Host galaxy identification for binary black hole mergers with long baseline gravitational wave detectors
E. J. Howell, M. L. Chan, Q. Chu, D. H. Jones, I. S. Heng, H. -M. Lee, D. Blair, J. Degallaix, T. Regimbau, H. Miao, C. Zhao M. Hendry, D. Coward, C. Messenger, L. Ju, Z. -H. Zhu
The detection of three black hole binary coalescence events by Advanced LIGO allows the science benefits of future detectors to be evaluated. In this paper we report the science benefits of one or two 8km arm length detectors based on the doubling of key parameters in an advanced LIGO type detector, combined with realisable enhancements. It is shown that the total detection rate for sources similar to those already detected, would increase to $\sim$ 10$^{3}$--10$^{5}$ per year. Within 0.4Gpc we find that around 10 of these events would be localizable to within $\sim 10^{-1}$ deg$^2$. This is sufficient to make unique associations or to rule out a direct association with the brightest galaxies in optical surveys (at r-band magnitudes of 17 or above) or for deeper limits (down to r-band magnitudes of 20) yield statistically significant associations. The combination of angular resolution and event rate would benefit precision testing of formation models, cosmic evolution and cosmological studies.
A significant number of stellar binary black hole (sBBH) mergers may be lensed and detected by the third generation gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Their lensed host galaxies may be detectable, which thus helps to accurately localize these sources and provide a new approach to study the origin of sBBHs. In this paper, we investigate the detectability of the lensed host galaxies for the lensed sBBH mergers. We find that the detection fraction of the host galaxies to the lensed GW events can be significantly different for a survey with a given limiting magnitude if sBBHs are produced by diffe…
Young neutron stars (NSs) born in core-collapse explosions are promising candidates for the central engines of fast radio bursts (FRBs), since the first localized repeating burst FRB 121102 happens in a star forming dwarf galaxy, which is similar to the host galaxies of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs). However, FRB 180924 and FRB 190523 are localized to massive galaxies with low rates of star formation, compared with the host of FRB 121102. Meanwhile, the offsets between the bursts and host centers are about 4 kpc and 29 kpc for FRB 180924 and FRB 190523, res…
Compact binaries such as double neutron stars or a neutron star paired with a black-hole, are strong sources of gravitational waves during coalescence and also the likely progenitors of various electromagnetic phenomena, notably short-duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs), and kilonovae. In this work, we generate populations of synthetic binaries and place them in galaxies from the large-scale hydrodynamical galaxy evolution simulation EAGLE. With our zELDA code, binaries are seeded in proportion to star formation rate, and we follow their evolution to merger using both the BPASS and COSMIC binary…
The maximum offsets of binary neutron star mergers from host galaxies
Monash University（蒙纳士大学）；The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery – OzGrav（ARC引力波发现卓越中心 – OzGrav）；INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera（意大利国家天体物理研究所 – 布雷拉天文台）；INFN – sezione di Milano-Bicocca（意大利国家核物理研究所 – 米兰-比可卡分部）；Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University（拉德堡德大学天体物理学系/IMAPP）；Department of Physics, University of Warwick（华威大学物理系）
We present the properties of NGC 4993, the host galaxy of GW170817, the first gravitational wave (GW) event from the merger of a binary neutron star (BNS) system and the first with an electromagnetic (EM) counterpart. We use both archival photometry and new optical/near-IR imaging and spectroscopy, together with stellar population synthesis models to infer the global properties of the host galaxy. We infer a star formation history peaked at $\gtrsim 10$ Gyr ago, with subsequent exponential decline leading to a low current star formation rate of 0.01 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, which we convert into…
We explore the nature of heavily obscured quasar host galaxies at z~2 using deep Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/IR imaging of 28 Dust Obscured Galaxies (DOGs) to investigate the role of major mergers in driving black hole growth. The high levels of obscuration of the quasars selected for this study act as a natural coronagraph, blocking the quasar light and allowing a clear view of the underlying host galaxy. The sample of heavily obscured quasars represents a significant fraction of the cosmic mass accretion on supermassive black holes as the quasars have inferred bolometric luminosities around …
We present the results of a community study aimed at exploring some of the scientific opportunities that the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) could open in the field of multi-messenger time-domain astronomy. We focus on compact binary mergers, golden astrophysical targets of ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors such as advanced LIGO. A decade from now, a large number of these mergers is likely to be discovered by a world-wide network of GW detectors. This will enable the identification of host galaxies, either directly through detection of electromagnetic (EM) counterparts, o…
The identification and localization of Fast Radio Bursts to their host galaxies has revealed important details about the progenitors of these mysterious, millisecond-long bursts of coherent radio emission. In this work we study the most probable host galaxy of the apparently non-repeating CHIME/FRB event FRB 20190425A -- a particularly high luminosity, low dispersion measure event that was demonstrated by Moroianu et al. 2022 to be temporally and spatially coincident with the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA binary neutron star merger GW190425, suggesting an astrophysical association (p-value 0.0052). In this…
Stellar-mass binary black hole mergers are poised to represent the majority of gravitational-wave (GW) observations by Advanced LIGO and Virgo. Probing their origin will be difficult due to the expected lack of electromagnetic emission and limited localization accuracy. Associations with rare host galaxy types -- such as active galactic nuclei (AGN) -- can nevertheless be identified statistically through spatial correlation. We show that (i) fractional contributions $f_{\rm agn}=50-100\%$ from AGN hosts to the total BBH merger rate can be statistically established with 70-300 detected events (…
The rate and location of Binary Neutron Star (BNS) mergers are determined by a combination of the star formation history and the Delay Time Distribution (DTD) function. In this paper, we couple the star formation rate histories (SFRHs) from the IllustrisTNG model to a series of varied assumptions for the BNS DTD to make predictions for the BNS merger host galaxy mass function. These predictions offer two outcomes: (i) in the near term: influence BNS merger event follow-up strategy by scrutinizing where most BNS merger events are expected to occur and (ii) in the long term: constrain the DTD fo…
Recently born magnetars are promising candidates for the engines powering fast radio bursts (FRBs). The focus thus far has been placed on millisecond magnetars born in rare core-collapse explosions, motivated by the star forming dwarf host galaxy of the repeating FRB 121102, which is remarkably similar to the hosts of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and long gamma-ray bursts (LGRB). However, long-lived magnetars may also be created in binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, in the small subset of cases with a sufficiently low total mass for the remnant to avoid collapse to a black hole, or in the …
Merger Driven or Internal Evolution? A New Morphological Study of Tidal Disruption Event Host Galaxies
The University of Hong Kong（香港大学）；The Hong Kong Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, The University of Hong Kong（香港大学天文及天体物理研究所）；International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia（西澳大利亚大学国际射电天文研究中心）；Tata Institute of Fundamental Research（塔塔基础研究所）；Tsinghua University（清华大学）；The Chinese University of Hong Kong（香港中文大学）；CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute（香港中文大学（深圳）研究院）；University of Victoria（维多利亚大学）；University of Nottingham（诺丁汉大学）；University of Hawaii（夏威夷大学）
The first neutron star-neutron star merger was detected in by LIGO/Virgo in a galaxy in which the majority of star formation was taking place a long time ago (11 Gyr). LIGO/Virgo estimated that local cosmic NS-NS merger rate is 110-3840 Gpc^-3 yr^-1. Only some extreme evolutionary models can generate NS-NS merger rates in old host galaxies consistent with the LIGO/Virgo estimate. However, we show that these models generate rates exceeding empirical Galactic NS-NS merger rates based on the large population of Milky Way NS-NS binaries. Typically, current evolutionary models produce NS-NS merger …
We investigate the properties of the host galaxies of compact binary mergers across cosmic time, by means of population-synthesis simulations combined with galaxy catalogues from the EAGLE suite. We analyze the merger rate per galaxy of binary neutron stars (BNSs), black hole--neutron star binaries (BHNSs) and binary black holes (BBHs) from redshift zero up to redshift six. The binary merger rate per galaxy strongly correlates with the stellar mass of the host galaxy at any redshift considered here. This correlation is significantly steeper for BNSs than for both BHNSs and BBHs. Moreover, we f…
What triggers collimated relativistic outflows or jets, from the centers of galaxies remains a fundamental question in astrophysics. The merging of two galaxies has been proposed to realize the conditions to successfully launch and drive such jets into the intergalactic medium. However, evidences for the operation of this mechanism are scarce. Here we report the first unambiguous detection of an ongoing merger of a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, TXS 2116$-$077, hosting a closely aligned, $γ$-ray emitting relativistic jet with a Seyfert 2 galaxy at a separation of $\sim$12 kpc, using the observa…
Half of all the elements in the universe heavier than iron were created by rapid neutron capture. The theory for this astrophysical `$r$-process' was worked out six decades ago and requires an enormous neutron flux to make the bulk of these elements. Where this happens is still debated. A key piece of missing evidence is the identification of freshly-synthesised $r$-process elements in an astrophysical site. Current models and circumstantial evidence point to neutron star mergers as a probable $r$-process site, with the optical/infrared `kilonova' emerging in the days after the merger a likely…
We study the properties of the galaxies hosting the first 19 tidal disruption events (TDEs) detected with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) within the context of a carefully constructed, representative host galaxy sample. We find that the ZTF sample of TDE hosts is dominated by compact "green valley" galaxies. After we restrict the comparison sample to galaxies with a similar concentration, as measured by Sersic index, we find this green valley over representation is even larger. That is, concentrated red sequence galaxies are not producing TDEs at elevated levels. We present host galaxy spe…
Short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) are widely believed to result from the mergers of compact binaries. This model predicts an afterglow that bears the characteristic signatures of a constant, low density medium, including a smooth prompt-afterglow transition, and a simple temporal evolution. However, these expectations are in conflict with observations for a non-negligible fraction of sGRB afterglows. In particular, the onset of the afterglow phase for some of these events appears to be delayed and, in addition, a few of them exhibit late- time rapid fading in their lightcurves. We show that these…
In this paper, we investigate the properties of binary neutron stars (BNSs) and their mergers by combining population synthesis models for binary stellar evolution (BSE) with cosmological galaxy formation and evolution models. We obtain constraints on BSE model parameters by using the observed Galactic BNSs and local BNS merger rate density ($R_0$) inferred from Gravitational Wave (GW) observations, and consequently estimate the host galaxy distributions of BNS mergers. We find that the Galactic BNS observations imply efficient energy depletion in the common envelope (CE) phase, a bimodal kick…
The merger rate density evolution of binary compact objects and the properties of their host galaxies carry crucial information to understand the sources of gravitational waves. Here, we present galaxyRate, a new code that estimates the merger rate density of binary compact objects and the properties of their host galaxies, based on observational scaling relations. We generate our synthetic galaxies according to the galaxy stellar mass function. We estimate the metallicity according to both the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) and the fundamental metallicity relation (FMR). Also, we take into a…
The detection of electromagnetic radiation (EM) accompanying the gravitational wave (GW) signal from the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 has revealed that these systems constitute at least a fraction of the progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs). As gravitational wave detectors keep pushing their detection horizons, it is important to assess coupled GW/EM probabilities, and how to maximize observational prospects. Here we perform population synthesis calculations of BNS evolution with the code MOBSE, and seed the binaries in galaxies at three representative redshifts (z=0.01,0…
Globular clusters (GCs) may harbour intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) at their centres. In these dynamically active environments stellar-mass black holes (SBHs) sink to the center soon after formation, due to dynamical friction and start interacting among themselves and with the central IMBH. Likely, some of the SBHs will form bound systems with the IMBH. A fraction of those will be triple systems composed of binary SBHs and the IMBH acting as a third distant perturber. If the SBH binary orbit is sufficiently inclined it can develop Lidov-Kozai (LK) oscillations, which can drive the system…
We present the stellar population properties of 69 short gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies, representing the largest uniformly-modeled sample to-date. Using the Prospector stellar population inference code, we jointly fit photometry and/or spectroscopy of each host galaxy. We find a population median redshift of $z=0.64^{+0.83}_{-0.32}$ ($68\%$ confidence), including 10 new or revised photometric redshifts at $z\gtrsim1$. We further find a median mass-weighted age of $t_m=0.8^{+2.71}_{-0.53}$Gyr, stellar mass of $\log(M_*/M_\odot)=9.69^{+0.75}_{-0.65}$, star formation rate of SFR=$1.44^{+9.3…
We discuss the statistical properties of the radio halo population in galaxy clusters. Radio bi-modality is observed in galaxy clusters: a fraction of clusters host giant radio halos while the majority of clusters do not show evidence of diffuse cluster-scale radio emission. The radio bi-modality has a correspondence in terms of dynamical state of the hosting clusters showing that merging clusters host radio halos and follow the well known radio--X-ray correlation, while more relaxed clusters do not host radio halos and populate a region well separated from that correlation. These evidences ca…
Binary active galactic nuclei (AGNs) provide clues to how gas-rich mergers trigger and fuel AGNs and how supermassive black hole (SMBH) pairs evolve in a gas-rich environment. While significant effort has been invested in their identification, the detailed properties of binary AGNs and their host galaxies are still poorly constrained. In a companion paper, we examined the nature of ionizing sources in the double nuclei of four kpc-scale binary AGNs with redshifts between 0.1~0.2. Here, we present their host galaxy morphology based on F336W (U-band) and F105W (Y-band) images taken by the Wide F…
The deep connection between galaxies and their supermassive black holes is central to modern astrophysics and cosmology. The observed correlation between galaxy and black hole mass is usually attributed to the contribution of major mergers to both. We make use of a sample of galaxies whose disk-dominated morphologies indicate a major-merger-free history and show that such systems are capable of growing supermassive black holes at rates similar to quasars. Comparing black hole masses to conservative upper limits on bulge masses, we show that the black holes in the sample are typically larger th…
The supermassive black holes (SMBHs) of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) are at the lowest end of mass function of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and preferentially reside in late-type host galaxies with pseudobulges, which are thought to be formed by internal secular evolution. On the other hand, the population of radio-loud NLS1s presents a challenge for the relativistic jet paradigm that powerful radio jets are exclusively associated with very high mass SMBHs in elliptical hosts, which are built-up through galaxy mergers. We investigated distorted radio structures associated with the n…
We consider the formation of binary intermediate black holes (BIMBH) in globular clusters (GC), which could happen either in situ or due to the mergers between clusters. We simulate the evolution of the BIMBH orbit (and its subsequent merger) due to stellar ejections. We also take into account the evaporation of GCs due to the tidal field of the host galaxy and two-body relaxation. Our results show that if at least $10^{-3}$ of all GCs become BIMBH hosts and the BIMBH masses are $\sim1\%$ of the GC mass, at least one of the inspiralling (or merging) BIMBHs will be detected by LISA during its 4…
During the final moments of a binary black hole (BH) merger, the gravitational wave (GW) luminosity of the system is greater than the combined electromagnetic output of the entire observable universe. However, the extremely weak coupling between GWs and ordinary matter makes these waves very difficult to detect directly. Fortunately, the inspiraling BH system will interact strongly--on a purely Newtonian level--with any surrounding material in the host galaxy, and this matter can in turn produce unique electromagnetic (EM) signals detectable at Earth. By identifying EM counterparts to GW sourc…
We constrain the recent star formation histories of the host galaxies of eight optical/UV-detected tidal disruption events (TDEs). Six hosts had quick starbursts of <200 Myr duration that ended 10 to 1000 Myr ago, indicating that TDEs arise at different times in their host's post-starburst evolution. If the disrupted star formed in the burst or before, the post-burst age constrains its mass, generally excluding O, most B, and highly massive A stars. If the starburst arose from a galaxy merger, the time since the starburst began limits the coalescence timescale and thus the merger mass ratio to…
The successful detection of the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 and its electromagnetic (EM) counterparts has provided an opportunity to explore the joint effect of the host galaxy and the Milky Way (MW) on the weak equivalence principle (WEP) test. In this paper, using the Navarro$-$Frenk$-$White (NFW) profile and the Herquist profile, we present an analytic model to calculate the galactic potential, in which the possible locations of the source by the observed angle offset and the second supernova (SN2) kick are accounted for. We show that the upper limit of $Δγ$ is $10^{-9}$ for t…
We present an empirical approach for interpreting gravitational wave signals of binary black hole mergers under the assumption that the underlying black hole population is sourced by remnants of stellar evolution. Using the observed relationship between galaxy mass and stellar metallicity, we predict the black hole count as a function of galaxy stellar mass. We show, for example, that a galaxy like the Milky Way should host millions of $\sim 30~M_\odot$ black holes and dwarf satellite galaxies like Draco should host $\sim 100$ such remnants, with weak dependence on the assumed IMF and stellar …
We present new ALMA band-7 data for a sample of six luminous quasars at z~4.8, powered by fast-growing supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with rather uniform properties: the typical accretion rates and black hole masses are L/L_Edd~0.7 and M_BH~10^9 M_sol. Our sample consists of three "FIR-bright" sources, which were individually detected in previous Herschel/SPIRE observations, with star formation rates of SFR>1000 M_sol/yr, and three "FIR-faint" sources for which Herschel stacking analysis implies a typical SFR of ~400 M_sol/yr. The dusty interstellar medium in the hosts of all six quasars is …
Searching for Binary Black Hole Merger Emission in AGN Disks: Optical and Spectroscopic Follow-up of S240413p
Artificial Intelligence for Physics Laboratory (Lab-IA) and Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas（物理人工智能实验室（Lab-IA）和巴西物理研究中心）；Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) Northwestern University（西北大学天体物理学跨学科探索与研究中心）；International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab（国际双子座天文台/美国国家科学基金会NOIR实验室）；Universidade de São Paulo, IAG（圣保罗大学天文学、地球学和气象学院）；Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina（圣卡塔琳娜联邦大学物理系）；Departamento de Astronomia, Instituto de Física（物理系天文学系）
Short duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) are thought to be related to the violent merger of compact objects, such as neutron stars or black holes, which makes them promising sources of gravitational waves. The detection of a 'kilonova'-like signature associated to the Swift-detected GRB 130603B has suggested that this event is the result of a compact object merger. Our knowledge on SGRB has been, until now, mostly based on the absence of supernova signatures and the analysis of the host galaxies to which they cannot always be securely associated. Further progress has been significantly hampered…
This paper reviews the current understanding of double neutron star and neutron star black hole binaries. It addresses mainly (nuclear) astrophysics aspects of compact binary mergers and thus complements recent reviews that have emphasized the numerical relativity viewpoint. In particular, the paper discusses different channels to release neutron-rich matter into the host galaxy, connections between compact binary mergers and short Gamma-ray bursts and accompanying electromagnetic signals.
Inferring host environment properties and gravitational-wave decay time from the eccentricity measurement of dynamically captured binaries
Chennai Mathematical Institute（金奈数学研究所）；Cardiff University（卡迪夫大学）；Montclair State University（蒙克莱尔州立大学）；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））；Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）
We investigate the relationship between the global properties of star clusters and their double black hole (DBH) populations. We use the code {\tt NBODY6} to evolve a suite of star cluster models with an initial mass of $\mathcal{O}(10^4)$M$_\odot$ and varying initial parameters. We conclude that cluster metallicity plays the most significant role in determining the lifespan of a cluster, while the initial half-mass radius is dominant in setting the rate of BH exchange interactions in the central cluster regions. We find that the mass of interacting BHs, rather than how frequently their intera…
Remnant recoil and host environments of GWTC-4.0 binary black-hole mergers
Universitat de les Illes Balears（巴利阿里群岛大学）；Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院尼古拉·哥白尼天体物理中心）；University of Warsaw（华沙大学）；Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics（马克斯·普朗克天体物理学研究所）；Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (ICE, CSIC)（空间科学研究所（ICE，CSIC））
Characterizing the properties of the host galaxies of merging compact objects provides essential clues to interpret current and future gravitational-wave detections. Here, we investigate the stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), metallicity and colours of the host galaxies of merging compact objects in the local Universe, by combining the results of MOBSE population-synthesis models together with galaxy catalogs from the EAGLE simulation. We predict that the stellar mass of the host galaxy is an excellent tracer of the merger rate per galaxy ${\rm n}_{\rm GW}$ of double neutron stars (DNSs)…
Understanding the preferences of transient types for host galaxies with certain characteristics is key to studies of transient physics and galaxy evolution, as well as to transient identification and classification in the LSST era. Here we describe a value-added database of extragalactic transients--supernovae, tidal disruption events, gamma-ray bursts, and other rare events--and their host galaxy properties. Based on reported coordinates, redshifts, and host galaxies (if known) of events, we cross-identify their host galaxies or most likely host candidates in various value-added or survey cat…
Large offsets of double-neutron-star mergers: degeneracies and implications for host associations
Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University（李政道研究所，上海交通大学）；School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University（南京大学天文与空间科学学院）；Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics (Nanjing University), Ministry of Education（现代天文学和天体物理学教育部重点实验室（南京大学））；Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik, Universität Bonn（波恩大学赫尔姆霍兹射线与核物理研究所）
Calcium-rich supernovae (Ca-rich SNe) are peculiar low-luminosity SNe Ib with relatively strong Ca spectral lines at ~2 months after peak brightness. This class also has an extended projected offset distribution, with several members of the class offset from their host galaxies by 30 - 150 kpc. There is no indication of any stellar population at the SN positions. Using a sample of 13 Ca-rich SNe, we present kinematic evidence that the progenitors of Ca-rich SNe originate near the centers of their host galaxies and are kicked to the locations of the SN explosions. Specifically, SNe with small p…
