Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1999

Abstract

We consider the contribution of neutron stars and black holes to the dynamical mass of galactic halos. In particular, we show that if these compact objects were produced by an early generation of stars with initial metallicity 10-4 Z☉, they can contribute at most 30%-40% of the Galactic halo mass without creating supersolar levels of enrichment. We show that the case for halo neutron stars and black holes cannot be rejected on metal overproduction arguments alone because of the critical factor of the choice of progenitor metallicity in determining the yields. We show that this scenario satisfies observational constraints, similar to but no more severe than those faced by halo white dwarfs. We also discuss the recent results on halo microlensing, the presence of enriched hot gas in clusters and groups of galaxies, and other observations. If there are halo neutron stars and black holes, they will be detected in the future as longer timescale events by microlensing experiments.

Comments

Copyright 1999 American Astronomical Society.

Published article available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/307120

DOI

10.1086/307120

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