Related papers: Is the Binary Black Hole Population Inference from…
The tidal disruption of stars by (super-)massive black holes in galactic nuclei has been discussed in theoretical terms for about 30 years but only in the past decade have we been able to detect such events in substantial numbers. Thus, we…
The properties of precessing, coalescing binary black holes are presently inferred through comparison with two approximate models of compact binary coalescence. In this work we show these two models often disagree substantially when…
From catalogs of gravitational-wave transients, the population-level properties of their sources and the formation channels of merging compact binaries can be constrained. However, astrophysical conclusions can be biased by misspecification…
Population III (Pop. III) binary stars likely produced the first stellar-born binary black hole (BBH) mergers in the Universe. Here, we quantify the main sources of uncertainty for the merger rate density evolution and mass spectrum of Pop.…
The detection of double black hole (BH+BH) mergers provides a unique possibility to understand their physical properties and origin. To date, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network of high-frequency gravitational wave observatories have announced the…
A perturbed black hole emits gravitational radiation, usually termed the ringdown signal, whose frequency and time-constant depends on the mass and spin of the black hole. I investigate the case of a binary black hole merger resulting from…
The mass distribution of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) is affected by drops in the pressure of the early Universe plasma. For example, events in the standard model of particle physics, such as the $W^\pm/Z^0$ decoupling, the quark-hadron…
Third-generation (3G) gravitational-wave (GW) detectors will be able to observe binary-black-hole mergers (BBHs) up to redshift of $\sim 30$. This gives unprecedented access to the formation and evolution of BBHs throughout cosmic history.…
Accurate extractions of the detected gravitational wave (GW) signal waveforms are essential to validate a detection and to probe the astrophysics behind the sources producing the GWs. This however could be difficult in realistic scenarios…
Black hole spectroscopy is an important pillar when studying gravitational waves from black holes and enables tests of general relativity. Most of the gravitational-wave signals observed over the last decade originate from binary black hole…
Supermassive black hole binary mergers generate a stochastic gravitational wave background detectable by pulsar timing arrays. While the amplitude of this background is subject to significant uncertainties, the frequency dependence is a…
Shortly after a new class of objects is discovered, the attention shifts from the properties of the individual sources to the question of their origin: do all sources come from the same underlying population, or several populations are…
Observation of gravitational waves from inspiralling binary black holes has offered a unique opportunity to study the physical parameters of the component black holes. To infer these parameters, Bayesian methods are employed in conjunction…
The stability criteria of rapid mass transfer and common-envelope evolution are fundamental in binary star evolution. They determine the mass, mass ratio, and orbital distribution of many important systems, such as X-ray binaries, type Ia…
Gravitational-wave observations have the potential of allowing the identification of a population of merging primordial black-hole binaries. We provide an overview of the capabilities of present and future GW detectors, with a special…
This is a summary of an invited talk given at the Moriond Gravitation meeting on March 31, 2025. I touch on some of the practical challenges of measuring the mass spectrum of merging binary black holes through their gravitational-wave…
Merging compact black-hole (BH) binaries are likely to exist in the nuclear star clusters around supermassive BHs (SMBHs), such as Sgr A$^\ast$. They may also form in the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei. Such compact binaries can…
If binaries consisting of two 100 Msun black holes exist they would serve as extraordinarily powerful gravitational-wave sources, detectable to redshifts of z=2 with the advanced LIGO/Virgo ground-based detectors. Large uncertainties about…
The evolution of the supermassive Black Hole (BH) population across cosmic times remains a central unresolved issue in modern astrophysics, due to the many noticeable uncertainties in the involved physical processes that span a huge range…
Gravitational waves from extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) will enable sub-percent measurements of massive black hole parameters and provide access to the demographics of compact objects in galactic nuclei. During the LISA mission,…