Double compact objects. III. Gravitational-wave detection rates

Dominik, Michal, Berti, Emanuele, O'Shaughnessy, Richard, Mandel, Ilya, Belczynski, Krzysztof, Fryer, Christopher, Holz, Daniel E., Bulik, Tomasz and Pannarale, Francesco 2015. Double compact objects. III. Gravitational-wave detection rates. Astrophysical Journal 806 (2) , 263. 10.1088/0004-637X/806/2/263

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Abstract

The unprecedented range of second-generation gravitational-wave (GW) observatories calls for refining the predictions of potential sources and detection rates. The coalescence of double compact objects (DCOs)—i.e., neutron star–neutron star (NS–NS), black hole–neutron star (BH–NS), and black hole–black hole (BH–BH) binary systems—is the most promising source of GWs for these detectors. We compute detection rates of coalescing DCOs in second-generation GW detectors using the latest models for their cosmological evolution, and implementing inspiral-merger-ringdown gravitational waveform models in our signal-to-noise ratio calculations. We find that (1) the inclusion of the merger/ringdown portion of the signal does not significantly affect rates for NS–NS and BH–NS systems, but it boosts rates by a factor of ~1.5 for BH–BH systems; (2) in almost all of our models BH–BH systems yield by far the largest rates, followed by NS–NS and BH–NS systems, respectively; and (3) a majority of the detectable BH–BH systems were formed in the early universe in low-metallicity environments. We make predictions for the distributions of detected binaries and discuss what the first GW detections will teach us about the astrophysics underlying binary formation and evolution.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics
Publisher:	American Astronomical Society
ISSN:	0004-637X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 September 2017
Date of Acceptance:	13 May 2015
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 04:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/79110

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