Related papers: Constraining Black Hole Natal Kicks with Astrometr…
Observations of X-ray binaries indicate a dearth of compact objects in the mass range from $\sim 2-5 M_{\odot}$. The existence of this (first mass) gap has been used to discriminate between proposed engines behind core-collapse supernovae.…
Recent developments in numerical relativity have made it possible to follow reliably the coalescence of two black holes from near the innermost stable circular orbit to final ringdown. This opens up a wide variety of exciting astrophysical…
Using an updated population synthesis code we study the formation and evolution of black holes (BHs) in young star clusters following a massive starburst. This study continues and improves on the initial work described by Belczynski,…
Observations of binary pulsars and pulsars in globular clusters suggest that at least some pulsars must receive weak natal kicks at birth. If all pulsars received strong natal kicks above \unit[50]{\kms}, those born in globular clusters…
The origin of black hole (BH) spins remains one of the least understood aspects of BHs. Despite many uncertainties, it is commonly assumed that if BHs originated from isolated massive star binaries, their spins should be aligned with the…
Though stellar-mass black holes (BHs) are likely abundant in the Milky Way (N=10^8-10^9), only ~20 have been detected to date, all in accreting binary systems (Casares 2006). Gravitational microlensing is a proposed technique to search for…
The formation and evolution of binary black holes (BH) is studied using the modern evolutionary scenario for very massive stars with high mass loss (Vanbeveren et al. 1998). Main sequence stars with masses $M>35 M_\odot$ are assumed to form…
Neutron stars (NSs) are observed with high space velocities and elliptical orbits in binaries. The magnitude of these effects points to natal kicks that originate from asymmetries during the supernova (SN) explosions. Using a growing set of…
Neutron stars receive velocity kicks at birth in supernovae. Those formed in electron-capture supernovae from super asymptotic giant branch stars -- the lowest mass stars to end their lives in supernovae -- may receive significantly lower…
Notoriously hard to detect and study, isolated neutron stars (NS) could provide valuable answers to fundamental questions about stellar evolution and explosion physics. With the upcoming Roman Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2026,…
Investigations of the Galactic black hole low-mass X-ray binaries (BH-LMXBs) offer valuable insights into the elusive black hole population in the Milky Way. Motivated by recent tensions in the natal kick velocity distribution and BH mass…
The isolated binary evolution model for merging neutron stars (NSs) involves processes such as mass transfer, common-envelope evolution, and natal kicks, all of which are poorly understood. Also, the predicted NS-NS merger rates are…
The LIGO-Virgo gravitational-wave (GW) observation unveiled the new population of black holes (BHs) that appears to have an extended mass spectrum up to around $70M_\odot$, much heavier than the previously-believed mass range ($\sim…
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 Galactic Centre (GC) is a unique place to study the extreme dynamical processes occurring near a super-massive black hole (SMBH). Here we investigate the role of supernova (SN) explosions occurring in massive binary systems lying in a…
The systems creating binary neutron stars (BNSs) experience systemic kicks when one of the components goes supernova. The combined magnitude of these kicks is still a topic of debate, and has implications for the eventual location of the…
Gaia has the potential to deliver several tens of new dormant black holes (BHs) with low-mass stellar companions (hereafter, Gaia BHs) in the upcoming fourth data release. Three Gaia BHs are already known, but their formation pathways…
We consider the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries containing accreting neutron stars via the helium-star supernova channel. The predicted relative number of short-period transients provides a sensitive test of the input physics in this…
We consider long-slit emission-line spectra of galactic nuclei when the slit is wider than the instrumental PSF, and the target has large velocity gradients. The finite width of the slit generates complex distributions of brightness at a…
Context: Gravitational microlensing is sensitive to compact-object lenses in the Milky Way, including white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes, and could potentially probe a wide range of stellar remnant masses. However, the mass of the…