Evidence for a correlation between binary black hole mass ratio and black-hole spins

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Adamcewicz, Christian, Lasky, Paul D., Thrane, Eric
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Adamcewicz, Christian
Lasky, Paul D.
Thrane, Eric
author_facet Adamcewicz, Christian
Lasky, Paul D.
Thrane, Eric
contents The astrophysical origins of the binary black hole systems seen with gravitational waves are still not well understood. However, features in the distribution of black-hole masses, spins, redshifts, and eccentricities provide clues into how these systems form. Much has been learned by investigating these distributions one parameter at a time. However, we can extract additional information by studying the covariance between pairs of parameters. Previous work has shown preliminary support for an anti-correlation between mass ratio $q \equiv m_2/m_1$ and effective inspiral spin $χ_\mathrm{eff}$ in the binary black hole population. In this study, we test for the existence of this anti-correlation using updated data from the third gravitational wave transient catalogue (GWTC-3) and improve our copula-based framework to employ a more robust model for black-hole spins. We find evidence for an anti-correlation in $(q, χ_\mathrm{eff})$ with 99.7% credibility. This may imply high common-envelope efficiencies, stages of super-Eddington accretion, or a tendency for binary black hole systems to undergo mass-ratio reversal during isolated evolution. Covariance in $(q,χ_\mathrm{eff})$ may also be used to investigate the physics of tidal spin-up as well as the properties of binary-black-hole-forming active galactic nuclei.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2307_15278
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evidence for a correlation between binary black hole mass ratio and black-hole spins
Adamcewicz, Christian
Lasky, Paul D.
Thrane, Eric
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
The astrophysical origins of the binary black hole systems seen with gravitational waves are still not well understood. However, features in the distribution of black-hole masses, spins, redshifts, and eccentricities provide clues into how these systems form. Much has been learned by investigating these distributions one parameter at a time. However, we can extract additional information by studying the covariance between pairs of parameters. Previous work has shown preliminary support for an anti-correlation between mass ratio $q \equiv m_2/m_1$ and effective inspiral spin $χ_\mathrm{eff}$ in the binary black hole population. In this study, we test for the existence of this anti-correlation using updated data from the third gravitational wave transient catalogue (GWTC-3) and improve our copula-based framework to employ a more robust model for black-hole spins. We find evidence for an anti-correlation in $(q, χ_\mathrm{eff})$ with 99.7% credibility. This may imply high common-envelope efficiencies, stages of super-Eddington accretion, or a tendency for binary black hole systems to undergo mass-ratio reversal during isolated evolution. Covariance in $(q,χ_\mathrm{eff})$ may also be used to investigate the physics of tidal spin-up as well as the properties of binary-black-hole-forming active galactic nuclei.
title Evidence for a correlation between binary black hole mass ratio and black-hole spins
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.15278