Multi-Generational Black Hole Population Analysis with an Astrophysically Informed Mass Function

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Ulrich, Yannick, Croon, Djuna, Sakstein, Jeremy, McDermott, Samuel
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Ulrich, Yannick
Croon, Djuna
Sakstein, Jeremy
McDermott, Samuel
author_facet Ulrich, Yannick
Croon, Djuna
Sakstein, Jeremy
McDermott, Samuel
contents We analyze the population statistics of black holes in the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA GWTC-3 catalog using a parametric mass function derived from simulations of massive stars experiencing pulsational pair-instability supernovae (PPISN). Our formalism enables us to separate the black hole mass function into sub-populations corresponding to mergers between objects formed via different astrophysical pathways, allowing us to infer the properties of black holes formed from stellar collapse and black holes formed via prior mergers separately. Applying this formalism, we find that this model fits the data better than the powerlaw+peak model with Bayes factor $ 9.7\pm0.1$. We measure the location of the lower edge of the upper black hole mass gap to be $M_{\rm BHMG}=84.05_{-12.88}^{+17.19}{\rm M}_{\odot}$, providing evidence that the $35{\rm M}_{\odot}$ Gaussian peak detected in the data using other models is not associated with the PPISN pile-up predicted to precede this gap. Incorporating spin, we find that the normalized spins of stellar remnant black holes are close to zero while those of higher generation black holes tend to larger values. All of these results are in accordance with the predictions of stellar structure theory and black hole merger scenarios. Finally, we combine our mass function with the spectral siren method for measuring the Hubble constant to find $H_0=36.19_{-10.91}^{17.50}$ km/s/Mpc and discuss potential explanations of this low value. Our results demonstrate how astrophysically-informed mass functions can facilitate the interpretation of gravitational wave catalog data to provide information about black hole formation and cosmology. Future data releases will improve the precision of our measurements.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_06109
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multi-Generational Black Hole Population Analysis with an Astrophysically Informed Mass Function
Ulrich, Yannick
Croon, Djuna
Sakstein, Jeremy
McDermott, Samuel
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
We analyze the population statistics of black holes in the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA GWTC-3 catalog using a parametric mass function derived from simulations of massive stars experiencing pulsational pair-instability supernovae (PPISN). Our formalism enables us to separate the black hole mass function into sub-populations corresponding to mergers between objects formed via different astrophysical pathways, allowing us to infer the properties of black holes formed from stellar collapse and black holes formed via prior mergers separately. Applying this formalism, we find that this model fits the data better than the powerlaw+peak model with Bayes factor $ 9.7\pm0.1$. We measure the location of the lower edge of the upper black hole mass gap to be $M_{\rm BHMG}=84.05_{-12.88}^{+17.19}{\rm M}_{\odot}$, providing evidence that the $35{\rm M}_{\odot}$ Gaussian peak detected in the data using other models is not associated with the PPISN pile-up predicted to precede this gap. Incorporating spin, we find that the normalized spins of stellar remnant black holes are close to zero while those of higher generation black holes tend to larger values. All of these results are in accordance with the predictions of stellar structure theory and black hole merger scenarios. Finally, we combine our mass function with the spectral siren method for measuring the Hubble constant to find $H_0=36.19_{-10.91}^{17.50}$ km/s/Mpc and discuss potential explanations of this low value. Our results demonstrate how astrophysically-informed mass functions can facilitate the interpretation of gravitational wave catalog data to provide information about black hole formation and cosmology. Future data releases will improve the precision of our measurements.
title Multi-Generational Black Hole Population Analysis with an Astrophysically Informed Mass Function
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.06109