The impact of common envelope development criteria on the formation of LIGO/Virgo sources

Abstract

The treatment and criteria for development of unstable Roche lobe overflow (RLOF) that leads to the common envelope (CE) phase have hindered the evolutionary predictions for decades. In particular, the formation of black hole-black hole (BH-BH), black hole-neutron star (BH-NS), and neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) merging binaries depends sensitively on the CE phase in classical isolated binary evolution model. All these mergers are now reported as LIGO/Virgo sources or source candidates. CE is even considered by some as a mandatory phase in the formation of BH-BH, BH-NS or NS-NS mergers in binary evolution. At the moment, there is no full first-principles model for development of CE. We employ the Startrack population synthesis code to test the current advancements in studies on stability of RLOF for massive donors to assess their effect on LIGO/Virgo source population. In particular, we allow for more restrictive CE development criteria for massive donors. We also test a modified condition for switching between different types of stable mass transfer. Implemented modifications significantly influence basic properties of merging double compact objects, sometimes in non-intuitive way. For one of tested models with restricted CE development criteria local merger rate density for BH-BH systems increased due to emergence of a new dominant formation scenario without any CE phase. We find that the changes in highly uncertain assumptions on RLOF physics may significantly affect (i) local merger rate density, (ii) shape of the mass and mass ratio distributions, and (iii) dominant evolutionary formation (with and without CE) scenarios of LIGO/Virgo sources. Our results demonstrate that without sufficiently strong constraints on RLOF physics, one is not able to draw fully reliable conclusions about the population of double compact object systems based on population synthesis studies.

20 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

References in corpus (43)

• GW190814: Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of a 23 M${}_{\odot }$ Black Hole with a 2.6 M${}_{\odot }$ Compact Object
• GW190521: A Binary Black Hole Merger with a Total Mass of $150M_{\odot }$
• Pulsational Pair-Instability Supernovae
• The Effect of Pair-Instability Mass Loss on Black Hole Mergers
• MOCCA-SURVEY Database I: Coalescing Binary Black Holes Originating From Globular Clusters
• One Channel to Rule Them All? Constraining the Origins of Binary Black Holes using Multiple Formation Pathways
• Lidov-Kozai Cycles with Gravitational Radiation: Merging Black Holes in Isolated Triple Systems
• Merging black holes in young star clusters
• The cosmic merger rate density of compact objects: impact of star formation, metallicity, initial mass function and binary evolution
• The role of mass transfer and common envelope evolution in the formation of merging binary black holes
• The Interaction of Stellar Objects within a Common Envelope
• It has to be cool: on supergiant progenitors of binary black hole mergers from common-envelope evolution
• Stellar-mass black holes in young massive and open stellar clusters and their role in gravitational-wave generation II
• The Total Merger Rate of Compact Object Binaries In The Local Universe
• Black hole mergers from quadruples
• Asymmetric Accretion Flows within a Common Envelope
• Cosmic Rates of Black Hole Mergers and Pair-Instability Supernovae from Chemically Homogeneous Binary Evolution
• Binary Population Synthesis
• The cosmic merger rate density evolution of compact binaries formed in young star clusters and in isolated binaries
• Recombination energy in double white dwarf formation
• Merger rate density of Population III binary black holes below, above, and in the pair-instability mass gap
• The most ordinary formation of the most unusual double black hole merger
• Be X-ray binaries in the SMC as indicators of mass transfer efficiency
• Adiabatic mass loss in binary stars. III. From the base of the red giant branch to the tip of asymptotic giant branch
• Dynamical Formation of Low-Mass Merging Black Hole Binaries like GW151226
• Episodic mass ejections from common-envelope objects
• Binary population synthesis with probabilistic remnant mass and kick prescriptions
• Dynamical Interactions and the Black Hole Merger Rate of the Universe
• Luminous Red Novae: population models and future prospects
• Common-envelope evolution with an asymptotic giant branch star
• Common-Envelope Episodes that lead to Double Neutron Star formation
• The origin of pulsating ultra-luminous X-ray sources: Low- and intermediate-mass X-ray binaries containing neutron star accretors
• Constraining the Black Hole Initial Mass Function with LIGO/VIRGO Observations
• The thermal equilibrium mass loss model and its applications in binary evolution
• The Origin of inequality: isolated formation of a 30+10Msun binary black-hole merger
• A Census of Blue Stragglers in Gaia DR2 Open Clusters as a Test of Population Synthesis and Mass Transfer Physics
• The effect of the environment-dependent IMF on the formation and metallicities of stars over the cosmic history
• A dynamical gravitational wave source in a dense cluster
• Observational properties of massive black hole binary progenitors
• On the Common Envelope Efficiency
• Mass ratio in SS433 revisited
• Observational Constraints on the Common Envelope Phase
• Targeted modeling of GW150914's binary black hole source with dart_board

Cited by in corpus (60)

• Rates of Compact Object Coalescences
• Searching for a subpopulation of primordial black holes in LIGO/Virgo gravitational-wave data
• Impact of Massive Binary Star and Cosmic Evolution on Gravitational Wave Observations I: Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers
• The redshift evolution of the binary black hole merger rate: a weighty matter
• The Cosmic Evolution of Binary Black Holes in Young, Globular and Nuclear Star Clusters: Rates, Masses, Spins and Mixing Fractions
• Four eccentric mergers increase the evidence that LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA's binary black holes form dynamically
• Binary Black Hole Formation with Detailed Modeling: Stable Mass Transfer Leads to Lower Merger Rates
• The Science of the Einstein Telescope
• No peaks without valleys: The stable mass transfer channel for gravitational-wave sources in light of the neutron star-black hole mass gap
• The implications of high BH spins on the origin of BH-BH mergers
• The Uncertain Future of Massive Binaries Obscures the Origin of LIGO/Virgo Sources
• Understanding the high-mass binary black hole population from stable mass transfer and super-Eddington accretion in BPASS
• The Effect of Supernova Convection On Neutron Star and Black Hole Masses
• The role of supernova convection for the lower mass gap in the isolated binary formation of gravitational wave sources
• Jet Formation in 3D GRMHD Simulations of Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion
• Evidence for the evolution of black hole mass function with redshift
• Evolution of massive stellar triples and implications for compact object binary formation
• Black hole - black hole total merger mass and the origin of LIGO/Virgo sources
• Unequal-mass, highly-spinning binary black hole mergers in the stable mass transfer formation channel
• Do high-spin high-mass X-ray binaries contribute to the population of merging binary black holes?
• SCATTER: A New Common Envelope Formalism
• Stable mass transfer can explain massive binary black hole mergers with a high spin component
• Black hole - neutron star mergers: The first mass gap and kilonovae
• Close Encounters of Wide Binaries Induced by the Galactic Tide: Implications for Stellar Mergers and Gravitational-Wave Sources
• Binary vision: The merging black hole binary mass distribution via iterative density estimation
• On the Mass Ratio Distribution of Black Hole Mergers in Triple Systems
• The role of stellar expansion on the formation of gravitational wave sources
• Time-dependent stellar-mass binary black hole mergers in AGN disks: Mass distribution of hierarchical mergers
• Binary black hole mergers from merged stars in the Galactic field
• On the Neutron Star/Black Hole Mass Gap and Black Hole Searches
• Reverse Algols and hydrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet stars from very massive binaries
• Biases in estimates of black hole kicks from the spin distribution of binary black holes
• Gravitational waves from mergers of Population III binary black holes: roles played by two evolution channels
• MOCCA-SURVEY Database II -- Properties of Intermediate Mass Black Holes escaping from star clusters
• Merging binary black holes formed through double-core evolution
• Mergers of neutron stars and black holes with cores of giant stars: a population synthesis study
• End-to-end study of the home and genealogy of the first binary neutron star merger
• Formation and Evolution of Accreting Compact Objects
• The mass distribution of stars stripped in binaries: The effect of metallicity
• Symmetry breaking in merging binary black holes from young massive clusters and isolated binaries
• Evolution of rotating massive stars adopting a newer, self-consistent wind prescription at SMC metallicity
• Gravitational-wave Observations Suggest Most Black Hole Mergers Form in Triples
• Hypercritical accretion during common envelopes in triples leading to binary black holes in the pair-instability-supernova mass gap
• The more accurately the metal-dependent star formation rate is modeled, the larger the predicted excess of binary black hole mergers
• Development of convective envelopes in massive stars: Implications for gravitational wave sources
• Distinguishing the Origin of Eccentric Black Hole Mergers with Gravitational-wave Spin Measurements
• Population Synthesis of Black Hole Binaries with Compact Star Companions
• Formation and Stability of Area Quantized Black Holes
• X-ray emission from helium star+black hole binaries as probes of tidally induced spin-up of second-born black holes
• Enhanced Mass Loss of Very Massive Stars: Impact on the Evolution, Binary Processes, and Remnant Mass Spectrum
• On the Astrophysical Origin of Binary Black Hole Subpopulations: A Tale of Three Channels?
• Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients as "Failed" Gravitational-wave Sources: Helium Core$-$Black Hole Mergers Following Delayed Dynamical Instability
• Hydrodynamic 3D Simulation of Roche Lobe Overflow in High-mass X-Ray Binaries
• Evolution of stars with 60 and 200 Msun: predictions for WNh stars in the Milky Way
• Can Big Black Holes Merge with the Smallest Black Holes?
• The X-ray binaries in M83: will any of them form gravitational wave sources for LIGO/VIRGO/KAGRA?
• Estimating Transient Rates from Cosmological Simulations and BPASS
• Impact of Massive Binary Star and Cosmic Evolution on Gravitational Wave Observations II: Double Compact Object Rates and Properties
• Modelling the formation of the first two neutron star-black hole mergers, GW200105 and GW200115: metallicity, chirp masses and merger remnant spins
• Identifying Host Galaxies of Binary Black Hole Mergers with Next-Generation Gravitational Wave Detector Networks