Massive black holes in merging galaxies
  The dynamics of massive black holes (BHs) in galaxy mergers is a rich field
of research that has seen much progress in recent years. In this contribution
we briefly review the processes describing the journey of BHs during mergers,
from the cosmic context all the way to when BHs coalesce. If two galaxies each
hosting a central BH merge, the BHs would be dragged towards the center of the
newly formed galaxy. If/when the holes get sufficiently close, they coalesce
via the emission of gravitational waves. How often two BHs are involved in
galaxy mergers depends crucially on how many galaxies host BHs and on the
galaxy merger history. It is therefore necessary to start with full
cosmological models including BH physics and a careful dynamical treatment.
After galaxies have merged, however, the BHs still have a long journey until
they touch and coalesce. Their dynamical evolution is radically different in
gas-rich and gas-poor galaxies, leading to a sort of "dichotomy" between
high-redshift and low-redshift galaxies, and late-type and early-type,
typically more massive galaxies.
