No Arabic abstract
Several astrophysical scenarios have been proposed to explain the origin of the population of binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected in gravitational waves (GWs) by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration. Among them, BBH mergers assembled dynamically in young massive and open clusters have been shown to produce merger rate densities consistent with LIGO/Virgo estimated rates. We use the results of a suite of direct, high-precision $N$-body evolutionary models of young massive and open clusters and build the population of BBH mergers, by accounting for both a cosmologically-motivated model for the formation of young massive and open clusters and the detection probability of LIGO/Virgo. We show that our models produce dynamically-paired BBH mergers that are well consistent with the observed masses, mass ratios, effective spin parameters, and final spins of the second Gravitational Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-2).
Black hole binaries formed dynamically in globular clusters are believed to be one of the main sources of gravitational waves in the Universe. Here, we use our new population synthesis code, cBHBd, to determine the redshift evolution of the merger rate density and masses of black hole binaries formed in globular clusters. We simulate $sim 2$ million models to explore the parameter space that is relevant to real clusters and over all mass scales. We show that when uncertainties on the initial cluster mass function and density are properly taken into account, they become the two dominant factors in setting the theoretical error bars on merger rates. Other model parameters (e.g., natal kicks, black hole masses, metallicity) have virtually no effect on the local merger rate density, although they affect the masses of the merging black holes. Modelling the merger rate density as a function of redshift as $R(z)=R_0(1+z)^kappa$ at $z<2$, and marginalizing over uncertainties, we find: $R_0=7.2^{+21.5}_{-5.5}{rm Gpc^{-3}yr^{-1}}$ and $kappa=1.6^{+0.4}_{-0.6}$ ($90%$ credibility). The rate parameters for binaries that merge inside the clusters are ${R}_{rm 0,in}=1.6^{+1.9}_{-1.0}{rm Gpc^{-3}yr^{-1}}$ and $kappa_{rm in}=2.3^{+1.3}_{-1.0}$; $sim 20%$ of these form as the result of a gravitational-wave capture, implying that eccentric mergers from globular clusters contribute $lesssim 0.4 rm Gpc^{-3}yr^{-1}$ to the local rate. A comparison to the merger rate reported by LIGO-Virgo shows that a scenario in which most of the detected black hole mergers are formed in globular clusters is consistent with current constraints, and requires initial cluster half-mass densities $gtrsim 10^4 M_odot rm pc^{-3}$. Such models also reproduce the inferred primary black hole mass distribution for masses $13-30 M_odot$, but under-predict the data outside this range.
Some astrophysical sources of gravitational waves can produce a memory effect, which causes a permanent displacement of the test masses in a freely falling gravitational-wave detector. The Christodoulou memory is a particularly interesting nonlinear form of memory that arises from the gravitational-wave stress-energy tensors contribution to the distant gravitational-wave field. This nonlinear memory contributes a nonoscillatory component to the gravitational-wave signal at leading (Newtonian-quadrupole) order in the waveform amplitude. Previous computations of the memory and its detectability considered only the inspiral phase of binary black hole coalescence. Using an effective-one-body (EOB) approach calibrated to numerical relativity simulations, as well as a simple fully analytic model, the Christodoulou memory is computed for the inspiral, merger, and ringdown. The memory will be very difficult to detect with ground-based interferometers, but is likely to be observable in supermassive black hole mergers with LISA out to a redshift of two. Detection of the nonlinear memory could serve as an experimental test of the ability of gravity to gravitate.
In this paper we study the evolution of a primordial black hole binary (BHB) in a sample of over 1500 direct-summation $N-$body simulations of small-and intermediate-size isolated star clusters as proxies of galactic open clusters. The BHBs have masses in the range of the first LIGO/Virgo detections. Some of our models show a significant hardening of the BHB in a relatively short time. Some of them merge within the cluster, while ejected binaries, typically, have exceedingly long merger timescales. The perturbation of stars around BHB systems is key to induce their coalescence. The BHBs which merge in the cluster could be detected with a delay of a few years between space detectors, as future LISA, and ground-based ones, due to their relatively high eccentricity. Under our assumptions, we estimate a BHB merger rate of $R_{rm mrg} sim 2$ yr$^{-1}$ Gpc$^{-3}$. We see that in many cases the BHB triggers tidal disruption events which, however, are not linked to the GW emission. Open cluster-like systems are, hence, a promising environment for GWs from BHBs and tidal disruptions.
We present the second Open Gravitational-wave Catalog (2-OGC) of compact-binary coalescences, obtained from the complete set of public data from Advanced LIGOs first and second observing runs. For the first time we also search public data from the Virgo observatory. The sensitivity of our search benefits from updated methods of ranking candidate events including the effects of non-stationary detector noise and varying network sensitivity; in a separate targeted binary black hole merger search we also impose a prior distribution of binary component masses. We identify a population of 14 binary black hole merger events with probability of astrophysical origin $> 0.5$ as well as the binary neutron star merger GW170817. We confirm the previously reported events GW170121, GW170304, and GW170727 and also report GW151205, a new marginal binary black hole merger with a primary mass of $67^{+28}_{-17},mathrm{M}_{odot}$ that may have formed through hierarchical merger. We find no additional significant binary neutron star merger or neutron star--black hole merger events. To enable deeper follow-up as our understanding of the underlying populations evolves, we make available our comprehensive catalog of events, including the sub-threshold population of candidates and posterior samples from parameter inference of the 30 most significant binary black hole candidates.
Hierarchical mergers are one of the distinctive signatures of binary black hole (BBH) formation through dynamical evolution. Here, we present a fast semi-analytic approach to simulate hierarchical mergers in nuclear star clusters (NSCs), globular clusters (GCs) and young star clusters (YSCs). Hierarchical mergers are more common in NSCs than they are in both GCs and YSCs, because of the different escape velocity. The mass distribution of hierarchical BBHs strongly depends on the properties of first-generation BBHs, such as their progenitors metallicity. In our fiducial model, we form black holes (BHs) with masses up to $sim{}10^3$ M$_odot$ in NSCs and up to $sim{}10^2$ M$_odot$ in both GCs and YSCs. When escape velocities in excess of 100 km~s$^{-1}$ are considered, BHs with mass $>10^3$ M$_odot$ are allowed to form in NSCs. Hierarchical mergers lead to the formation of BHs in the pair instability mass gap and intermediate-mass BHs, but only in metal-poor environments. The local BBH merger rate in our models ranges from $sim{}10$ to $sim{} 60$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$; hierarchical BBHs in NSCs account for $sim{}10^{-2}- 0.2$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$, with a strong upper limit of $sim{}10$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$. When comparing our models with the second gravitational-wave transient catalog, we find that multiple formation channels are favored to reproduce the observed BBH population.