Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 5, 2026
12:14
The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
22.6K
Binary Black Hole Mergers from Globular Clusters: Implications for Advanced LIGO
Carl L Rodriguez1, Meagan Morscher1, Bharath Pattabiraman1,2
1Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|August 15, 2015
Summary
Dynamically formed binary black hole mergers in globular clusters could be detected at ~100 per year, potentially dominating all mergers. These cluster binaries are often more massive, aiding detection by Advanced LIGO.
Area of Science:
- Astrophysics
- Gravitational Wave Astronomy
- Stellar Dynamics
Background:
- Binary black hole merger rates from galactic fields are highly variable and sensitive to stellar evolution models.
- Dense stellar environments like globular clusters offer a more predictable pathway for binary black hole formation through gravitational interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation of binary black holes within realistic globular cluster models.
- To estimate the merger rate of dynamically formed binaries in globular clusters.
- To determine if cluster-formed binaries possess unique characteristics detectable by gravitational wave observatories.
Main Methods:
- Simulated realistic globular cluster models.
- Analyzed the gravitational interactions leading to binary black hole formation within these clusters.
- Compared simulation results with observations of Milky Way and extragalactic globular clusters.
- Assessed the potential detectability of cluster-formed binaries by Advanced LIGO.
Main Results:
- Dynamically formed binary black hole mergers in globular clusters could occur at a rate of approximately 100 per year.
- This rate suggests globular cluster mergers may dominate the overall binary black hole merger rate.
- A significant fraction of cluster-formed binaries are more massive than those formed in galactic fields.
Conclusions:
- Globular clusters are significant sites for binary black hole formation and mergers.
- The predicted merger rate from globular clusters could be substantial and detectable.
- The increased mass of cluster-formed binaries provides a potential signature for identifying their origin with instruments like Advanced LIGO.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Detection of Black Holes
2.6K
Although black holes were theoretically postulated in the 1920s, they remained outside the domain of observational astronomy until the 1970s.
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
2.6K
01:21Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon
3.0K
No object with a finite mass can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. This fact has an interesting consequence in the domain of extremely high gravitational fields.
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape...
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape...
3.0K
01:12Reduced Mass Coordinates: Isolated Two-body Problem
2.6K
In classical mechanics, the two-body problem is one of the fundamental problems describing the motion of two interacting bodies under gravity or any other central force. When considering the motion of two bodies, one of the most important concepts is the reduced mass coordinates, a quantity that allows the two-body problem to be solved like a single-body problem. In these circumstances, it is assumed that a single body with reduced mass revolves around another body fixed in a position with an...
2.6K
01:14Gravitation Between Spherically Symmetric Masses
1.5K
The gravitational potential energy between two spherically symmetric bodies can be calculated from the masses and the distance between the bodies, assuming that the center of mass is concentrated at the respective centers of the bodies.
1.5K
01:27Globular Proteins
11.7K
In organisms, proteins are the most abundant macromolecules. They act as the building blocks of life and play various crucial roles in the body. Proteins can be broadly classified into two distinct subtypes based on their shape and solubilities: globular proteins and fibrous proteins.
Globular proteins serve many important physiological functions, such as acting as enzymes, cellular messengers, and molecular transporters. These roles often require the proteins to be soluble in the aqueous...
Globular proteins serve many important physiological functions, such as acting as enzymes, cellular messengers, and molecular transporters. These roles often require the proteins to be soluble in the aqueous...
11.7K
02:21Globular and Fibrous Proteins
5.6K
5.6K