并合双星黑洞系统的黑洞质量函数：是否存在脉动对不稳定质量截止？
Black Hole Mass Function of Coalescing Binary Black Hole Systems: Is There a Pulsational Pair Instability Mass Cutoff?
摘要：
我们分析了LIGO/Virgo GWTC-2星表，研究了合并黑洞的初始质量分布。我们进行了分层贝叶斯分析，并检查是否有一个尖锐的截止的质量分布的主要黑洞质量低于$65 M_\odot$，在脉动对不稳定超新星模型的预测。我们构造了两个经验质量函数。一种是分段函数，两段幂律函数由一个突降连接。另一个由一个主要的截断幂律分量、一个高斯分量和第三个非常大的分量组成。这两个模型都能合理地拟合数据，并且在$\sim 50M_\odot$发现质量分布的急剧下降，这表明大多数观测到的黑洞可以用脉动对不稳定过程发生的恒星演化情景来解释。另一方面，非常庞大的子群体（最多占总数的百分之几）可能通过分层合并或其他过程形成。
英文摘要：
We analyze the LIGO/Virgo GWTC-2 catalog to study the primary mass distribution of the merging black holes. We perform hierarchical Bayesian analysis, and examine whether the mass distribution has a sharp cutoff for primary black hole masses below $65 M_\odot$, as predicted in pulsational pair instability supernova model. We construct two empirical mass functions. One is a piece-wise function with two power-law segments jointed by a sudden drop. The other consists of a main truncated power-law component, a Gaussian component, and a third very massive component. Both models can reasonably fit the data and a sharp drop of the mass distribution is found at $\sim 50M_\odot$, suggesting that the majority of the observed black holes can be explained by the stellar evolution scenarios in which the pulsational pair-instability process takes place. On the other hand, the very massive sub-population, which accounts for at most several percents of the total, may be formed through hierarchical mergers or other processes.
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