Filling the gap: possible pathways to get a BBH merger in the PISN mass gap
Abstract
Gravitational-wave detections are starting to reveal the properties of the population of merging binary black holes (BBH). Stellar theory predicts a gap in the black hole mass function between 45 and 130 \Msun, referred to as the pair-instability supernovae (PISN) mass gap. This prediction of a mass gap is remarkably robust against model variations to the extent that it could be considered among the most robust predictions from stellar theory available today. The first ten binary BBH detections already indicate a dearth of BBH mergers with component masses greater than ~45\Msun. The planned 3rd generation gravitational wave detectors are estimated to detect about 10$^4$ BBH mergers per year and will reveal exactly how rare these PISN mass gap events are. Since the prediction of the gap is so robust, it's lower limit could be used to constrain stellar physics and, if the BH mass distribution is truly shaped by the PISN mechanism, it could be used as a standard siren of cosmology. Understanding if and how BBHs with a mass in the gap can be formed is essential to understand the final stages of massive stellar evolution and the different formation channels of binary black holes. In this talk, I will explore possibilities for creating black holes with masses in the gap, and I will discuss several formation channels, ranging from dynamical interactions to isolated binary evolution including super-Eddington mass accretion onto black holes and compare their rates and predictions.
- Publication:
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43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February
- Pub Date:
- January 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021cosp...43E2124V