Related papers: Beyond the far side: Observing black hole mergers …
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…
Gravitational-wave observations have revealed an excess of binary black hole mergers with primary masses near $\sim 35\,M_\odot$. We show that if this feature originates from dynamical formation in dense stellar systems, and if the…
Pair-instability should prevent the direct formation of black holes above about $50M_\odot$ creating a pair-instability mass gap. Yet gravitational-wave observations have detected black holes in this mass range. These systems can be…
Binary neutron-star mergers will predominantly produce black-hole remnants of mass $\sim 3-4\,M_{\odot}$, thus populating the putative \emph{low mass gap} between neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes. If these low-mass black holes are…
In current stellar evolutionary models, the occurrence of pair instability supernovae implies the lack of stellar black holes (BHs) with masses between about $[60, \, 120] \, \rm{M}_\odot$, resulting in the presence of an upper mass gap in…
The occurrence of pair-instability supernovae is predicted to prevent the formation of black holes with masses $\gtrsim 50 M_\odot$. Recent gravitational-wave detections in this mass range require an explanation beyond that of standard…
Stellar theory predicts a forbidden range of black-hole masses between ${\sim}50$--$130\,M_\odot$ due to pair-instability supernovae, but evidence for such a gap in the mass distribution from gravitational-wave astronomy has proved elusive.…
Pair instabilities in supernovae might prevent the formation of black holes with masses between $\sim 50 M_\odot$ and $\sim 130 M_\odot$. Multiple generations of black-hole mergers provide a possible way to populate this "mass gap" from…
Mergers of two stellar origin black holes are a prime source of gravitational waves and are under intensive investigations. One crucial ingredient in their modeling has so far been neglected. Pair-instability pulsation supernovae with…
In the standard picture of stellar evolution, pair-instability -- the energy loss in stellar cores due to electron-positron pair production -- is predicted to prevent the collapse of massive stars into black holes with mass in the range…
Gravitational wave (GW) detections of binary black hole (BH) mergers have begun to sample the cosmic BH mass distribution. The evolution of single stellar cores predicts a gap in the BH mass distribution due to pair-instability supernova…
The possible existence of primordial black holes in the stellar mass window has received considerable attention because their mergers may contribute to current and future gravitational-wave detections. Primordial black hole mergers,…
We demonstrate the power of the black hole mass gap as a novel probe of fundamental physics. New light particles that couple to the Standard Model can act as an additional source of energy loss in the cores of population-III stars,…
The recent detection of GW190521 stimulated ideas on how to populate the predicted black hole pair-instability mass gap. One proposed scenario is the dynamical merger of two stars below the pair instability regime forming a star with a…
Theoretical modeling of massive stars predicts a gap in the black hole (BH) mass function above $\sim 40-50\,M_{\odot}$ for BHs formed through single star evolution, arising from (pulsational) pair-instability supernovae. However, in dense…
A direct detection of black hole formation in neutron star mergers would provide invaluable information about matter in neutron star cores and finite temperature effects on the nuclear equation of state. We study black hole formation in…
Mergers between stellar-mass black holes will be key sources of gravitational radiation for ground-based detectors. However, the rates of these events are highly uncertain, given that such systems are invisible. One formation scenario…
The population of binary black hole mergers identified through gravitational waves has uncovered unexpected features in the intrinsic properties of black holes in the universe. One particularly surprising and exciting result is the possible…
In recent years, the existence of a gap in the mass spectrum of compact objects formed from stellar collapse, between the heaviest neutron stars and the lightest black holes, has been a matter of significant debate. The presence or absence…
Recent detections of gravitational waves from mergers of neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs) in the low and high-end mass gap regimes pose a puzzle to standard stellar and binary evolution theory. Mass-gap mergers may originate from…