Related papers: Binary evolution, gravitational-wave mergers and e…
Context: Globular clusters (GCs) host multiple populations characterised by abundance variations in a number of light elements. In many cases, these populations also show spatial and/or kinematic differences, which vary in strength from…
In dense stellar systems the frequent dynamical interactions between stars play a crucial role in the formation and evolution of compact binaries. We study these processes using a novel approach combining a state-of-the-art binary…
Young star clusters are often born with such high stellar densities that stellar collisions play an important role in their further evolution. In such environments the same star may participate in several tens to hundreds of collisions…
The properties of the population of merging binary black holes encode some of the uncertain physics of the evolution of massive stars in binaries. The binary black hole merger rate and chirp mass distribution are being measured by…
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…
Fragmentation and fission of giant molecular clouds occasionally results in a pair of gravitationally bound star clusters that orbit their mutual centre of mass for some time, under the influence of internal and external perturbations. We…
Globular clusters formed in galactic mergers (e.g., The Antennae) can now be studied at different stages of their evolution. In young merger remnants (e.g., NGC 7252) these "second-generation" globulars appear by the hundreds as young halo…
The basic properties of the candidate binary cluster population in the Magellanic Clouds and Galaxy are similar. The fraction of candidate binary systems is $\sim$10% and the pair separation histogram exhibits a bimodal distribution…
We present a novel self-consistent theoretical framework to characterize the formation, evolution, and merger sites of dynamically-formed black hole binaries, with a focus on explaining the most massive events observed by the…
In our current interpretation of the hierarchical structure of the universe it is well established that galaxies collide and merge with each other during their lifetime. If massive black holes (MBHs) reside in galactic centres, we expect…
We model the inspiral of globular clusters (GCs) towards a galactic nucleus harboring a supermassive black hole (SMBH), a leading scenario for the formation of nuclear star clusters. We consider the case of GCs containing either an…
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…
Several astrophysical scenarios have been proposed to explain the origin of the population of binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected in gravitational waves (GWs) by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration. Among them, BBH mergers assembled…
Dense stellar clusters are expected to house the ideal conditions for binary black hole (BBH) formation, both through binary stellar evolution and through dynamical encounters. We use theoretical arguments as well as $N$-body simulations to…
We study the formation rate of binary black hole mergers formed through gravitational-wave emission between unbound, single black holes in globular clusters. While the formation of these binaries in very dense systems such as galactic…
Observations and theoretical work suggest that globular clusters may be born with initially very large binary fractions. We present first results from our newly modified Monte-Carlo cluster evolution code, which treats binary interactions…
Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors like the Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA experiments now regularly witness gravitational waves from compact binary mergers: the relativistic collisions of neutron stars and/or stellar-mass…
Compact binaries such as double neutron stars or a neutron star paired with a black-hole, are strong sources of gravitational waves during coalescence and also the likely progenitors of various electromagnetic phenomena, notably…
In order to investigate the formation rate of binary black holes (BBHs) in stellar clusters with a mass comparable to open clusters, we performed a series of direct $N$-body simulations of open clusters with a mass of $2.5\times10^3$ (Model…
The Galactic Center (GC) is dominated by the gravity of a super-massive black hole (SMBH), Sagittarius A$^*$, and is suspected to contain a sizable population of binary stars. Such binaries form hierarchical triples with the SMBH,…