Binary Black Hole Mergers: Formation and Populations

We review the main physical processes that lead to the formation of stellar binary black holes (BBHs) and to their merger. BBHs can form from the isolated evolution of massive binary stars. The physics of core-collapse supernovae and the process of common envelope are two of the main sources of unce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFrontiers in astronomy and space sciences Vol. 7
Main Author Mapelli, Michela
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Frontiers Media S.A 09.07.2020
Subjects
black hole physics
Galaxy: open clusters and associations: general
gravitational waves
stars: black holes
stars: kinematics and dynamics
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Summary:We review the main physical processes that lead to the formation of stellar binary black holes (BBHs) and to their merger. BBHs can form from the isolated evolution of massive binary stars. The physics of core-collapse supernovae and the process of common envelope are two of the main sources of uncertainty about this formation channel. Alternatively, two black holes can form a binary by dynamical encounters in a dense star cluster. The dynamical formation channel leaves several imprints on the mass, spin and orbital properties of BBHs.
ISSN:2296-987X
2296-987X
DOI:10.3389/fspas.2020.00038