Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | L22 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Volume | 818 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Feb 2016 |
Abstract
The discovery of the gravitational-wave (GW) source GW150914 with the Advanced LIGO detectors provides the first observational evidence for the existence of binary black hole (BH) systems that inspiral and merge within the age of the universe. Such BH mergers have been predicted in two main types of formation models, involving isolated binaries in galactic fields or dynamical interactions in young and old dense stellar environments. The measured masses robustly demonstrate that relatively "heavy" BHs (≳25 M⊙) can form in nature. This discovery implies relatively weak massive-star winds and thus the formation of GW150914 in an environment with a metallicity lower than about 1/2 of the solar value. The rate of binary-BH (BBH) mergers inferred from the observation of GW150914 is consistent with the higher end of rate predictions (≳1 Gpc-3yr?1) from both types of formation models. The low measured redshift (z ≃ 0.1) of GW150914 and the low inferred metallicity of the stellar progenitor imply either BBH formation in a low-mass galaxy in the local universe and a prompt merger, or formation at high redshift with a time delay between formation and merger of several Gyr. This discovery motivates further studies of binary-BH formation astrophysics. It also has implications for future detections and studies by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and GW detectors in space.
Keywords
- gravitational waves, stars: black holes, stars: massive
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Space and Planetary Science
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 818, No. 2, L22, 20.02.2016.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Astrophysical implications of the binary black hole merger GW150914
AU - The LIGO Scientific Collaboration
AU - The Virgo Collaboration
AU - Abbott, B. P.
AU - Abbott, R.
AU - Abbott, T. D.
AU - Abernathy, M. R.
AU - Acernese, F.
AU - Ackley, K.
AU - Adams, C.
AU - Adams, T.
AU - Addesso, P.
AU - Adhikari, R. X.
AU - Adya, V. B.
AU - Affeldt, C.
AU - Agathos, M.
AU - Agatsuma, K.
AU - Aggarwal, N.
AU - Aguiar, O. D.
AU - Aiello, L.
AU - Ain, A.
AU - Ajith, P.
AU - Bose, S.
AU - Brown, D. A.
AU - Chen, Y.
AU - Danilishin, S. L.
AU - Danzmann, Karsten
AU - Fricke, T. T.
AU - Hanke, M. M.
AU - Hennig, J.
AU - Heurs, Michele
AU - Kawazoe, Fumiko
AU - Lee, H. K.
AU - Lück, Harald
AU - Luo, J.
AU - Nguyen, T. T.
AU - Schmidt, J.
AU - Schmidt, P.
AU - Shaltev, M.
AU - Steinmeyer, Daniel
AU - Sun, L.
AU - Vahlbruch, Henning Fedor Cornelius
AU - Wang, M.
AU - Wang, X.
AU - Wang, Y.
AU - Wei, L. W.
AU - Willke, Benno
AU - Wittel, Holger
AU - Zhang, L.
AU - Zhang, Y.
AU - Zhou, M.
AU - Allen, Bruce
AU - Bisht, A.
AU - Denker, Timo
AU - Kaufer, Stefan
AU - Krüger, Christian
AU - Lough, J. D.
AU - Sawadsky, A.
AU - Schütte, Dirk
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/2/20
Y1 - 2016/2/20
N2 - The discovery of the gravitational-wave (GW) source GW150914 with the Advanced LIGO detectors provides the first observational evidence for the existence of binary black hole (BH) systems that inspiral and merge within the age of the universe. Such BH mergers have been predicted in two main types of formation models, involving isolated binaries in galactic fields or dynamical interactions in young and old dense stellar environments. The measured masses robustly demonstrate that relatively "heavy" BHs (≳25 M⊙) can form in nature. This discovery implies relatively weak massive-star winds and thus the formation of GW150914 in an environment with a metallicity lower than about 1/2 of the solar value. The rate of binary-BH (BBH) mergers inferred from the observation of GW150914 is consistent with the higher end of rate predictions (≳1 Gpc-3yr?1) from both types of formation models. The low measured redshift (z ≃ 0.1) of GW150914 and the low inferred metallicity of the stellar progenitor imply either BBH formation in a low-mass galaxy in the local universe and a prompt merger, or formation at high redshift with a time delay between formation and merger of several Gyr. This discovery motivates further studies of binary-BH formation astrophysics. It also has implications for future detections and studies by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and GW detectors in space.
AB - The discovery of the gravitational-wave (GW) source GW150914 with the Advanced LIGO detectors provides the first observational evidence for the existence of binary black hole (BH) systems that inspiral and merge within the age of the universe. Such BH mergers have been predicted in two main types of formation models, involving isolated binaries in galactic fields or dynamical interactions in young and old dense stellar environments. The measured masses robustly demonstrate that relatively "heavy" BHs (≳25 M⊙) can form in nature. This discovery implies relatively weak massive-star winds and thus the formation of GW150914 in an environment with a metallicity lower than about 1/2 of the solar value. The rate of binary-BH (BBH) mergers inferred from the observation of GW150914 is consistent with the higher end of rate predictions (≳1 Gpc-3yr?1) from both types of formation models. The low measured redshift (z ≃ 0.1) of GW150914 and the low inferred metallicity of the stellar progenitor imply either BBH formation in a low-mass galaxy in the local universe and a prompt merger, or formation at high redshift with a time delay between formation and merger of several Gyr. This discovery motivates further studies of binary-BH formation astrophysics. It also has implications for future detections and studies by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and GW detectors in space.
KW - gravitational waves
KW - stars: black holes
KW - stars: massive
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959307199&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/2041-8205/818/2/L22
DO - 10.3847/2041-8205/818/2/L22
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84959307199
VL - 818
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
SN - 2041-8205
IS - 2
M1 - L22
ER -