The Heavier the Faster

A Subpopulation of Heavy, Rapidly Spinning and Quickly Evolving Binary Black Holes

verfasst von
Wei Hua Guo, Yin Jie Li, Yuan Zhu Wang, Yong Shao, Shi Chao Wu, Tao Zhu, Yi Zhong Fan
Abstract

The spins of binary black holes (BBHs) measured from gravitational waves contain valuable information about their formation pathways. In this study, we propose a new quantity, the “dimensionless net spin” (χ N), which relates to the sum of the angular momenta of the component black holes (BHs) in the system, offering a novel perspective for exploring the origins of BBHs. Through hierarchical Bayesian inference on χ N, we find strong evidence that its distribution is better described by two Gaussian components rather than one, and their branching ratios vary with total mass and redshift: there is a narrow peak at χ N ∼ 0.15 and an extended peak at χ N ∼ 0.3-0.6. The rapidly spinning systems likely dominate the high-mass end of the population and evolve with redshift more quickly. These findings present new challenges to the field binary formation scenario and suggest that dynamical processes may play a key role in the formation of high total mass BBHs.

Organisationseinheit(en)
Institut für Gravitationsphysik
Externe Organisation(en)
Zhejiang University of Technology
CAS - Purple Mountain Observatory
Nanjing University
Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut)
Typ
Artikel
Journal
Astrophysical Journal
Band
975
Anzahl der Seiten
15
ISSN
0004-637X
Publikationsdatum
24.10.2024
Publikationsstatus
Veröffentlicht
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Astronomie und Astrophysik, Astronomie und Planetologie
Elektronische Version(en)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2406.03257 (Zugang: Offen)
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad758a (Zugang: Offen)