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Related papers: Exploring Features in the Binary Black Hole Popula…

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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 introduce the first complete non-parametric model for the astrophysical distribution of the binary black hole (BBH) population. Constructed from basis splines, we use these models to conduct the most comprehensive data-driven…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2023-03-29 Bruce Edelman , Ben Farr , Zoheyr Doctor

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

We estimate the observed distribution of chirp masses of compact object binaries for the gravitational wave detectors. The stellar binary evolution is modeled using the {\em StarTrack} population synthesis code. The distribution of the…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-07 T. Bulik , K. Belczynski

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

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

The population of binary black hole (BBH) mergers observed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) collaboration offers a window into the cosmic evolution of compact binaries and their formation. We employ the semi-analytic population-synthesis code…

Current population models of binary black hole distributions are difficult to interpret because standard population inferences hinge on modeling choices, which can mask or mimic real structure. The maximum population likelihood…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-09-15 Nir Guttman , Ethan Payne , Paul D. Lasky , Eric Thrane

We focus on gravitational-wave events of binary black-hole mergers up to the third observing run with the minimum false alarm rate smaller than $10^{-5}\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$. These events tell us that the mass ratio of two black holes follows…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2024-06-28 Tomoya Kinugawa , Takashi Nakamura , Hiroyuki Nakano

Gravitational-wave observations are playing an instrumental role in understanding the population of binary compact objects in the Universe. These observations have begun to hint at the mass distribution of binary black holes (BBHs), with…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-05-19 Upasana Das , Suvodip Mukherjee

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

We present a comprehensive parameter-space study of binary black hole (BBH) mergers using the SEOBNRv4\_opt waveform model. Our analysis spans $\sim 10^6$ simulated waveforms across a broad range of mass ratios \( q = \frac{m_1}{m_2} \in…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-12-19 İsmail Özbakır , Kadri Yakut

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…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2018-04-19 Rosalba Perna , Martyna Chruslinska , Alessandra Corsi , Krzysztof Belczynski

The spins of binary black holes measured with gravitational waves provide insights about the formation, evolution, and dynamics of these systems. However, interpreting these measurements-especially for heavy black holes-remains an open…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2025-08-01 Karen Kang , Simona J. Miller , Katerina Chatziioannou , Deborah Ferguson

Binary black holes (BBHs) detected by gravitational wave (GW) observations could be broadly divided into two formation channels: those formed through field binary evolution and those assembled dynamically in dense stellar systems. Each of…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2020-05-20 Mohammadtaher Safarzadeh , Will M. Farr , Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz

We investigate the joint primary mass, mass ratio, and redshift observed distribution of astrophysical black holes using the gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration and included in the third gravitational…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-04-30 Stefano Rinaldi , Walter Del Pozzo , Michela Mapelli , Ana Lorenzo-Medina , Thomas Dent

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…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2023-07-14 Christos Karathanasis , Suvodip Mukherjee , Simone Mastrogiovanni

With the release of the fourth LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA gravitational-wave catalog (GWTC-4), we are starting to gain a detailed view of the population of merging binary black holes. The formation channels of these black holes is not clearly…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-09-22 Sharan Banagiri , Eric Thrane , Paul D. Lasky

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

Gravitational waves from merging binary black holes can be used to shed light on poorly understood aspects of massive binary stellar evolution, such as the evolution of massive stars (including their mass-loss rates), the common envelope…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-10-26 Simon Stevenson , Teagan Clarke