On the Gravitational Wave Background from Black Hole Binaries after the First LIGO Detections

Abstract

The detection of gravitational waves from the merger of binary black holes by the LIGO Collaboration has opened a new window to astrophysics. With the sensitivities of ground based detectors in the coming years we can only detect the local black hole binary mergers. The integrated merger rate can instead be probed by the gravitational-wave background, the incoherent superposition of the released energy in gravitational waves during binary-black-hole coalescence. Through that, the properties of the binary black holes can be studied. In this work we show that by measuring the energy density ${\Omega }_{GW}$ (in units of the cosmic critical density) of the gravitational-wave background, we can search for the rare $\sim 100M_{\odot }$ massive black holes formed in the Universe. In addition, we can answer how often the least massive BHs of mass $>3M_{\odot }$ form. Finally, if there are multiple channels for the formation of binary black holes and if any of them predicts a narrow mass range for the black holes, then the gravitational-wave-background spectrum may have features that with the future Einstein Telescope can be detected.

7 pages, 5 figures; version 2: citations added, minor chances

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Cited by in corpus (16)

• CMB bounds on disk-accreting massive Primordial Black Holes
• Constraints on the Primordial Black Hole Abundance from the First Advanced LIGO Observation Run Using the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background
• Search for sub-solar mass ultracompact binaries in Advanced LIGO's first observing run
• Science with the TianQin Observatory: Preliminary Results on Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background
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• Prospects for probing gravitational waves from primordial black hole binaries
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• Using Dominant and Weak Energy Conditions for build New Classes of Regular Black Holes
• Constraining primordial black holes as dark matter at JUNO
• Formation threshold of rotating primordial black holes
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• Limits on Runaway Growth of Intermediate Mass Black Holes from Advanced LIGO
• Observable Signatures of RN Black Holes with Dark Matter Halos via Strong Gravitational Lensing and Constraints from EHT Observations
• Imprint of Early Dark Energy in Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background
• Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Stellar Core-Collapse Events