–5 Gyrs. In our study, we simulate this interaction via direct N-body integration, using the HiGPUs code. Our aim is to investigate the dependence of the time of the merger on the physical and dynamical properties of the system. Finally, we study the dynamical evolution of the two Supermassive Black Holes placed in the two galactic centers, with the future aim to achieve a proper resolution to follow their motion until they form a tight binary system.

Keywords

Milky WayAndromedaSupermassive Black Holes (SMBHs)Galaxy Collision
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 14 , Symposium S351: Star Clusters: From the Milky Way to the Early Universe , May 2019 , pp. 161 - 164
Copyright
© International Astronomical Union 2020

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