Multiwavelength Emission from Magnetically Arrested Disks around Isolated Black Holes

Abstract

Abstract We discuss the prospects for identifying the nearest isolated black holes (IBHs) in our Galaxy. IBHs accreting gas from the interstellar medium likely form magnetically arrested disks (MADs). We show that thermal electrons in the MADs emit optical signals through the thermal synchrotron process while nonthermal electrons accelerated via magnetic reconnections emit a flat-spectrum synchrotron radiation in the X-ray to MeV gamma-ray ranges. The Gaia catalog will include at most a thousand IBHs within ≲1 kpc that are distributed on and around the cooling sequence of white dwarfs (WDs) in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. These IBH candidates should also be detected by eROSITA, with which they can be distinguished from isolated WDs and neutron stars. Follow-up observations with hard X-ray and MeV gamma-ray satellites will be useful to unambiguously identify IBHs.