Both observations and theoretical studies have convincingly shown that outflows (i.e., wind and jet) are common phenomena from black hole accretion systems with various accretion rates, although the physical driving mechanisms are not exactly same for different accretion modes. Outflows are not only important in the dynamics of black hole accretion, but also play an important role in AGN feedback; therefore it is crucial to investigate their main physical properties including mass flux and velocity. In this paper we summarize recent studies in investigating the properties and driving mechanisms from black hole accretion flows with various accretion rates.

We study disks and jets in various accretion states (SANE and MAD) using novel, GPU-accelerated general-relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (GR-MHD) code which we developed, based on HARM. This code, written in CUDA-c and uses OpenMP to parallelize multi-GPU setups, allows high resolution simulations of accretion disks and the formation and structure of jets without the need of multi-node supercomputer infrastructure. A 2563 simulation is well within the reach of an Nvidia DGX-V100 server, with the computation being a factor about 100 times faster if only the CPU was used.

We use this code to examine several disk structures, wind and jet properties in the MAD and SANE states. In the MAD state, we find that the magnetic flux threading the horizon mostly depends on the spin of the BH. This implies that the jet structure and power are strong functions of the spin, with non-spinning BHs have the widest jets.

Asymmetric emission of gravitational waves during mergers of black holes (BHs) produces a recoil kick, which can set a newly formed BH on a bound orbit around the centre of its host galaxy, or even completely eject it. To study this population of recoiling BHs we extract properties of galaxies with merging BHs from Illustris TNG300 simulation and then employ both analytical and numerical techniques to model unresolved process of BH recoil. This comparative analysis between analytical and numerical models shows that, on cosmological scales, numerically modelled recoiling BHs have a higher escape probability and predict a greater number of offset active galactic nuclei (AGN). BH escaped probability $>$40% is expected in 25$\%$ of merger remnants in numerical models, compared to 8$\%$ in analytical models. At the same time, the predicted number of offset AGN at separations ${>}5$ kpc changes from 58$\%$ for numerical models to 3$\%$ for analytical models. Since BH ejections in major merger remnants occur in non-virialised systems, static analytical models cannot provide an accurate description. Thus we argue that numerical models should be used to estimate the expected number density of escaped BHs and offset AGN.

Massive stars are predominantly found in binaries and higher order multiples. While the period and eccentricity distributions of OB stars are now well established across different metallicity regimes, the determination of mass-ratios has been mostly limited to double-lined spectroscopic binaries. As a consequence, the mass-ratio distribution remains subject to significant uncertainties. Open questions include the shape and extent of the companion mass-function towards its low-mass end and the nature of undetected companions in single-lined spectroscopic binaries. In this contribution, we present the results of a large and systematic analysis of a sample of over 80 single-lined O-type spectroscopic binaries (SB1s) in the Milky Way and in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We report on the developed methodology, the constraints obtained on the nature of SB1 companions, the distribution of O star mass-ratios at LMC metallicity and the occurrence of quiescent OB+black hole binaries.

In this work, we study in detail the collision formation scenario of black holes (BHs) which lie in the pair-instability (PI) mass gap. We study the collision scenario of two massive stars by means of a smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation and the post-collision evolution with detailed stellar evolutionary codes. We find that the stellar collision scenario is a suitable formation channel to populate the BHs’ PI mass gap.

We present in-progress resolution test and parameter space studies for very massive stars using MESA, showcasing current MESA version convergence studies.

With the upcoming third Gaia data release (DR3), the first Gaia astrometric orbital solutions for binary sources will become available. Potentially, many rarely seen single-degenerate massive binaries with a black hole (OB+BH) will be revealed. Here, we investigate how many OB+BHs are expected to be detected as binaries in Gaia astrometry by using tailored models for the massive star population. We use a method based on the astrometric data to investigate how many OB+BH binaries will be uncovered by Gaia. We estimate that∼200 OB+BHs are detectable among the sources in the second Alma Luminous Star massive star catalogue, either in DR3 or in upcoming data releases. Moreover, we show that BH-formation scenarios could be constrained from the distributions of parameters such as the orbital periods and eccentricities.

We present a broadband radio study of the transient jets ejected from the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535–571, which underwent a prolonged outburst beginning on 2017 September 2. We monitored MAXI J1535–571 with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at frequencies from 119 to 186 MHz over six epochs from 2017 September 20 to 2017 October 14. The source was quasi-simultaneously observed over the frequency range 0.84–19 GHz by UTMOST (the Upgraded Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope) the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and the Australian Long Baseline Array (LBA). Using the LBA observations from 2017 September 23, we measured the source size to be $34\pm1$ mas. During the brightest radio flare on 2017 September 21, the source was detected down to 119 MHz by the MWA, and the radio spectrum indicates a turnover between 250 and 500 MHz, which is most likely due to synchrotron self-absorption (SSA). By fitting the radio spectrum with a SSA model and using the LBA size measurement, we determined various physical parameters of the jet knot (identified in ATCA data), including the jet opening angle ( $\phi_{\rm op} = 4.5\pm1.2^{\circ}$ ) and the magnetic field strength ( $B_{\rm s} = 104^{+80}_{-78}$ mG). Our fitted magnetic field strength agrees reasonably well with that inferred from the standard equipartition approach, suggesting the jet knot to be close to equipartition. Our study highlights the capabilities of the Australian suite of radio telescopes to jointly probe radio jets in black hole X-ray binaries via simultaneous observations over a broad frequency range, and with differing angular resolutions. This suite allows us to determine the physical properties of X-ray binary jets. Finally, our study emphasises the potential contributions that can be made by the low-frequency part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low) in the study of black hole X-ray binaries.

We performed a detailed spectral and timing analysis of a Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 using data from the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory that spanned over $\sim$ 13 years between 2006 and 2019. To study the variability properties from the optical/UV to X-ray emission, we used a total of 275 pointed observations in this work. The average spectrum over the entire duration exhibits a strong soft X-ray excess above the power law continuum. The soft X-ray excess is well described by two thermal components with temperatures of kT $_{\rm BB1}\sim$ 120 eV and kT $_{\rm BB2}\sim$ 460 eV. The warm thermal component is likely due to the presence of an optically thick and warm Comptonizing plasma in the inner accretion disk. The fractional variability amplitude is found to be decreasing with increasing wavelength, i.e., from the soft X-ray to UV/optical emission. However, the hard X-ray (2–8 keV) emission shows very low variability. The strength of the correlation within the UV and the optical bands (0.95–0.99) is found to be stronger than the correlation between the UV/optical and X-ray bands (0.40–0.53). These results clearly suggest that the emitting regions of the X-ray and UV/optical emission are likely distinct or partly interacting. Having removed the slow variations in the light curves, we find that the lag spectrum is well described by the 4/3 rule for the standard Shakura–Sunyaev accretion disk when we omit X-ray lags. All these results suggest that the real disk is complex, and the UV emission is likely reprocessed in the accretion disk to give X-ray and optical emission.

We explore the relationship between globular cluster total number, NGC, and central black hole mass, M•, in spiral galaxies. Including cosmic scatter, log M• ∝ (1.64 ± 0.24) log NGC. Whereas in ellipticals the correlation is linear [log M• ∝ (1.02 ± 0.10) log NGC], and hence could be due to statistical convergence through mergers, this mechanism cannot explain the much steeper correlation in spirals. Additionally, we derive total stellar galaxy mass, M*, from its two-slope correlation with NGC (Hudson et al. 2014). In the M• versus M* parameter space, with M* derived from NGC, M• ∝ (1.48 ± 0.18) log M* for ellipticals, and M• ∝ (1.21 ± 0.16) log M* for spirals. The observed agreement between ellipticals and spirals may imply that black holes and galaxies co-evolve through “calm” accretion, AGN feedback and other secular processes.

Recent X-ray observations by Jiang et al. have identified an active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the bulgeless spiral galaxy NGC 3319, located just $14.3\pm 1.1$ Mpc away, and suggest the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH; $10^2\leq M_\bullet/\textrm{M}_{\odot}\leq 10^5$ ) if the Eddington ratios are as high as 3 to $3\times10^{-3}$ . In an effort to refine the black hole mass for this (currently) rare class of object, we have explored multiple black hole mass scaling relations, such as those involving the (not previously used) velocity dispersion, logarithmic spiral arm pitch angle, total galaxy stellar mass, nuclear star cluster mass, rotational velocity, and colour of NGC 3319, to obtain 10 mass estimates, of differing accuracy. We have calculated a mass of $3.14_{-2.20}^{+7.02}\times10^4\,\textrm{M}_\odot$ , with a confidence of 84% that it is $\leq $ $10^5\,\textrm{M}_\odot$ , based on the combined probability density function from seven of these individual estimates. Our conservative approach excluded two black hole mass estimates (via the nuclear star cluster mass and the fundamental plane of black hole activity—which only applies to black holes with low accretion rates) that were upper limits of ${\sim}10^5\,{\textrm M}_{\odot}$ , and it did not use the $M_\bullet$ – $L_{\textrm 2-10\,\textrm{keV}}$ relation’s prediction of $\sim$ $10^5\,{\textrm M}_{\odot}$ . This target provides an exceptional opportunity to study an IMBH in AGN mode and advance our demographic knowledge of black holes. Furthermore, we introduce our novel method of meta-analysis as a beneficial technique for identifying new IMBH candidates by quantifying the probability that a galaxy possesses an IMBH.

The hot accretion flow around Kerr black holes is strongly magnetized. Magnetic field loops sustained by a surrounding accretion disk can close within the event horizon. We performed particle-in-cell simulations in Kerr metric to capture the dynamics of the electromagnetic field and of the ambient collisionless plasma in this coupled configuration. We find that a hybrid magnetic topology develops with a closed magnetosphere co-existing with open field lines threading the horizon reminiscent of the Blandford-Znajek solution. Further in the disk, highly inclined open magnetic field lines can launch a magnetically-driven wind. While the plasma is essentially force-free, a current sheet forms above the disk where magnetic reconnection produces macroscopic plasmoids and accelerates particles up to relativistic Lorentz factors. A highly dynamic Y-point forms on the furthest closed magnetic field line, with episodic reconnection events responsible for transient synchrotron emission and coronal heating.

Based on our current high resolution direct N-body modelling of the Milky Way typical Star Cluster systems dynamical evolution we try to numerically estimate the influence of individual spin values and orientations on gravitational wave (GW) waveforms and observed time-frequency maps during multiple cycles for binary black hole (BBH) mergers. In our up to date N-body dynamical simulations we use the high order relativistic post-Newtonian corrections for the BH binary particles (3.5 post-Newtonian (PN) terms including spin-spin and spin-orbit terms). In the current work, we present the GW waveforms catalogue which covers the large parameter space in mass ratios 0.05 - 0.82 and extreme possible individual spin cases.

Computational fluid dynamics is a crucial tool to theoretically explore the cosmos. In the last decade, we have seen a substantial methodological diversification with a number of cross-fertilizations between originally different methods. Here we focus on recent developments related to the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. We briefly summarize recent technical improvements in the SPH-approach itself, including smoothing kernels, gradient calculations and dissipation steering. These elements have been implemented in the Newtonian high-accuracy SPH code MAGMA2 and we demonstrate its performance in a number of challenging benchmark tests. Taking it one step further, we have used these new ingredients also in the first particle-based, general-relativistic fluid dynamics code that solves the full set of Einstein equations, SPHINCS_BSSN. We present the basic ideas and equations and demonstrate the code performance at examples of relativistic neutron stars that are evolved self-consistently together with the spacetime.

Continuous gravitational Waves (CWs) are a very promising, not yet detected, and interesting class of persistent and semi-periodic signals. They are emitted mainly by rapidly rotating asymmetric neutron stars, with frequencies that are well covered by the [10-3 000] Hz range of the advanced LIGO-Virgo detectors. Due to the expected small degree of asymmetry of a neutron star, the search for this kind of signals is extremely challenging, and can be very computationally expensive when the source parameters are not known or not well constrained. CW detection from a spinning neutron star will allow us to characterize its structure and properties, making this source an unparalleled laboratory for studying several key issues in fundamental physics and relativistic astrophysics, in conditions that cannot be reproduced on Earth. The most recent methodologies used in CW searches will be discussed, and the latest results from the third advanced LIGO-Virgo observational run will be presented. A summary of future prospects to feasibly detect such feeble signals as the detector performance improves, and ever-more-sensitive and robust data-analysis algorithms are implemented, will be also outlined.

On August 17, 2017, the LIGO/VIRGO collaboration detected the first gravitational wave signal coming from the merger of two neutron stars. This groundbreaking discovery, referred to as GW170817, revealed to us how heavy elements, such as gold and platinum, are synthesized through a mechanism known as rapid neutron capture (r-process). In order to fully understand these signals, we need to simulate the resulting accretion disk around a black hole, and its outflows. This task requires efficient computing codes that include general relativity magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD), neutrino physics, and a model for matter at high densities. We present the implementation of a tabulated equation of state that takes care of matter at high densities and a neutrino leakage scheme that considers the impact of neutrinos into HARM3D, a GRMHD parallelized code. We also apply the tools to a magnetized torus.

Accretion discs appear in many astrophysical systems. In most cases, these discs are probably not completely axisymmetric. Discs in binary systems are often found to be misaligned with respect to the binary orbit. In this case, the gravitational torque from a companion induces nodal precession in misaligned rings of gas. We first calculate whether this precession is strong enough to overcome the internal disc torques communicating angular momentum. For typical parameters, precession torque wins. To check this result, we perform numerical simulations using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code, PHANTOM, and confirm that sufficiently thin and sufficiently inclined discs can break into distinct planes that precess effectively independently. Disc tearing is widespread and severely changes the disc structure. It enhances dissipation and promotes stronger accretion onto the central object. We also perform a stability analysis on isolated warped discs to understand the physics of disc breaking and tearing observed in numerical simulations. The instability appears in the form of viscous anti-diffusion of the warp amplitude and the surface density. The discovery of disc breaking and tearing has revealed new physical processes that dramatically change the evolution of accretion discs, with obvious implications for observed systems.

We introduce the HandOff, a set of computational tools to transfer general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic and spacetime data from the numerical code IllinoisGRMHD to Harm3d. While the former simulates binary neutron star (BNS) mergers in full dynamical General Relativity, the latter specializes in modeling accretion disks around black holes (BH) over long timescales. The HandOff, then, enables us to transfer the outcome of BNS mergers after BH formation from IllinoisGRMHD to Harm3d and to evolve the post-merger system efficiently over long timescales. We show our latest results in this respect, for matter modeled as a magnetized ideal-fluid, and discuss our future plans which involve incorporating advanced equations of state and neutrino physics into BNS simulations using the HandOff approach.

GW170817/GRB 170817A has had a huge impact on our understanding of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, and has prompted a huge sustained effort at modeling the details of the geometry and emission from GRB jets. While no additional electro-magnetic counterparts have been detected to gravitational wave emission from neutron star mergers so far, it is certainly reasonable to expect further detections in the future. Whether these will be very similar in nature to GRB 170817A or instead will provide us with samplings of afterglow model parameters across a wide parameter space remains an open question. In this presentation I will survey some of the work done by the various active groups worldwide in theoretical modeling and understanding afterglows post 170817A.

Identification of the electromagnetic-wave (EM) counterparts of gravitational-wave (GW) sources can significantly broaden the research scope of GW astronomy, by pinpointing the exact locations of GW events and their environments, and using GW sources as standard sirens for cosmology. Yet, only one GW event has been found to be associated with an EM counterpart so far. Here, we outline the challenges of identifying EM counterparts of GW events, and describe our global network of telescopes that has been used to uncover GW EM counterparts. We also introduce a new facility in construction, the 7-dimensional telescope (7DT). Our GECKO observations have demonstrated that we can cover 50 deg2 within one hour to find kilonovae at a few hundred Mpc away. Furthermore, 7DT will produce a low resolution spectral map of the GW localization area, facilitating the EM counterpart search.