Abstract:
The environment close to supermassive black holes can reach extreme stellar densities. This extreme density favours dynamical encounters that lead to the formation of exotic objects, some of which have been already observed at the center of our Galaxy (e.g. S-stars, G-objects). Here we show, by means of simulations, how such encounters can accelerate the coalescence of compact binaries. These mergers will contribute significantly to the rate of binary black hole mergers detected by LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA.