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We analyze Chandra X-ray Observatory imaging of 108 galaxies hosting nuclearstar clusters (NSCs) to search for signatures of massive black holes (BHs).NSCs are extremely dense stellar environments with conditions that cantheoretically facilitate massive BH formation. Recent work by Stone et al.(2017) finds that sufficiently dense NSCs should be unstable to the runawaygrowth of a stellar mass BH into a massive BH via tidal captures. Furthermore,there is a velocity dispersion threshold ($40\;\rm{km\;s^{-1}}$) above whichNSCs should inevitably form a massive BH. To provide an observational test ofthese theories, we measure X-ray emission from NSCs and compare to the measuredvelocity dispersion and tidal capture runaway timescale. We find that NSCsabove the $40\;\rm{km\;s^{-1}}$ threshold are X-ray detected at roughly twicethe rate of those below (after accounting for contamination from X-raybinaries). These results are consistent with a scenario in which dense,high-velocity NSCs can form massive BHs, providing a formation pathway thatdoes not rely on conditions found only at high redshift.

Massive black hole formation in dense stellar environments: Enhanced X-ray detection rates in high velocity dispersion nuclear star clusters