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The spin of a black hole is an important quantity to study, providing a window into the processes by which a black hole was born and grew. Further, spin can be a potent energy source for powering relativistic jets and energetic particle…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2021-12-01 Christopher S. Reynolds

Measurements of the binary black hole spin distribution from the growing catalog of gravitational-wave observations can help elucidate the astrophysical processes shaping the formation and evolution of these systems. Spin-orbit resonances…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-05-29 Sylvia Biscoveanu

Gravitational wave measurements will provide insight into the population of coalescing compact binaries throughout the universe. We describe and demonstrate a flexible parametric method to infer the event rate as a function of compact…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2019-08-20 Daniel Wysocki , Jacob Lange , Richard O'Shaughnessy

We investigate how to use information on the effective spin parameter of binary black hole mergers from the LIGO-Virgo gravitational wave detections to discriminate the origin of the merging black holes. We calculate the expected…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2019-08-22 Nicolas Fernandez , Stefano Profumo

Binary black hole spin measurements from gravitational wave observations can reveal the binary's evolutionary history. In particular, the spin orientations of the component black holes within the orbital plane, $\phi_1$ and $\phi_2$, can be…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-01-20 Vijay Varma , Sylvia Biscoveanu , Maximiliano Isi , Will M. Farr , Salvatore Vitale

The LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors have uncovered binary black hole systems with definitively nonzero spins, as well as systems with significant spin residing in the more massive black hole of the pair. We investigate the…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-07-12 Michael Zevin , Simone S. Bavera

Compact binary coalescences are the most promising sources of gravitational waves (GWs) for ground based detectors. Binary systems containing one or two spinning black holes are particularly interesting due to spin-orbit (and eventual…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2014-07-02 Salvatore Vitale , Ryan Lynch , John Veitch , Vivien Raymond , Riccardo Sturani

The complex astrophysical processes leading to the formation of binary black holes and their eventual merger are imprinted on the spins of the individual black holes. We revisit the astrophysical distribution of those spins based on…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-11-05 Asad Hussain , Maximiliano Isi , Aaron Zimmerman

The spin-orbit tilt angles $\theta_{1(2)}$ of merging stellar-mass black holes provide key insights into their astrophysical origin. Non-parametric population modelling of The LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaborations (2025a, arXiv:2508.18083)…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-04-01 Jakob Stegmann , Fabio Antonini , Aleksandra Olejak , Sylvia Biscoveanu , Vivien Raymond , Stefano Rinaldi , Elizabeth Flanagan

We review current challenges in understanding the values and origin of the spins of black holes in binaries. Thanks to recent advances in astrophysical instrumentation, the spins can now be measured using both gravitational waves emitted by…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-02-06 Andrzej A. Zdziarski , Gregoire Marcel , Alexandra Veledina , Aleksandra Olejak , Debora Lancova

The population-level distributions of the masses, spins, and redshifts of binary black holes (BBHs) observed using gravitational waves can shed light on how these systems form and evolve. Because of the complex astrophysical processes…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-08-11 Sylvia Biscoveanu , Thomas A. Callister , Carl-Johan Haster , Ken K. Y. Ng , Salvatore Vitale , Will Farr

Attempts to understand the formation of binary black hole (BBH) systems detected via gravitational wave (GW) emission are affected by many unknowns and uncertainties, from both the observational and theoretical (astrophysical modelling)…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-12-18 Jam Sadiq , Thomas Dent , Ana Lorenzo-Medina

We characterize the expected statistical errors with which the parameters of black-hole binaries can be measured from gravitational-wave (GW) observations of their inspiral, merger and ringdown by a network of second-generation ground-based…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2016-12-07 Archisman Ghosh , Walter Del Pozzo , Parameswaran Ajith

The evolution of the spin and tilt of black holes in compact black hole - neutron star and black hole - black hole binary systems is investigated within the framework of the coalescing compact star binary model for short gamma ray bursts…

Primordial black holes in the mass range of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors can comprise a significant fraction of the dark matter. Mass and spin measurements from coalescences can be used to distinguish between an astrophysical…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2020-05-06 V. De Luca , G. Franciolini , P. Pani , A. Riotto

The detection of double black hole (BH+BH) mergers provides a unique possibility to understand their physical properties and origin. To date, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network of high-frequency gravitational wave observatories have announced the…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-10-26 Thomas M. Tauris

The astrophysical origins of the binary black hole systems seen with gravitational waves are still not well understood. However, features in the distribution of black-hole masses, spins, redshifts, and eccentricities provide clues into how…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-03-25 Christian Adamcewicz , Paul D. Lasky , Eric Thrane

Gravitational wave observations of binary black hole mergers probe their astrophysical origins via the binary spin, namely the spin magnitudes and directions of each component black hole, together described by six degrees of freedom.…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2024-05-15 Simona J. Miller , Zoe Ko , Thomas A. Callister , Katerina Chatziioannou

The detection of gravitational waves has brought to light a population of binary black holes that merge within a Hubble time. Multiple formation channels can contribute to this population, making it difficult to definitively associate…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-09-10 Sharan Banagiri , Thomas A. Callister , Christian Adamcewicz , Zoheyr Doctor , Vicky Kalogera

Binary black holes may form both through isolated binary evolution and through dynamical interactions in dense stellar environments. The formation channel leaves an imprint on the alignment between the black hole spins and the orbital…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2018-04-12 Simon Stevenson , Christopher P. L. Berry , Ilya Mandel