Related papers: Dynamically formed black hole+millisecond pulsar b…
The recent discovery of GW150914, the binary black hole merger detected by Advanced LIGO, has the potential to revolutionize observational astrophysics. But to fully utilize this new window into the universe, we must compare these new…
We analyze the dynamical evolution of binary stars that interact with a static background of single stars in the environment of a massive black hole (MBH). All stars are considered to be single mass, Newtonian point particles. We follow the…
We present a novel self-consistent theoretical framework to characterize the formation, evolution, and merger sites of dynamically-formed black hole binaries, with a focus on explaining the most massive events observed by the…
A binary in which a slightly evolved star starts mass transfer to a neutron star can evolve towards ultra-short orbital periods under the influence of magnetic braking. This is called magnetic capture. We investigate in detail for which…
Gravitational-wave detectors are unveiling a population of binary black hole (BBH) mergers out to redshifts $z \approx 1$, and are starting to constrain how the BBH population evolves with redshift. We present predictions for the redshift…
The existence of massive stellar black hole binaries (MBHBs), with primary black hole (BH) masses $\ge 31 \, M_\odot$, was proven by the detection of the gravitational wave (GW) event GW150914 during the first LIGO/Virgo observing run (O1),…
We present the first study of the dynamical evolution of a star cluster that combines a significant population of primordial binaries with the presence of a central black hole. We use direct N-body simulations, with a black hole mass of…
In dense stellar systems the frequent dynamical interactions between stars play a crucial role in the formation and evolution of compact binaries. We study these processes using a novel approach combining a state-of-the-art binary…
Hierarchical black hole (BH) mergers are one of the most straightforward mechanisms to produce BHs inside and above the pair-instability mass gap. Here, we investigate the impact of globular cluster (GC) evolution on hierarchical mergers,…
Young star clusters are likely the most common birthplace of massive stars across cosmic time and influence the formation of compact binaries in several ways. Here, we simulate the formation of black hole -- neutron star binaries (BHNSs) in…
Globular Clusters (GCs) are known to host distinct stellar populations, characterized by different chemical compositions. Despite extensive research, the origin of these populations remains elusive. According to many formation scenarios,…
We summarize the results of recent theoretical work on the dynamical evolution of globular clusters containing primordial binaries. Even a very small initial binary fraction (e.g., 10%) can play a key role in supporting a cluster against…
The environment near super massive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic nuclei contain a large number of stars and compact objects. A fraction of these are likely to be members of binaries. Here we discuss the binary population of stellar black…
Gravitational Waves (GW) have now been detected from stellar-mass black hole binaries, and the first observations of GW from Massive Black Hole (MBH) Binaries are expected within the next decade. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTA), which can…
I investigate the roles of cluster dynamics and massive binary evolution in producing stellar-remnant binary black hole (BBH) mergers over the cosmic time. To that end, dynamical BBH mergers are obtained from long-term direct N-body…
In a star cluster with a sufficiently large escape velocity, black holes (BHs) that are produced by BH mergers can be retained, dynamically form new BH binaries, and merge again. This process can repeat several times and lead to significant…
We assess the effects of super-massive black hole (SMBH) environments on the gravitational-wave (GW) signal from binary SMBHs. To date, searches with pulsar timing arrays for GWs from binary SMBHs, in the frequency band $\sim1-100$\,nHz,…
The dynamical processing of black holes in the dense cores of globular clusters (GCs), makes them efficient factories for producing binary black holes (BBHs). Here we explore the population of BBHs that form dynamically in GCs and may be…
Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters from…
We model for the first time the complete orbital evolution of a pair of Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) in a 1:10 galaxy merger of two disk dominated gas-rich galaxies, from the stage prior to the formation of the binary up to the onset of…