Black holes in the low-mass gap: Implications for gravitational-wave observations

Gupta, Anuradha, Gerosa, Davide, Arun, K. G., Berti, Emanuele, Farr, Will M. and Sathyaprakash, B. S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3845-7586 2020. Black holes in the low-mass gap: Implications for gravitational-wave observations. Physical Review D 101 (10) , 103036. 10.1103/PhysRevD.101.103036

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Abstract

Binary neutron-star mergers will predominantly produce black-hole remnants of mass ∼ 3 – 4     M ⊙ , thus populating the putative low-mass gap between neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes. If these low-mass black holes are in dense astrophysical environments, mass segregation could lead to “second-generation” compact binaries merging within a Hubble time. In this paper, we investigate possible signatures of such low-mass compact binary mergers in gravitational-wave observations. We show that this unique population of objects, if present, will be uncovered by the third-generation gravitational-wave detectors, such as Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope. Future joint measurements of chirp mass M and effective spin χ eff could clarify the formation scenario of compact objects in the low-mass gap. As a case study, we show that the recent detection of GW190425 (along with GW170817) favors a double Gaussian mass model for neutron stars, under the assumption that the primary in GW190425 is a black hole formed from a previous binary neutron-star merger.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	American Physical Society
ISSN:	2470-0010
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 June 2020
Date of Acceptance:	5 May 2020
Last Modified:	06 May 2023 00:47
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/132625

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