Multi-Scale Simulations of Merging Galaxies with Supermassive Black Holes

We present the results of the first multi-scale N-body+hydrodynamical simulations of merging galaxies containing central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and having a spatial resolution of only a few parsecs. Strong gas inflows associated with equal-mass mergers produce non-axisymmetric nuclear disks with masses of order 109M⊙, resolved by about 106 SPH particles. Such disks have sizes of several hundred parsecs but most of their mass is …