Astronomy & Astrophysics Seminar: Stochastic gravitational wave background from binary black holes

Abstract:

The recent detection of gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO demonstrates the existence of binary black holes that merge within the age of the Universe. Moreover, the first LIGO event originated from the merger of black holes more massive than previously observed in X-ray binaries in our Galaxy. Future observations with Advanced LIGO and VIRGO may be able to distinguish between different models of black holes formation by probing their mass distribution. In this talk I will describe a framework that can be used to calculate the mass distribution of merging black hole binaries and its evolution with redshift and to test different scenarios of black hole formation while accounting for observational constraints on the cosmic star formation rate and metallicity of the interstellar medium. I will also discuss the implications of the black hole mass distribution for the stochastic gravitational wave background and the constraints that can be obtained on the distribution of the initial orbital parameters of binary systems.

Seminar Organizer: Prof. Sara Beck