Seeds of massive black holes can be formed in the early Universe as the result of the direct collapse of primordial atomic cooling halos. After the initial formation of a protostar (see vimeo.com/268835916), the gas around it settles into a disk, which then fragments into spiral arms and secondary protostars later on. At the end of the simulation we can distinguish a protostellar system, where the central protostar eventually grows until it becomes a massive black hole seed. For more information, you can watch the talk I gave at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (link below).
Publications:
https://arxiv.org/abs/1409.3572
https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.03941
https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.06413
Articles:
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/su201503
http://www.media.inaf.it/2015/01/20/come-hanno-origine-i-buchi-neri-supermassicci/
Talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ8yIgUyitY
Contact:
http://www.fernandobecerra.com
