Indication for a compact object next to a LIGO-Virgo binary black hole merger

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Yang, Shu-Cheng, Han, Wen-Biao, Tagawa, Hiromichi, Li, Song, Zhang, Chen
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Yang, Shu-Cheng
Han, Wen-Biao
Tagawa, Hiromichi
Li, Song
Zhang, Chen
author_facet Yang, Shu-Cheng
Han, Wen-Biao
Tagawa, Hiromichi
Li, Song
Zhang, Chen
contents The astrophysical origin of binary black hole (BBH) mergers remains uncertain, although many events have been observed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network. Such mergers are potentially originated in the vicinity of massive black holes (MBHs). GW190814, due to its secondary mass and mass ratio being beyond the expectations of isolated stellar evolution theories, is a promising event that has occurred in an active galactic nucleus (AGN) disk. In this model, a compact object resides in the vicinity of a merging BBH. Here we report multiple pieces of evidence suggesting that GW190814 is a BBH merging near a compact object. The orbital motion of BBHs around a third body produces a line-of-sight acceleration (LSA) and induces a varying Doppler shift. Using a waveform template that considers LSA, we perform Bayesian inference on a few BBH events with a high signal-to-noise ratio in the gravitational-wave (GW) transient catalog. Compared to the model for isolated BBH mergers, we obtain significantly higher network signal-to-noise ratios for GW190814 with the inclusion of LSA, constraining the LSA to $a = 0.0015^{+0.0008}_{-0.0008} ~c~\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ at a $90 \%$ confidence level. Additionally, the Bayes factor for the LSA case over the isolated case is $58/1$, indicating that the GW data strongly prefer the LSA model. We conclude that this is the first indication showing merging BBHs are located near a third compact object.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_01743
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Indication for a compact object next to a LIGO-Virgo binary black hole merger
Yang, Shu-Cheng
Han, Wen-Biao
Tagawa, Hiromichi
Li, Song
Zhang, Chen
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
The astrophysical origin of binary black hole (BBH) mergers remains uncertain, although many events have been observed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network. Such mergers are potentially originated in the vicinity of massive black holes (MBHs). GW190814, due to its secondary mass and mass ratio being beyond the expectations of isolated stellar evolution theories, is a promising event that has occurred in an active galactic nucleus (AGN) disk. In this model, a compact object resides in the vicinity of a merging BBH. Here we report multiple pieces of evidence suggesting that GW190814 is a BBH merging near a compact object. The orbital motion of BBHs around a third body produces a line-of-sight acceleration (LSA) and induces a varying Doppler shift. Using a waveform template that considers LSA, we perform Bayesian inference on a few BBH events with a high signal-to-noise ratio in the gravitational-wave (GW) transient catalog. Compared to the model for isolated BBH mergers, we obtain significantly higher network signal-to-noise ratios for GW190814 with the inclusion of LSA, constraining the LSA to $a = 0.0015^{+0.0008}_{-0.0008} ~c~\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ at a $90 \%$ confidence level. Additionally, the Bayes factor for the LSA case over the isolated case is $58/1$, indicating that the GW data strongly prefer the LSA model. We conclude that this is the first indication showing merging BBHs are located near a third compact object.
title Indication for a compact object next to a LIGO-Virgo binary black hole merger
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.01743