Related papers: The first gravitational-wave source from the isola…
The properties of the first generation of black-hole seeds trace and distinguish different models of formation of cosmic structure in the high-redshift universe. The observational challenge lies in identifying black holes in the mass range…
Merging compact black-hole (BH) binaries are likely to exist in the nuclear star clusters around supermassive BHs (SMBHs), such as Sgr A$^\ast$. They may also form in the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei. Such compact binaries can…
Boson stars have attracted much attention in recent decades as simple, self-consistent models of compact objects and also as self-gravitating structures formed in some dark-matter scenarios. Direct detection of these hypothetical objects…
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),…
This a particularly exciting time for gravitational wave physics. Ground-based gravitational wave detectors are now operating at a sensitivity such that gravitational radiation may soon be directly detected, and recently several groups have…
Massive black holes (MBHs), with masses in the range 10^3-10^8 Msolar, which merge with a companion black hole of similar mass are expected to be the most powerful source of gravitational radiation in the frequency range probed by LISA. MBH…
The merger rate of black hole binaries inferred from the detections in the first Advanced LIGO science run, implies that a stochastic background produced by a cosmological population of mergers will likely mask the primordial…
We explore the possibility that GW150914, the binary black hole merger recently detected by Advanced LIGO, was formed by gravitational interactions in the core of a dense star cluster. Using models of globular clusters with detailed…
Binary neutron-star mergers will predominantly produce black-hole remnants of mass $\sim 3-4\,M_{\odot}$, thus populating the putative \emph{low mass gap} between neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes. If these low-mass black holes are…
Gravitational waves detected by advanced ground-based detectors have allowed studying the universe in a way which is fully complementary to electromagnetic observations. As more sources are detected, it will be possible to measure…
Stellar-mass binary black hole mergers are poised to represent the majority of gravitational-wave (GW) observations by Advanced LIGO and Virgo. Probing their origin will be difficult due to the expected lack of electromagnetic emission and…
Binary black holes (BBHs) are one of the endpoints of isolated binary evolution, and their mergers a leading channel for gravitational wave events. Here, using the evolutionary code \textsc{StarTrack}, we study the statistical properties of…
If binary black holes form following the successive core collapses of sufficiently massive binary stars, precessional dynamics may align their spins $\mathbf S_1$ and $\mathbf S_2$ and the orbital angular momentum $\mathbf L$ into a plane…
We present a study of the gravitational waveforms from a series of spinning, equal-mass black hole binaries focusing on the harmonic content of the waves and the contribution of the individual harmonics to the signal-to-noise ratio. The…
Since gravitational and electromagnetic waves from a compact binary coalescence carry independent information about the source, the joint observation is important for understanding the physical mechanisms of the emissions. Rapid detection…
In August 2017, the first detection of a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, made it possible to study neutron stars in compact binary systems using gravitational waves. Despite being the loudest gravitational wave event detected to date…
Massive black hole binaries, with masses in the range 1E3-1E8 Msun, are expected to be the most powerful sources of gravitational radiation at mHz frequencies, and hence are among the primary targets for the planned Laser Interferometer…
Massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) are unavoidable outcomes of the hierarchical structure formation process, and according to the theory of general relativity are expected to be the loudest gravitational wave (GW) sources in the Universe.…
In this paper we study the dynamical outcome in which black hole (BH) binary-single interactions lead to two successive gravitational wave (GW) mergers; a scenario we refer to as a `double GW merger'. The first GW merger happens during the…
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…