REVIEW 22 cited by
The spin magnitude of stellar-mass binary black holes evolves with the mass: evidence from gravitational wave data
Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.
This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.
SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event
T0 review · schema-true
One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.
pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp
The spin magnitude of stellar-mass binary black holes evolves with the mass: evidence from gravitational wave data
read the original abstract
The relation between the mass and spin of stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) has been proposed to be a smoking gun for the presence of multiple formation channels for compact objects. First-generation black holes (BHs) formed by isolated binary stellar progenitors are expected to have nearly aligned small spins, while nth-generation BBHs resulting from hierarchical mergers are expected to have misaligned and higher spins. Leveraging data from the third observing run O3 (GWTC-2.1 and GWTC-3), we employ hierarchical Bayesian methods to conduct a comprehensive study of possible correlations between the BBH masses and spins. We use parametric models that either superpose independent BBH populations or explicitly model a mass-spin correlation. We unveil strong evidence for a correlation between normalized spin magnitudes and masses of BBHs. The correlation can be explained as a transition from a BBH population with low spins at low masses and higher spins for higher masses. Although the spin magnitude distribution at high masses lacks robust constraints, we find strong evidence that a transition between two BBH populations with different spin distributions should happen at 40-50 $M_{\odot}$. In particular, we find that the population of BBHs above 40-50 $M_{\odot}$ should compose the $\sim 2 \%$ of the overall population, with a spin magnitude $\chi$ peaking around 0.7, consistently with the fraction of nth-generation BBHs formed by hierarchical mergers in the latest state-of-the-art BBH genesis simulations.
Forward citations
Cited by 22 Pith papers
-
Population Properties of Binary Black Holes with Eccentricity
First joint population inference on binary black hole eccentricity from GWTC-4 bounds the eccentric branching ratio below 5% at 90% confidence, with results consistent with quasi-circular models but highly model-dependent.
-
Periodic line-of-sight velocity-driven modulations to gravitational waves emitted by compact binaries in Keplerian outer orbits
New waveform corrections for periodic Doppler shifts from circular and eccentric outer orbits let future gravitational-wave detectors measure the mass and orbit of a third body around a merging binary.
-
Secondary-Mass Features improve Spectral-Siren $H_0$ Constraints
A new model emphasizing secondary mass features and pairing transitions improves spectral siren H0 constraints by ~30% using 142 GW events from GWTC-4.0.
-
Comparing astrophysical models to gravitational-wave data in the observable space
Demonstrates direct comparison of observable compact-binary populations from GW data to astrophysical models, with unbiased inference shown possible and applied to O3 data.
-
Assessing the waveform systematics from parameter estimation to population inference with eccentricity
Eccentric waveform-model differences, small per event, accumulate across the GWTC-4 catalog and alter inferred redshift evolution and effective-spin population distributions.
-
Uncovering Hierarchical Sub-Population of Binary Black Holes
A flexible six-component fit to 259 LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA black-hole mergers finds a roughly geometric sequence of mass peaks but no aligned-spin signal except in the lowest-mass component.
-
Periodic line-of-sight velocity-driven modulations to gravitational waves emitted by compact binaries in Keplerian outer orbits
Periodic non-relativistic line-of-sight velocity of a compact binary’s centre of mass produces 4PN phase and amplitude modulations that improve Fisher forecasts of tertiary mass and outer-orbit size for A+, ET, DECIGO...
-
Joint population and strong-lensing inference for resolved gravitational-wave events probes the black-hole merger rate beyond the peak of star formation
Joint strong-lensing and population inference on resolved gravitational-wave events finds no lensed events and tightens constraints on the black-hole merger rate peak redshift and high-redshift tail.
-
Measurement prospects for the pair-instability mass cutoff with gravitational waves
Simulations show a 40-50 solar-mass black-hole cutoff is not guaranteed to be confidently recovered from GWTC-4-like catalogs, spurious detections are unlikely, and O4 data would reduce cutoff-mass uncertainty by at l...
-
Signatures of a subpopulation of hierarchical mergers in the GWTC-4 gravitational-wave dataset
GWTC-4 data show a transition to nearly all hierarchical mergers above 46 solar masses, with the hierarchical rate peaking at 15.7 solar masses, indicating mass-dependent substructure in black hole spins.
-
Signatures of a subpopulation of hierarchical mergers in the GWTC-4 gravitational-wave dataset
Using a joint effective-spin and precession-spin model on 155 gravitational-wave events, the authors infer that the hierarchical (second-generation) merger fraction rises sharply above ~46 M_sun and peaks again near 1...
-
A new group of low-spin $50-70M_\odot$ Black Holes and the high pair-instability mass cutoff
GWTC-4.0 reveals low-spin black holes up to ~68.5 Msun, implying a higher pair-instability mass cutoff and a lower 12C(alpha,gamma)16O rate.
-
A new group of low-spin $50-70M_\odot$ Black Holes and the high pair-instability mass cutoff
GWTC-4.0 data shows low-spin black holes up to 70 solar masses, moving the low-spin cutoff to 68.5 solar masses and favoring a high pair-instability mass gap.
-
The Chirp-Mass Ladder: A New Rung Emerges
GWTC-5 chirp-mass peaks form a ~1.9-spaced ladder with a new ~19 M⊙ rung matching predicted 2G+3G mergers, unifying prior 1G+2G spin-transition groups under one hierarchical scenario.
-
No Evidence for Superradiant Axions in LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA GWTC-5 Binary Black Hole Spins
Hierarchical Bayesian analysis of GWTC-5 binary black hole spins finds no evidence for superradiant axions and excludes masses 1.7e-14 to 3.3e-12 eV at 95% CL.
-
Smoking-gun evidence for hierarchical black-hole mergers
GWTC-5 population analysis finds high-spin black hole mass function traces low-spin remnant distribution with Bhattacharyya coefficient ~0.95, supporting hierarchical mergers and yielding a nuclear S-factor constraint.
-
The Chirp-Mass Ladder: A New Rung Emerges
The chirp-mass distribution of GW-detected binary black holes shows a ladder of peaks doubling in mass, with a new intermediate peak at 19 solar masses confirming a prior prediction from the hierarchical merger model.
-
How do the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's Heavy Black Holes Form? No evidence for core-collapse Intermediate-mass black holes in GWTC-4
No evidence for core-collapse formed low-spin IMBHs in GWTC-4, with 90% upper limit on merger rate of 0.077 Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}, low-spin BH mass truncation at 65 solar masses consistent with pair-instability gap lower e...
-
How do the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's Heavy Black Holes Form? No evidence for core-collapse Intermediate-mass black holes in GWTC-4
No evidence for core-collapse IMBHs in GWTC-4; heavy BHs from hierarchical mergers, with low-spin mass distribution truncating at ~65 solar masses and PIMG upper edge estimated at 150 solar masses.
-
Emergent structure in the binary black hole mass distribution and implications for population-based cosmology
B-spline agnostic reconstruction of binary black hole masses from GWTC-4.0 reveals multiple features and a logarithmic hierarchy that impacts Hubble constant measurements, with a low-mass subpopulation isolation metho...
-
Population of Binary Black Holes Inferred from One Hundred and Fifty Gravitational Wave Signals
A population analysis of 153 LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA black-hole mergers reports chirp-mass peaks near 8, 14, and 27 solar masses, spaced by ~1.9, which the author interprets as possible hierarchical mergers.
-
Evidence for additional structure in the effective spin distribution hints at multiple formation pathways in GWTC-5.0
GWTC-5.0 analysis finds evidence for structure beyond a non-skewed Gaussian bulk in χ_eff, with suggestive mass-dependent excess of positive over negative spins outside the bulk at 13:1 odds in one mass bin.
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.