Related papers: Hierarchical Triples vs. Globular Clusters: Binary…
When binary black holes form in the field, it is expected that their orbits typically circularize before coalescence. In galactic nuclei and globular clusters, binary black holes can form dynamically. Recent results suggest that…
The predicted rate of binary black hole mergers from galactic fields can vary over several orders of magnitude and is extremely sensitive to the assumptions of stellar evolution. But in dense stellar environments such as globular clusters,…
We present the result of $N$-body simulations of dynamical evolution of triple massive blackhole (BH) systems in galactic nuclei. We found that in most cases two of the three BHs merge through gravitational wave (GW) radiation in the…
The growing number of binary black hole mergers detected through gravitational waves offers unprecedented insight into their underlying population, yet their astrophysical formation channels remain unresolved. We present a new method to…
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…
We present the first systematic study on how distant weak interactions impact the dynamical evolution of merging binary black holes (BBHs) in dense stellar clusters. Recent studies indicate that dense clusters are likely to significantly…
The astrophysical origin of gravitational wave (GW) transients is a timely open question in the wake of discoveries by LIGO/Virgo. In active galactic nuclei (AGNs), binaries form and evolve efficiently by interaction with a dense population…
Dense star clusters are thought to contribute significantly to the merger rates of stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration. We combine $N$-body dynamic models of realistic dense star clusters…
Most of the binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected by LIGO and Virgo could be explained by first-generation mergers formed from the collapse of stars, while others might come from second (or higher) generation mergers, namely hierarchical…
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…
The growing population of binary black holes (BBHs) observed by gravitational wave detectors is a potential Rosetta stone for understanding their formation channels. Here, we use an upgraded version of our semi-analytic codes {\sc…
We study the orbital evolution of black hole (BH) binaries in quadruple systems, where the tertiary binary excites large eccentricity in the BH binary through Lidov-Kozai (LK) oscillations, causing the binary BHs to merge via gravitational…
We outline the eccentricity evolution of sub-parsec massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) forming in galaxy mergers. In both stellar and gaseous environments, MBHBs are expected to grow large orbital eccentricities before they enter the…
The growing population of compact binary mergers detected with gravitational waves contains multiple events that are challenging to explain through isolated binary evolution. Such events have higher masses than are expected in isolated…
As the sensitivity of current and future gravitational-wave detectors improves, it will become possible to measure the evolution of the binary black hole merger rate with redshift. Here, we combine detailed fits to state-of-the-art…
The origin, environment, and evolution of stellar-mass black hole binaries are still a mystery. One of the proposed binary formation mechanisms is manifest in dynamical interactions between multiple black holes. A resulting framework of…
Hierarchical mergers are one of the distinctive signatures of binary black hole (BBH) formation through dynamical evolution. Here, we present a fast semi-analytic approach to simulate hierarchical mergers in nuclear star clusters (NSCs),…
Gravitational-wave detectors are unveiling a population of binary black hole (BBH) mergers out to redshifts $z \approx 1$, and are starting to constrain how the BBH population evolves with redshift. We present predictions for the redshift…
The high rate of black hole (BH) mergers detected by LIGO/Virgo opened questions on their astrophysical origin. One possibility is the dynamical channel, in which binary formation and hardening is catalyzed by dynamical encounters in…
The orbital eccentricity of a merging binary black hole leaves an imprint on the associated gravitational-wave signal that can reveal whether the binary formed in isolation or in a dynamical environment, such as the core of a dense star…