Double Neutron Star Populations and Formation Channels

Abstract

In the past five years, the number of known double neutron stars (DNS) in the Milky Way has roughly doubled. We argue that the observed sample can be split into three distinct sub-populations based on their orbital characteristics: (i) short-period, low-eccentricity binaries; (ii) wide binaries; and (iii) short-period, high-eccentricity binaries. These sub-populations also exhibit distinct spin period and spindown rate properties. We focus on sub-population (iii), which contains the Hulse-Taylor binary. Contrary to previous analysis, we demonstrate that, if they are the product of primordial binary evolution, the $P_{\mathrm{orb}}$ and $e$ distribution of these systems requires that the second-born NSs must have been formed with small natal kicks ($\lesssim$25 km s${}^{-1}$) and have pre-SN masses narrowly distributed around 3.2 M${}_{\odot }$. These constraints challenge binary evolution theory and further predict closely aligned spin and orbital axes, inconsistent with the Hulse-Taylor binary's measured spin-orbit misalignment angle of $\approx$20${}^{\circ }$. Motivated by the similarity of these DNSs to B2127+11C, a DNS residing in the globular cluster M15, we argue that this sub-population is consistent with being formed in, and then ejected from, globular clusters. This scenario provides a pathway for the formation and merger of DNSs in stellar environments without recent star formation, as observed in the host galaxy population of short gamma ray bursts and the recent detection by LIGO of a merging DNS in an old stellar population.

8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJL

References in corpus (7)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Formation of Double Neutron Star Systems
• Neutron star kicks by the gravitational tug-boat mechanism in asymmetric supernova explosions: progenitor and explosion dependence
• Constraints on Natal Kicks in Galactic Double Neutron Star Systems
• Evolutionary Channels for the Formation of Double Neutron Stars
• Double Neutron Star Formation: Merger Times, Systemic Velocities, and Travel Distances
• On the role of supernova kicks in the formation of Galactic double neutron star systems

Cited by in corpus (65)

• GW190425: Observation of a Compact Binary Coalescence with Total Mass $\sim 3.4M_{\odot }$
• Rates of Compact Object Coalescences
• Impact of Massive Binary Star and Cosmic Evolution on Gravitational Wave Observations I: Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers
• On the Rate of Neutron Star Binary Mergers from Globular Clusters
• Searching for Eccentricity: Signatures of Dynamical Formation in the First Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalogue of LIGO and Virgo
• The Optical Afterglow of GW170817: An Off-axis Structured Jet and Deep Constraints on a Globular Cluster Origin
• On the origin of GW190425
• Detecting Double Neutron Stars with LISA
• Binary population synthesis with probabilistic remnant mass and kick prescriptions
• A deep survey of short GRB host galaxies over $z\sim 0-2$: implications for offsets, redshifts, and environments
• Dependence of Gravitational Wave Transient Rates on Cosmic Star Formation and Metallicity Evolution History
• Can neutron star mergers alone explain the r-process enrichment of the Milky Way?
• SN2019dge: a Helium-rich Ultra-Stripped Envelope Supernova
• Measuring the eccentricity of GW170817 and GW190425
• Common-Envelope Episodes that lead to Double Neutron Star formation
• Black holes in the low mass gap: Implications for gravitational wave observations
• Modelling Double Neutron Stars: Radio and Gravitational Waves
• Formation and Evolution of Binary Neutron Stars: Mergers and Their Host Galaxies
• Observational Inference on the Delay Time Distribution of Short Gamma-ray Bursts
• The Progenitors of Calcium-Strong Transients
• Heavy double neutron stars: birth, mid-life and death
• Populating the Black Hole Mass Gaps In Stellar Clusters: General Relations and Upper Limits
• LISA and the Existence of a Fast-Merging Double Neutron Star Formation Channel
• Impact of extreme spins and mass ratios on the post-merger observables of high-mass binary neutron stars
• Exploring compact binary merger host galaxies and environments with $\mathrm{zELDA}$
• An Observationally-Derived Kick Distribution for Neutron Stars in Binary Systems
• Demographics of neutron stars in young massive and open clusters
• Probing Crust Meltdown in Inspiraling Binary Neutron Stars
• Calibration of neutron star natal kick velocities to isolated pulsar observations
• Forward Modeling of Double Neutron Stars: Insights from Highly-Offset Short Gamma-Ray Bursts
• The binary-host connection: astrophysics of gravitational wave binaries from their host galaxy properties
• Eccentric Binary Neutron Star Search Prospects for Cosmic Explorer
• The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey -- XVII. PSR J1325-6253, a low eccentricity double neutron star system from an ultra-stripped supernova
• Distinguishing double neutron star from neutron star-black hole binary populations with gravitational wave observations
• On the progenitors of AM CVn stars as LISA sources: the evolved donor star channel
• Fallback supernova assembly of heavy binary neutron stars and light black hole-neutron star pairs and the common stellar ancestry of GW190425 and GW200115
• Modelling Populations of Kilonovae
• Tidal Dissipation Impact on the Eccentric Onset of Common Envelope Phases in Massive Binary Star Systems
• The MPIfR-MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey II. The eccentric double neutron star system PSR J1208-5936 and a neutron star merger rate update
• Characterizing Astrophysical Binary Neutron Stars with Gravitational Waves
• Missing for 20 years: MeerKAT re-detects the elusive binary pulsar M30B
• Masses of double neutron star mergers
• Search for eccentric NSBH and BNS mergers in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo
• Possible binary neutron star merger history of the primary of GW230529
• The orbital-decay test of general relativity to the 2% level with 6-year VLBA astrometry of the double neutron star PSR J1537+1155
• How can LISA probe a population of GW190425-like binary neutron stars in the Milky Way?
• Kinematic constraints on the ages and kick velocities of Galactic neutron star binaries
• Premerger phenomena in neutron-star binary coalescences
• Impact of unmodeled eccentricity on the tidal deformability measurement and implications for gravitational wave physics inference
• The Demographics of Binary Companions to Stripped-Envelope Supernovae: Confronting Observations with Population Synthesis
• The rate of iPTF 14gqr like ultra-stripped supernovae and binary evolution leading to double neutron star formation
• Observational prospects of double neutrons star mergers and their multi-messenger afterglows: LIGO discovery power, event rates and diversity
• Multi-messenger observations of double neutron stars in Galactic disk with gravitational and radio waves
• The Formation of Electron-capture Supernovae: A Review
• The Role of Strong Gravity and the Nuclear Equation of State on Neutron-Star Common-Envelope Accretion
• Consistency Tests for Comparing Astrophysical Models and Observations
• Natal kicks of compact objects
• Where has all the $r$-process gone? Timescales for GRB-Kilonovae to Enrich their Host Galaxies
• Gravitational Waves from Supernova Mass Loss and Natal Kicks in Close Binaries
• Black-Hole Perturbation Plus Post-Newtonian Theory: Hybrid Waveform for Neutron Star Binaries
• Gravitational wave signals from long lasting binary-single black hole encounters
• Gravitational waves from eccentric binary neutron star mergers: Systematic biases and inadequacy of quasicircular templates
• Forming Double Neutron Stars using Detailed Binary Evolution Models with POSYDON: Comparison to the Galactic Systems
• Exploring the Link between Fast Radio Burst and Binary Neutron Star Origins with Spaceborne Gravitational Wave Observations
• Kinematic Evidence for Open Cluster Origins of Galactic Binary Neutron Stars