Related papers: Binary black holes in the pair-instability mass ga…
There is much debate about the channels for astrophysical origins of the stellar-mass binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected by LIGO and Virgo. Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are promising sites for the efficient formation and rapid…
Recent advances in gravitational-wave astronomy make the direct detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two stellar-mass compact objects a realistic prospect. Evolutionary scenarios towards mergers of double compact objects…
We present the merger rate density of Population (Pop.) III binary black holes (BHs) by means of a widely-used binary population synthesis code BSE with extensions to very massive and extreme metal-poor stars. We consider not only low-mass…
Dense stellar environments like nuclear star clusters (NSCs) can dynamically assemble gravitational wave (GW) sources. We consider a population of single stellar mass black holes (BHs) in the inner $0.1$~pc of a NSC surrounding a $4 \times…
Population III (Pop. III) binary stars likely produced the first stellar-born binary black hole (BBH) mergers in the Universe. Here, we quantify the main sources of uncertainty for the merger rate density evolution and mass spectrum of Pop.…
Gravitational-wave detections are now starting to probe the mass distribution of stellar-mass black holes (BHs). Robust predictions from stellar models are needed to interpret these. Theory predicts the existence of a gap in the BH mass…
We study the contribution of binary black hole (BH-BH) mergers from the first, metal-free stars in the Universe (Pop III) to gravitational wave detection rates. Our study combines initial conditions for the formation of Pop III stars based…
Observations have shown that the majority of massive stars, progenitors of black holes (BHs), have on average more than one stellar companion. In triple systems, wide inner binaries can be driven to a merger by the third body due to…
Stellar models indicate that the core compactness of a star, which is a common proxy for its explodability in a supernova, does not increase monotonically with the star's mass. Rather, the core compactness dips sharply over a range of…
Stellar mass black holes are formed in the field, and are observed in binaries. Population synthesis estimates for the formation of BH-PSR binaries suggest these may be observed, but with very large formal uncertainties in the formation…
When two black holes merge in a dense star cluster, they form a new black hole with a well-defined mass and spin. If that "second-generation" black hole remains in the cluster, it will continue to participate in dynamical encounters, form…
The dynamical formation of black hole binaries in globular clusters that merge due to gravitational waves occurs more frequently in higher stellar density. Meanwhile, the probability to form intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) also…
GW231123, the most massive binary black hole (BBH) merger detected by LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, highlights the need to understand the origins of massive, high-spin stellar black holes (BHs). Dense star clusters provide natural environments for…
Inspirals and mergers of black hole (BHs) and/or neutron star (NSs) binaries are expected to be abundant sources for ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. We assess the capabilities of Advanced LIGO and Virgo to measure component…
The detection of the binary black hole merger GW190521, with primary black hole mass $85^{+21}_{-14}$ ${\rm M}_{\odot}$, proved the existence of black holes in the theoretically predicted pair-instability gap ($\sim60-120 \, {\rm…
Using numerical models for star clusters spanning a wide range in ages and metallicities (Z) we study the masses of binary black holes (BBHs) produced dynamically and merging in the local universe ($z\lesssim0.2$). After taking into account…
To date, various formation channels of merging events have been heavily explored with the detection of nearly 100 double black hole (BH) merger events reported by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration. We here systematically investigate…
The recent observations of gravitational waves (GWs) by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration (LVK) have provided a new opportunity for studying our Universe. By detecting several merging events of black holes (BHs), LVK has spurred the…
The mass, spin, and merger rate distribution of the binary black holes (BBHs) across cosmic redshifts provide a unique way to shed light on their formation channel. Along with the redshift dependence of the BBH merger rate, the mass…
The LIGO/Virgo collaboration has by now observed or constrained the gravitational merger rates of different classes of compact objects. We consider the possibility that the bulk of these mergers are primordial black hole (PBH) mergers of…