Formation of discs around super-massive black hole binaries

Abstract

We model numerically the evolution of $10^4M_\odot$ turbulent molecular clouds in near-radial infall onto $10^6M_\odot$, equal-mass super-massive black hole binaries, using a modified version of the SPH code GADGET-3. We investigate the different gas structures formed depending on the relative inclination between the binary and the cloud orbits. Our first results indicate that an aligned orbit produces mini-discs around each black hole, almost aligned with the binary; a perpendicular orbit produces misaligned mini-discs; and a counter-aligned orbit produces a circumbinary, counter-rotating ring.

4 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 312, 2014. Animations available at http://www.astro.puc.cl/~fgarrido/animations