This video shows (from left to right), the density, pressure, temperature, gas/radiation pressure ratio and radial velocity of the gas around the black hole. Over the course of the transit, the black hole loses a small fraction of its initial inclination, gradually realigning with the disc after repeated transits. This video was generated from the simulations of Rowan et. al 2025b.
Here we see the complex and chaotic interaction of a binary black hole system with another black hole in an AGN disc. The gas continually removes energy from the system throughout the exchange and continues to harden the resulting binary after one of the black holes is thrown out. This video was generated from the simulations of Rowan et. al. 2025.
This video shows the formation of stable black hole binaries in an AGN disc by dissipating energy to the surrounding gas, driving strong spiral outflows which "carry away" the energy of the system. This video was generated from the simulations of Rowan et. al. 2023.
This video shows the trajectories, separation, orbital energy, dissipation and surrounding mass of the black hole binary system. During the encounter gas gradually strips energy from the binary, causing it to shrink its separation.
Both videos here were generated from the simulations of Whitehead et. al. 2025.
This video shows the instantaneous flux generated for a 2D radiative simulation of a black hole - black hole encounter in an AGN disc. The collision of the minidiscs around each black hole creates significant heating, driving strong radiation emission from the gas. This video is generated from the simulations of Whitehead et. al 2024.