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Nature Astronomy
Article . 2021 . Peer-reviewed
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https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ar...
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Evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole from a gravitationally lensed gamma-ray burst

Authors: James Paynter; Rachel Webster; Eric Thrane;

Evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole from a gravitationally lensed gamma-ray burst

Abstract

If gamma-ray bursts are at cosmological distances, they must be gravitationally lensed occasionally. The detection of lensed images with millisecond-to-second time delays provides evidence for intermediate-mass black holes, a population that has been difficult to observe. Several studies have searched for these delays in gamma-ray burst light curves, which would indicate an intervening gravitational lens. Among the $\sim 10^4$ gamma-ray bursts observed, there have been a handful of claimed lensing detections, but none have been statistically robust. Here we present a Bayesian analysis identifying gravitational lensing in the light curve of GRB950830. The inferred lens mass depends on the unknown lens redshift $z_l$, and is given by $(1+z_l)M_l = 5.5^{+1.7}_{-0.9}\times 10^4 $ M$_\odot$ (90% credibility), which we interpret as evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole. The most probable configuration, with a lens redshift $z_l\sim 1$ and a gamma-ray burst redshift $z_s\sim 2$, yields a present day number density of $n_\text{imbh}\approx 2.3^{+4.9}_{-1.6}\times10^{3} \text{ Mpc}^{-3}$ (90% credibility) with a dimensionless energy density $��_\text{imbh} \approx 4.6^{+9.8}_{-3.3}\times10^{-4}$. The false alarm probability for this detection is $\sim0.6\%$ with trial factors. While it is possible that GRB950830 was lensed by a globular cluster, it is unlikely since we infer a cosmic density inconsistent with predictions for globular clusters $��_\text{gc} \approx 8 \times 10^{-6}$ at 99.8% credibility. If a significant intermediate-mass black hole population exists, it could provide the seeds for the growth of supermassive black holes in the early Universe.

22 pages, 12 figures

Keywords

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
67
Top 1%
Top 10%
Top 1%
Green
bronze