Related papers: Constraining population synthesis models via empir…
Some fraction of compact binaries that merge within a Hubble time may have formed from two massive stars in isolation. For this isolated-binary formation channel, binaries need to survive two supernova (SN) explosions in addition to…
Gravitational wave measurements will provide insight into the population of coalescing compact binaries throughout the universe. We describe and demonstrate a flexible parametric method to infer the event rate as a function of compact…
Type Ibn supernovae (SNe) are a class of SN explosions whose progenitors are surrounded by dense helium-rich circumstellar matter (CSM). Some models have been proposed for how to form the dense CSM, with promising scenarios involving either…
Aims. The mass discrepancy between the observed population of double neutron star binaries by radio pulsar observations and gravitational-wave observation requires an explanation. Methods. Binary population synthesis calculations are…
The 2017 detection of a kilonova coincident with gravitational-wave emission has identified neutron star mergers as the major source of the heaviest elements, and dramatically constrained alternative theories of gravity. Observing a…
In the past five years, the number of known double neutron stars (DNS) in the Milky Way has roughly doubled. We argue that the observed sample can be split into three distinct sub-populations based on their orbital characteristics: (i)…
In Bray and Eldridge (2017), we proposed a simple neutron star kick formula, v kick = alpha (M ejecta / M remnant) + beta to explain the observed 2D velocities of young single neutron stars. Using this kick we found that there is no…
Many aspects of the evolution of stars, and in particular the evolution of binary stars, remain beyond our ability to model them in detail. Instead, we rely on observations to guide our often phenomenological models and pin down uncertain…
When a core collapse supernova occurs in a binary system, the surviving star as well as the compact remnant emerging from the SN, may reach a substantial space velocity. With binary population synthesis modelling at solar and one fifth of…
We compare the current LIGO/Virgo upper limits on double compact object volumetric merger rates with our theoretical predictions. Our optimistic models are a factor of 3 below the existing upper limits for massive BH-BH systems with total…
The paucity of old isolated accreting neutron stars in ROSAT observations is used to derive a lower limit on the mean velocity of neutron stars at birth. The secular evolution of the population is simulated following the paths of a…
The rapidly expanding catalog of gravitational-wave detections provides a powerful probe of the formation history of compact binaries across cosmic time. In this work, we extend the Binary Compact Object (BCO) phase-space framework to the…
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…
We explore the multi-messenger signatures of encounters between two neutron stars and between a neutron star and a stellar-mass black hole. We focus on the differences between gravitational wave driven binary mergers and dynamical…
Can one distinguish a binary black hole undergoing a merger from a binary neutron star if the individual compact companions have masses that fall inside the so-called mass gap of $3-5\ M_\odot$? For neutron stars, achieving such masses…
Gravitational-wave observations of double compact object (DCO) mergers are providing new insights into the physics of massive stars and the evolution of binary systems. Making the most of expected near-future observations for understanding…
Diffuse gamma-ray line emission traces freshly produced radioisotopes in the interstellar gas, providing a unique perspective on the entire Galactic cycle of matter from nucleosynthesis in massive stars to their ejection and mixing in the…
Using state-of-the-art dynamical simulations of globular clusters, including radiation reaction during black hole encounters and a cosmological model of star cluster formation, we create a realistic population of dynamically-formed binary…
We show that the recently discovered binary 2M05215658+4359220 (2M0521), comprised of a giant star (GS) orbiting a suspected black hole (BH) in a ~80 day orbit, may be instrumental in shedding light on uncertain BH-formation physics and can…
In this work we study the formation of the first two black hole-neutron star (BHNS) mergers detected in gravitational waves (GW200115 and GW200105) from massive stars in wide isolated binary systems - the isolated binary evolution channel.…