By theno-hair theorem, a black hole can only have three fundamental properties: mass, electric charge, and angular momentum. The angular momentum of a stellar black hole is due to theconservation of angular momentum of the star or objects that produced it.
The maximum mass that a neutron star can possess before further collapsing into a black hole is not fully understood. In 1939, it was estimated at 0.7 solar masses, called theTOV limit. In 1996, a different estimate put this upper mass in a range from 1.5 to 3 solar masses.[3] The maximum observed mass of neutron stars is about 2.14 M☉ forPSR J0740+6620 discovered in September, 2019.[4]
In the theory ofgeneral relativity, a black hole could exist of any mass. The lower the mass, the higher the density of matter has to be in order to form a black hole. (See, for example, the discussion inSchwarzschild radius, the radius of a black hole.) There are no known stellar processes that can produce black holes with mass less than a few times the mass of the Sun. If black holes that small exist, they are most likelyprimordial black holes. Until 2016, the largest known stellar black hole was15.65±1.45 solar masses.[5] In September 2015, arotating black hole of62±4 solar masses was discovered bygravitational waves as it formed in a merger event of two smaller black holes.[6] As of June 2020[update], the binary system 2MASS J05215658+4359220 was reported[7] to host the smallest-mass black hole currently known to science, with a mass 3.3 solar masses and a diameter of only 19.5 kilometers.
Stellar black holes inclose binary systems are observable when the matter is transferred from a companion star to the black hole; the energy released in the fall toward the compact star is so large that the matter heats up to temperatures of several hundred million degrees and radiates inX-rays. The black hole, therefore, is observable in X-rays, whereas the companion star can be observed withoptical telescopes. The energy release for black holes andneutron stars are of the same order of magnitude. Black holes and neutron stars are therefore often difficult to distinguish.
The derived masses come from observations of compact X-ray sources (combining X-ray and optical data). All identified neutron stars have a mass below 3.0 solar masses; none of the compact systems with a mass above 3.0 solar masses display the properties of a neutron star. The combination of these facts makes it more and more likely that the class of compact stars with a mass above 3.0 solar masses are in fact black holes.
Note that this proof of the existence of stellar black holes is not entirely observational but relies on theory: we can think of no other object for these massive compact systems in stellar binaries besides a black hole. A direct proof of the existence of a black hole would be if one actually observes theorbit of a particle (or a cloud of gas) that falls into the black hole.
The large distances above thegalactic plane achieved by somebinaries are the result of black hole natal kicks. The velocity distribution of black hole natal kicks seems similar to that ofneutron star kick velocities. One might have expected that it would be the momenta that were the same with black holes receiving lower velocity than neutron stars due to their higher mass but that doesn't seem to be the case,[8] which may be due to the fall-back of asymmetrically expelled matter increasing the momentum of the resulting black hole.[9]
It is predicted by some models of stellar evolution that black holes with masses in two ranges cannot be directly formed by the gravitational collapse of a star. These are sometimes distinguished as the "lower" and "upper" mass gaps, roughly representing the ranges of 2 to 5 and 50 to 150solar masses (M☉), respectively.[10] Another range given for the upper gap is 52 to 133M☉.[11] 150 M☉ has been regarded as the upper mass limit for stars in the current era of the universe.[12]
A lower mass gap is suspected on the basis of a scarcity of observed candidates with masses within a few solar masses above the maximum possible neutron star mass.[10] The existence and theoretical basis for this possible gap are uncertain.[13] The situation may be complicated by the fact that any black holes found in this mass range may have been created via the merging of binary neutron star systems, rather than stellar collapse.[14] TheLIGO/Virgo collaboration has reported three candidate events among theirgravitational wave observations in run O3 with component masses that fall in this lower mass gap. There has also been reported an observation of a bright, rapidly rotating giant star in a binary system with an unseen companion emitting no light, including x-rays, but having a mass of3.3+2.8 −0.7 solar masses. This is interpreted to suggest that there may be many such low-mass black holes that are not currently consuming any material and are hence undetectable via the usual x-ray signature.[15]
The upper mass gap is predicted by comprehensive models of late-stage stellar evolution. It is expected that with increasing mass,supermassive stars reach a stage where apair-instability supernova occurs, during whichpair production, the production of freeelectrons andpositrons in the collision betweenatomic nuclei and energeticgamma rays, temporarily reduces the internal pressure supporting the star's core against gravitational collapse.[16] This pressure drop leads to a partial collapse, which in turn causes greatly accelerated burning in arunaway thermonuclear explosion, resulting in the star being blown completely apart without leaving a stellar remnant behind.[17]
Pair-instabilitysupernovae can only happen in stars with a mass range from around 130 to 250 solar masses (M☉) and low to moderatemetallicity (low abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium – a situation common inPopulation III stars). However, this mass gap is expected to be extended down to about 45 solar masses by the process of pair-instability pulsational mass loss, before the occurrence of a "normal" supernova explosion and core collapse.[18] In nonrotating stars the lower bound of the upper mass gap may be as high as 60M☉.[19] The possibility of direct collapse into black holes of stars with core mass > 133M☉, requiring total stellar mass of > 260M☉ has been considered, but there may be little chance of observing such a high-mass supernova remnant; i.e., the lower bound of the upper mass gap may represent a mass cutoff.[11]
Observations of theLB-1 system of a star and unseen companion were initially interpreted in terms of a black hole with a mass of about 70 solar masses, which would be excluded by the upper mass gap. However, further investigations have weakened this claim.
Black holes may also be found in the mass gap throughmechanisms other than those involving a single star, such as the merger of black holes.
OurMilky Way galaxy contains several stellar-mass black hole candidates (BHCs) which are closer to us than the supermassive black hole in thegalactic center region. Most of these candidates are members ofX-ray binary systems in which the compact object draws matter from its partner via an accretion disk. The probable black holes in these pairs range from three to more than a dozensolar masses.[20][21][22]
^Thompson, Todd A.; Kochanek, Christopher S.; Stanek, Krzysztof Z.; Badenes, Carles; Post, Richard S.; Jayasinghe, Tharindu; Latham, David W.; Bieryla, Allyson; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Berlind, Perry; Calkins, Michael L.; Tayar, Jamie; Lindegren, Lennart; Johnson, Jennifer A.; Holoien, Thomas W.-S.; Auchettl, Katie; Covey, Kevin (2019). "A noninteracting low-mass black hole–giant star binary system".Science.366 (6465):637–640.arXiv:1806.02751.Bibcode:2019Sci...366..637T.doi:10.1126/science.aau4005.ISSN0036-8075.PMID31672898.S2CID207815062.
^abMiller-Jones, James C. A.; Bahramian, Arash; Orosz, Jerome A.; Mandel, Ilya; Gou, Lijun; Maccarone, Thomas J.; Neijssel, Coenraad J.; Zhao, Xueshan; Ziółkowski, Janusz; Reid, Mark J.; Uttley, Phil; Zheng, Xueying; Byun, Do-Young; Dodson, Richard; Grinberg, Victoria; Jung, Taehyun; Kim, Jeong-Sook; Marcote, Benito; Markoff, Sera; Rioja, María J.; Rushton, Anthony P.; Russell, David M.; Sivakoff, Gregory R.; Tetarenko, Alexandra J.; Tudose, Valeriu; Wilms, Joern (5 March 2021). "Cygnus X-1 contains a 21–solar mass black hole—Implications for massive star winds".Science.371 (6533):1046–1049.arXiv:2102.09091.Bibcode:2021Sci...371.1046M.doi:10.1126/science.abb3363.PMID33602863.S2CID231951746.
^Masetti, N.; Bianchini, A.; Bonibaker, J.; della Valle, M.; Vio, R. (1996), "The superhump phenomenon in GRS 1716-249 (=X-Ray Nova Ophiuchi 1993)",Astronomy and Astrophysics,314: 123,Bibcode:1996A&A...314..123M
^Adams, S. M.; Kochanek, C. S; Gerke, J. R.; Stanek, K. Z.; Dai, X. (9 September 2016). "The search for failed supernovae with the Large Binocular Telescope: conformation of a disappearing star".arXiv:1609.01283v1 [astro-ph.SR].