Gravitational-wave constraints on the pair-instability mass gap and nuclear burning in massive stars
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866909020696084480 |
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| author | Antonini, Fabio Romero-Shaw, Isobel Callister, Thomas Dosopoulou, Fani Chattopadhyay, Debatri Ginat, Yonadav Barry Gieles, Mark Mapelli, Michela |
| author_facet | Antonini, Fabio Romero-Shaw, Isobel Callister, Thomas Dosopoulou, Fani Chattopadhyay, Debatri Ginat, Yonadav Barry Gieles, Mark Mapelli, Michela |
| contents | Pair-instability should prevent the direct formation of black holes above about $50M_\odot$ creating a pair-instability mass gap. Yet gravitational-wave observations have detected black holes in this mass range. These systems can be explained with uncertainties in massive-star evolution, or hierarchical mergers in stellar clusters, which are expected to produce large spins with isotropic orientations. Here we present evidence for the pair-instability mass gap in the LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA fourth transient catalog, with a lower edge at $44.3^{+5.9}_{-3.5}\,M_\odot$. We also obtain a measurement of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}(α,γ){}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ reaction rate, yielding an $S$-factor of $268^{+195}_{-116}\,\mathrm{keV\,b}$, a parameter critical for modeling helium burning and stellar evolution. The data reveal two populations: a low-spin group with no black holes above the gap, and a high-spin, isotropic group that extends across the full mass range and occupies the gap, consistent with hierarchical mergers. These findings are consistent with pair-instability playing a role in shaping the black hole mass spectrum, point to a connection between gravitational wave astronomy and nuclear astrophysics, and highlight dense stellar clusters as key environments in the growth of black holes. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_04637 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Gravitational-wave constraints on the pair-instability mass gap and nuclear burning in massive stars Antonini, Fabio Romero-Shaw, Isobel Callister, Thomas Dosopoulou, Fani Chattopadhyay, Debatri Ginat, Yonadav Barry Gieles, Mark Mapelli, Michela High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Pair-instability should prevent the direct formation of black holes above about $50M_\odot$ creating a pair-instability mass gap. Yet gravitational-wave observations have detected black holes in this mass range. These systems can be explained with uncertainties in massive-star evolution, or hierarchical mergers in stellar clusters, which are expected to produce large spins with isotropic orientations. Here we present evidence for the pair-instability mass gap in the LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA fourth transient catalog, with a lower edge at $44.3^{+5.9}_{-3.5}\,M_\odot$. We also obtain a measurement of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}(α,γ){}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ reaction rate, yielding an $S$-factor of $268^{+195}_{-116}\,\mathrm{keV\,b}$, a parameter critical for modeling helium burning and stellar evolution. The data reveal two populations: a low-spin group with no black holes above the gap, and a high-spin, isotropic group that extends across the full mass range and occupies the gap, consistent with hierarchical mergers. These findings are consistent with pair-instability playing a role in shaping the black hole mass spectrum, point to a connection between gravitational wave astronomy and nuclear astrophysics, and highlight dense stellar clusters as key environments in the growth of black holes. |
| title | Gravitational-wave constraints on the pair-instability mass gap and nuclear burning in massive stars |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.04637 |