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M.C. Miller (University of Maryland)
The discovery of many highly luminous non-nuclear X-ray point sources in starburst galaxies has stimulated speculation about their nature and origin. The strong variability seen in several sources points to massive black holes as the central engines. If the flux is roughly isotropic, the inferred luminosities require masses greater than 102 to 103 Msun; at the same time, their off-center locations combined with dynamical friction arguments limit their masses to be less than 106 Msun, implying that this may be a new class of black holes. We have recently proposed that black holes in the required mass range can be grown in the cores of globular clusters through a combination of three-body interactions and mergers via gravitational radiation. These objects might therefore be a new source of gravitational waves with unique properties. We will discuss the possibility of detecting this gravitational radiation with future instruments such as LISA and LIGO II, and speculate on current observations that will test our predictions.