activity
20242026
collaborators

8 papers

astro-ph.HE2026

When the black holes align: a subpopulation of aligned massive binary black holes observed via gravitational waves

Stefano Rinaldi, Charmaine Wong, M. Paola Vaccaro +4

In this work, we investigate the features present in the joint primary mass and effective spin distribution of binary black holes without relying on specific modelling assumptions.…

astro-ph.GA2026

AGN-driven BBH mergers: Black hole populations and hierarchical growth across the AGN parameter space

Maria Paola Vaccaro, Michela Mapelli, Alessandro Alberto Trani +1

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been proposed as efficient environments for the formation of binary black holes (BBHs). We present an updated semi-analytical framework for BBH f…

astro-ph.HE20261 cited

The role of migration traps in the formation of binary black holes in AGN disks

Maria Paola Vaccaro, Yannick Seif, Michela Mapelli

Binary black holes (BBHs) forming in the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) represent a promising channel for gravitational-wave production. BBHs are often assumed to…

astro-ph.HE2025

Uncovering the population of compact binary mergers and their formation pathways with gravitational waves through the Einstein Telescope

M. Arca-Sedda, I. Dvorkin, G. Franciolini +19

Ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) observatories have transformed our view of compact-object mergers, yet their reach still limits a comprehensive reconstruction of the processes…

gr-qc2025

The Science of the Einstein Telescope

Adrian Abac, Raul Abramo, Simone Albanesi +485

Einstein Telescope (ET) is the European project for a gravitational-wave (GW) observatory of third-generation. In this paper we present a comprehensive discussion of its science ob…

astro-ph.HE2025

Hierarchical Black Hole Mergers in AGN Disks: Tracing Massive Black Hole Growth Across Cosmic Time

Maria Paola Vaccaro

The dense and gaseous environments of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can catalyze repeated mergers of stellar-mass black holes (BHs), potentially explaining the high-mass tail of bi…