Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 201102 (2016) - Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background due to Primordial Binary Black Hole Mergers

Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background due to Primordial Binary Black Hole Mergers

Vuk Mandic, Simeon Bird, and Ilias Cholis

Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 201102 – Published 8 November 2016

Abstract

Recent Advanced LIGO detections of binary black hole mergers have prompted multiple studies investigating the possibility that the heavy GW150914 binary system was of primordial origin, and hence could be evidence for dark matter in the form of black holes. We compute the stochastic background arising from the incoherent superposition of such primordial binary black hole systems in the Universe and compare it to the similar background spectrum due to binary black hole systems of stellar origin. We investigate the possibility of detecting this background with future gravitational-wave detectors, and conclude that constraining the dark matter component in the form of black holes using stochastic gravitational-wave background measurements will be very challenging.

Received 8 September 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.201102

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitational wave detection Gravitational wave sources Massive compact halo objects

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Authors & Affiliations

Vuk Mandic¹, Simeon Bird², and Ilias Cholis²

¹School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
²Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Issue

Vol. 117, Iss. 20 — 11 November 2016

Reuse & Permissions

Access Options

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript

Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Images

Figure 1
Primordial BBH merger rate per halo as a function of the halo virial mass for the Prada et al. [34] and Ludlow et al. [33] concentration models, assuming $λ = 1$ , and for several values of redshift. The local $z = 0$ curves are to be compared to Fig. 1 of [20].
Reuse & Permissions
Figure 2
Primordial BBH merger rate per comoving volume as a function of redshift, using the Prada et al. [34] and Ludlow et al. [33] concentration models, assuming $λ = 1$ , and for several halo mass function models [36, 37, 38]. Note that the fiducial stellar BBH model is computed using black hole binaries which trace the cosmic star formation rate, and thus peaks around $z \sim 1 - 2$ [39]. The Poisson band around the fiducial stellar model represents the statistical uncertainty in the local rate of BBH mergers [39]. The primordial BBH merger rate in all considered models is weakly dependent on redshift and slightly increases with redshift.
Reuse & Permissions
Figure 3
Gravitational-wave energy density as a function of frequency for the same models of the halo mass function and concentration as considered in Fig. 2 and assuming $λ = 1$ . While different primordial models agree with each other within a factor of $\sim 2$ , the fiducial stellar model is significantly louder. We note that the amplitude of the stellar fiducial model is currently uncertain due to the large errors on the local rate of BBH mergers, as denoted by the Poisson band [39]. Also shown is the projected final sensitivity of advanced detectors, denoted O5 [39].
Reuse & Permissions
Figure 4
Gravitational-wave energy density for the primordial BBH model is shown as a function of frequency for several values of the black hole mass, assuming the Ludlow et al. concentration model [33] and the Watson et al. model of the halo mass function [36]. Also shown is the projected final sensitivity of advanced detectors, denoted O5, as well as the fiducial stellar model and its Poisson error band [39].
Reuse & Permissions
Figure 5
Gravitational-wave energy density for the primordial BBH model is shown as a function of redshift for three selected frequencies: 10, 60, and 160 Hz. For all curves we assume the Ludlow et al. concentration model [33] and the Watson et al. model of the halo mass function [36]. The majority of the signal is generated at redshifts below $\sim 3$ , implying that the uncertainties in the concentration and halo mass function models at high redshifts have a small impact on the gravitational-wave energy density spectrum.
Reuse & Permissions

Physical Review Letters

Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background due to Primordial Binary Black Hole Mergers

Vuk Mandic, Simeon Bird, and Ilias Cholis

Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 201102 – Published 8 November 2016

Abstract

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Authors & Affiliations

Article Text (Subscription Required)

References (Subscription Required)

Issue

Access Options

Authorization Required

Other Options

Download & Share

Images

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Log In

Search

Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation