McFACTS II: Mass Ratio--Effective Spin Relationship of Black Hole Mergers in the AGN Channel

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cook, Harrison E., McKernan, Barry, Ford, K. E. Saavik, Delfavero, Vera, Nathaniel, Kaila, Postiglione, Jake, Ray, Shawn, McPike, Emily J., O'Shaughnessy, Richard
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Cook, Harrison E.
McKernan, Barry
Ford, K. E. Saavik
Delfavero, Vera
Nathaniel, Kaila
Postiglione, Jake
Ray, Shawn
McPike, Emily J.
O'Shaughnessy, Richard
author_facet Cook, Harrison E.
McKernan, Barry
Ford, K. E. Saavik
Delfavero, Vera
Nathaniel, Kaila
Postiglione, Jake
Ray, Shawn
McPike, Emily J.
O'Shaughnessy, Richard
contents We use the Monte Carlo For AGN (active galactic nucleus) Channel Testing and Simulation (McFACTS, https://www.github.com/mcfacts/mcfacts) code to study the effect of AGN disk and nuclear star cluster parameters on predicted mass distributions for LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) compact binaries forming in AGN disks. The assumptions we vary include the black hole (BH) initial mass function, disk model, disk size, disk lifetime, and the prograde-to-retrograde fraction of newly formed black hole binaries. Broadly we find that dense, moderately short-lived AGN disks are preferred for producing a $(q,χ_{\rm eff})$ anti-correlation like those identified from existing gravitational wave (GW) observations. Additionally, a BH initial mass function (MF $\propto M^{-2}$) is preferred over a more top-heavy MF ($M^{-1}$). The preferred fraction of prograde-to-retrograde is $>90\%$, to produce results consistent with observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_10590
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle McFACTS II: Mass Ratio--Effective Spin Relationship of Black Hole Mergers in the AGN Channel
Cook, Harrison E.
McKernan, Barry
Ford, K. E. Saavik
Delfavero, Vera
Nathaniel, Kaila
Postiglione, Jake
Ray, Shawn
McPike, Emily J.
O'Shaughnessy, Richard
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We use the Monte Carlo For AGN (active galactic nucleus) Channel Testing and Simulation (McFACTS, https://www.github.com/mcfacts/mcfacts) code to study the effect of AGN disk and nuclear star cluster parameters on predicted mass distributions for LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) compact binaries forming in AGN disks. The assumptions we vary include the black hole (BH) initial mass function, disk model, disk size, disk lifetime, and the prograde-to-retrograde fraction of newly formed black hole binaries. Broadly we find that dense, moderately short-lived AGN disks are preferred for producing a $(q,χ_{\rm eff})$ anti-correlation like those identified from existing gravitational wave (GW) observations. Additionally, a BH initial mass function (MF $\propto M^{-2}$) is preferred over a more top-heavy MF ($M^{-1}$). The preferred fraction of prograde-to-retrograde is $>90\%$, to produce results consistent with observations.
title McFACTS II: Mass Ratio--Effective Spin Relationship of Black Hole Mergers in the AGN Channel
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.10590