[Previous] | [Session 85] | [Next]
M. Milosavljevic, D. Merritt (Rutgers University)
We investigate a model in which galactic nuclei form via the coalescence of pre-existing stellar systems containing supermassive black holes. Merger simulations are carried out using N-body algorithms that can follow the formation and decay of a black-hole binary and its effect on the surrounding stars down to sub-parsec scales. Our initial stellar systems have steep central density cusps similar to those in low-luminosity elliptical galaxies. Immediately following the merger, the density profile of the remnant is homologous with the initial density profile and the steep nuclear cusp is preserved. However the formation of a black-hole binary transfers energy to the stars and lowers the central density. Continued decay of the binary destroys the original nuclear cusp leaving a \rho~r-1 density cusp similar to those observed in bright elliptical galaxies, with a break radius that extends well beyond the sphere of gravitational influence of the black holes. Our simulations are the first to successfully produce shallow power-law cusps from mergers of galaxies with steep cusps, and our results support a picture in which the observed dependence of nuclear cusp slope on galaxy luminosity is a consequence of galaxy interactions. We discuss the implications of our results for the survivability of dark-matter cusps.