Related papers: Constraining Compact Object Formation with 2M0521

Electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations indicate that there is dearth of compact objects with mass $\sim 2.5-5~{\rm M_\odot}$. This so-called "mass gap" may be linked to the supernova explosion mechanisms that produce neutron…

We study the evolution of stars that may be the progenitors of long-soft gamma-ray burst (GRBs) -- rotating naked helium stars presumed to have lost their envelopes to winds or companions. Our aim is to investigate the formation and…

Understanding the connection between the properties of black holes (BHs) and their progenitors is interesting in many branches of astrophysics. Discovering BHs in detached orbits with luminous companions (LCs) promises to help create this…

All stellar mass black holes have hitherto been identified by X-rays emitted by gas that is accreting onto the black hole from a companion star. These systems are all binaries with black holes below 30 M$_{\odot}$$^{1-4}$. Theory predicts,…

There are important but unresolved processes in the standard formation scenarios of double compact star binaries (DCBs; BH-BH, BH-NS, NS-NS systems), such as mass transfer and the common envelope (CE) phase. We analyze the effects of…

Nuclear star clusters that surround supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic nuclei are among the densest systems in the Universe, harbouring millions of stars and compact objects (COs). Within a few parsecs from the SMBH, stars can…

We study theoretically the formation of black-hole (BH) X-ray binaries. Consistency of the models with the observed relative numbers of systems with low-mass (<2 M_sun) and intermediate-mass (~2 M_sun - M_{BH}) donors leads to severe…

The LIGO-Virgo collaboration recently reported a puzzling event, GW190814, with component masses of 23 and 2.6 solar masses. Motivated by the relatively small rate of such a coalescence and the fact that the mass of the secondary is close…

Stellar black hole (BH) binaries are one of the most promising gravitational wave (GW) sources for GW detection by the ground-based detectors. Nuclear star clusters (NCs) located at the centre of galaxies are known to harbour massive black…

Here we present results from our spectroscopic follow-up of SDSS J2320+0024, a candidate binary supermassive black hole (SMBH) with a suspected sub-pc separation, identified by a 278-day periodicity observed in its multi-band optical light…

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…

The first directly detected gravitational waves (GW 150914) were emitted by two coalescing black holes (BHs) with masses of ~36Msun and ~29Msun. Several scenarios have been proposed to put this detection into an astrophysical context. The…

GW231123, the most massive binary black hole (BH) merger observed to date, involves component BHs with masses inside the pair-instability mass gap and unusually high spins. This challenges standard formation channels such as classical…

Massive black hole binaries are naturally predicted in the context of the hierarchical model of structure formation. The binaries that manage to lose most of their angular momentum can coalesce to form a single remnant. In the last stages…

We study the dynamics of stellar-mass black holes (BH) in star clusters with particular attention to the formation of BH-BH binaries, which are interesting as sources of gravitational waves (GW). We examine the properties of these BH-BH…

Central compact objects (CCOs) are thought to be young thermally emitting isolated neutron stars that were born during the preceding core-collapse supernova explosion. Here we present evidence that at least in one case the CCO could have…

Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHs) are expected to result from galaxy mergers, and thus are natural byproducts (and probes) of hierarchical structure formation in the Universe. They are also the primary expected source of…

We report the discovery of the first likely black hole in a non-interacting binary system with a field red giant. By combining radial velocity measurements from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) with…

During the fourth observing run of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA detector network, the LIGO Livingston observatory detected a coalescing compact binary, GW230529_181500, with component masses of $2.5-4.5\, M_\odot$ and $1.2-2.0\, M_\odot$ at the…

The dynamical formation of binary black holes (BBHs) in globular clusters (GCs) may contribute significantly to the observed gravitational wave (GW) merger rate. Furthermore, LISA may detect many BBH sources from GCs at mHz frequencies,…