Astrophysical Implications of the Binary Black-Hole Merger GW150914
read the original abstract
The discovery of the gravitational-wave source GW150914 with the Advanced LIGO detectors provides the first observational evidence for the existence of binary black-hole systems that inspiral and merge within the age of the Universe. Such black-hole mergers have been predicted in two main types of formation models, involving isolated binaries in galactic fields or dynamical interactions in young and old dense stellar environments. The measured masses robustly demonstrate that relatively "heavy" black holes ($\gtrsim 25\, M_\odot$) can form in nature. This discovery implies relatively weak massive-star winds and thus the formation of GW150914 in an environment with metallicity lower than $\sim 1/2$ of the solar value. The rate of binary black-hole mergers inferred from the observation of GW150914 is consistent with the higher end of rate predictions ($\gtrsim 1 \, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3} \, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$) from both types of formation models. The low measured redshift ($z \sim 0.1$) of GW150914 and the low inferred metallicity of the stellar progenitor imply either binary black-hole formation in a low-mass galaxy in the local Universe and a prompt merger, or formation at high redshift with a time delay between formation and merger of several Gyr. This discovery motivates further studies of binary-black-hole formation astrophysics. It also has implications for future detections and studies by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and gravitational-wave detectors in space.
This paper has not been read by Pith yet.
Forward citations
Cited by 6 Pith papers
-
Population Properties of Binary Black Holes with Eccentricity
First joint population inference on binary black hole eccentricity from GWTC-4 bounds the eccentric branching ratio below 5% at 90% confidence, with results consistent with quasi-circular models but highly model-dependent.
-
Binarity at LOw Metallicity (BLOeM): massive star variability revealed using a novel software tool for point-spread function fitting of TESS images
A PSF-fitting pipeline extracts variability light curves for 91 SMC massive stars and finds that stochastic low-frequency variability morphology tracks HR-diagram position independently of metallicity.
-
Retrieving the True Masses of Gravitational-wave Sources
Hydrodynamic drag makes BBH waveforms resemble higher-mass vacuum sources, biasing matched-filter chirp-mass estimates upward for LISA sources.
-
Bayesian inference for compact binary coalescences with BILBY: Validation and application to the first LIGO--Virgo gravitational-wave transient catalogue
BILBY is validated on simulated compact binary signals and reproduces the eleven GWTC-1 results with configuration and output files provided for reproduction.
-
Waveform Modelling for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
A review of existing waveform models for LISA sources and the challenges that must still be overcome.
-
Inferring the properties of a population of compact binaries in presence of selection effects
Pedagogical derivation from first principles of hierarchical Bayesian inference for population properties of compact binaries in the presence of selection effects, with two worked examples.
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.