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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23083 |
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| _version_ | 1866913154489909248 |
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| author | Godfrey, Jaxen van Son, Lieke Farr, Ben |
| author_facet | Godfrey, Jaxen van Son, Lieke Farr, Ben |
| contents | The mass ratio of merging binary black holes (BBHs) carries information about their formation history, yet has received less attention than masses, spins and eccentricities as a channel discriminator. We derive a strongly parametrized analytical model for the mass-ratio distribution expected from the stable mass transfer (SMT) channel. The model maps mass-transfer stability and accretion efficiency onto the observed mass-ratio distribution, and naturally produces two qualitatively distinct subpopulations: a non-mass-ratio-reversed and a mass-ratio-reversed subpopulation whose distinct shapes depend on the binary-evolution parameters in a traceable way. We embed this model in a hierarchical population analysis and apply it to the $\sim 10\, \rm{M}_{\odot}$ peak in the GWTC-4 BBH catalog. We find that the data favor little to no mass-ratio reversal in this peak, and infer SMT parameters in an astrophysically plausible range. This work demonstrates how data-driven models can be used in mixtures to study singular features in BBH population data and serves as a proof of concept for how a measurement of the BBH mass-ratio distribution within a subpopulation can be translated into direct constraints on the binary-evolution physics that produced it. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_23083 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Strongly Parametrized Mass Ratio Model for the Stable Mass Transfer Channel: a Case Study of the $10 \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$ Peak Godfrey, Jaxen van Son, Lieke Farr, Ben High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Solar and Stellar Astrophysics The mass ratio of merging binary black holes (BBHs) carries information about their formation history, yet has received less attention than masses, spins and eccentricities as a channel discriminator. We derive a strongly parametrized analytical model for the mass-ratio distribution expected from the stable mass transfer (SMT) channel. The model maps mass-transfer stability and accretion efficiency onto the observed mass-ratio distribution, and naturally produces two qualitatively distinct subpopulations: a non-mass-ratio-reversed and a mass-ratio-reversed subpopulation whose distinct shapes depend on the binary-evolution parameters in a traceable way. We embed this model in a hierarchical population analysis and apply it to the $\sim 10\, \rm{M}_{\odot}$ peak in the GWTC-4 BBH catalog. We find that the data favor little to no mass-ratio reversal in this peak, and infer SMT parameters in an astrophysically plausible range. This work demonstrates how data-driven models can be used in mixtures to study singular features in BBH population data and serves as a proof of concept for how a measurement of the BBH mass-ratio distribution within a subpopulation can be translated into direct constraints on the binary-evolution physics that produced it. |
| title | A Strongly Parametrized Mass Ratio Model for the Stable Mass Transfer Channel: a Case Study of the $10 \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$ Peak |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23083 |