Evidence for hierarchical black hole mergers in the second LIGO--Virgo gravitational-wave catalog

Abstract

We study the population properties of merging binary black holes in the second LIGO--Virgo Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog assuming they were all formed dynamically in gravitationally bound clusters. Using a phenomenological population model, we infer the mass and spin distribution of first-generation black holes, while self-consistently accounting for hierarchical mergers. Considering a range of cluster masses, we see compelling evidence for hierarchical mergers in clusters with escape velocities $\gtrsim 100\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. For our most probable cluster mass, we find that the catalog contains at least one second-generation merger with $99\%$ credibility. We find that the hierarchical model is preferred over an alternative model with no hierarchical mergers (Bayes factor $\mathcal{B}>1400$) and that GW190521 is favored to contain two second-generation black holes with odds $\mathcal{O}>700$, and GW190519, GW190602, GW190620, and GW190706 are mixed-generation binaries with $\mathcal{O}>10$. However, our results depend strongly on the cluster escape velocity, with more modest evidence for hierarchical mergers when the escape velocity is $\lesssim 100\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. Assuming that all binary black holes are formed dynamically in globular clusters with escape velocities on the order of tens of $\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, GW190519 and GW190521 are favored to include a second-generation black hole with odds $\mathcal{O}>1$. In this case, we find that $99\%$ of black holes from the inferred total population have masses that are less than $49M_{\odot }$, and that this constraint is robust to our choice of prior on the maximum black hole mass.

15 pages, 11 figures, 1 appendix