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Population Properties of Compact Objects from the Second LIGO-Virgo Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, The Virgo Collaboration, Abbott, R., Abbott, T. D., Abraham, S., Acernese, F., et al. (2021). Population Properties of Compact Objects from the Second LIGO-Virgo Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 913(1): L7. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/abe949.

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Creators:
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Author
The Virgo Collaboration, Author
Abbott, R., Author
Abbott, T. D., Author
Abraham, S., Author
Acernese, F., Author
Ackley, K., Author
Affeldt, C.1, Author
Agathos, M., Author
Agatsuma, K., Author
Aggarwal, N., Author
Aguiar, O. D., Author
Aiello, L., Author
Ain, A., Author
Ajith, P., Author
Allen, G., Author
Affiliations:
1Laser Interferometry & Gravitational Wave Astronomy, AEI-Hannover, MPI for Gravitational Physics, Max Planck Society, ou_24010
2Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity, AEI-Golm, MPI for Gravitational Physics, Max Planck Society, ou_1933290
3Observational Relativity and Cosmology, AEI-Hannover, MPI for Gravitational Physics, Max Planck Society, ou_24011
4Binary Merger Observations and Numerical Relativity, AEI-Hannover, MPI for Gravitational Physics, Max Planck Society, ou_2461691
5Computational Relativistic Astrophysics, AEI-Golm, MPI for Gravitational Physics, Max Planck Society, ou_2541714

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Free keywords: Astrophysics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, astro-ph.HE,General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, gr-qc
Abstract: We report on the population properties of the 47 compact binary mergers detected with a false-alarm rate < 1 yr$^{-1}$ in the second LIGO--Virgo Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog, GWTC-2. We investigate the binary black hole (BBH) mass distribution, spin distribution, and merger rate as a function of redshift, observing several BBH population characteristics not discernible until now. First, we find the primary mass spectrum contains structure beyond a power-law with a sharp high-mass cut-off; it is more consistent with a broken power law with a break at $39.7^{+20.3}_{-9.1}\,M_\odot$, or a power law with a Gaussian feature peaking at $33.5^{+4.5}_{5.5}\,M_\odot$ (90% crediblity). While the primary mass distribution must extend past $65\,M_\odot$, only $2.9^{+3.4}_{-1.7}\%$ of systems have primary masses greater than $45\,M_\odot$. At low masses, the primary mass spectrum is consistent with a gap between $\sim2.6\,M_\odot$ and $\sim6\,M_\odot$. Second, we find that a fraction of BBH systems have component spins misaligned with the orbital angular momentum, giving rise to precession of the orbital plane. Moreover, 12% to 44% of BBH systems have spins tilted by more than $90^\circ$, giving rise to a negative effective inspiral spin parameter. Third, we estimate merger rates, finding $R_\mathrm{BBH} = 23.9^{+14.9}_{-8.6}\,\mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\,\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ for BBH and $R_\mathrm{BNS} = {320}^{+490}_{-240}\,\mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\,\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ for binary neutron stars (BNS). The BBH rate likely increases with redshift (85% credibility), but not faster than the star-formation rate (87% credibility). Additionally, we examine recent exceptional events in the context of our population models, finding that the asymmetric masses of GW190412 and the high component masses of GW190521 are consistent with our models, but the low secondary mass of GW190814 makes it an outlier.

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Dates: 2020-10-272021
Publication Status: Published in print
Pages: 48 pages, including 22 pages main text, 15 pages appendix, 26 figures
Publishing info: -
Rev. Type: -
Identifiers: arXiv: 2010.14533
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/abe949
Degree: -

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### Source 1

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Title: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Source Genre: Journal
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Pages: - Volume / Issue: 913 (1) Sequence Number: L7 Start / End Page: - Identifier: -