1OC Dissolution 2Wander Rate 3Future Detectability Fate
Three-stage workflow · dissolution → wander → future detection

The Naked IMBH

Omega Centauri is dissolving. In ~15 Gyr, it will be gone. This workflow asks: what happens to the IMBH when its host cluster evaporates? Three stages trace the transition from stellar captive to naked wandering black hole in the Milky Way halo.

🔬 Established dynamics (stages 1–2) 🔭 Observational forecast (stage 3)
Refs: Baumgardt & Makino 2003 · Merritt 2001 · AXIS White Paper 2025 · v1.0 · 2026-06-03
01
Baumgardt & Makino 2003 · two-body evaporation + tidal stripping
OC Dissolution Timeline

OC loses mass through both tidal stripping at each Galactic pericentre (~300 Myr orbital period) and continuous two-body evaporation. Current mass ~4 × 10⁶ M☉; dissolution (1% threshold) is expected in ~15–25 Gyr under nominal parameters.

Inputs
3.0 %
14.0 Gyr
8,200 M☉
Stage 1 outputs
Dissolution time TdissGyr
Half-mass time T½Gyr
Mass at T+10 GyrM☉
IMBH ejection probability~0% (too massive)
Tdiss = Gyr · MBH = M☉
02
Merritt 2001 · equipartition Brownian motion
Post-Dissolution Wander

During dissolution, the stellar cusp surrounding the IMBH depletes. The Brownian wander speed v_BH = σ × sqrt(⟨m★⟩/M_BH) drops as σ → 0. After full dissolution, the IMBH drifts through the Milky Way halo at the speed it had when the last stars departed — then wanders freely.

Inputs (T_diss, M_BH from Stage 1)
5.0 km/s
Stage 2 outputs
IMBH kick speed at dissolutionkm/s
Proper motion in haloµas/yr (from Sun)
Displacement in 1 Gyrkpc
OC remnant orbitHalo wanderer — retrograde
IMBH wander speed = km/s at dissolution · μ = µas/yr
03
Roman · AXIS · LISA · future instruments
Future Detectability

A naked wandering IMBH is detectable by several methods: Roman microlensing events (if it crosses dense fields), AXIS/Chandra X-ray emission from ISM Bondi accretion, and eventually LISA gravitational wave detection if it encounters a compact object. The detectability depends critically on the IMBH's location in the halo and the ISM density.

Inputs
0.010 cm⁻³
8.0 kpc
Stage 3 outputs
Bondi accretion rate (halo ISM)M☉/yr
Predicted X-ray luminosity (ADAF)W
AXIS/Chandra detectable?
Roman microlensing event rate
LISA GW detection possible?If encounter q≥10⁻³ in next Gyr
✓ The Naked IMBH — Fate Summary

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