PIRSA:21010023

Video URL

https://pirsa.org/21010023

Minding the Gap: Lessons from LIGO-Virgo’s Biggest Black Holes

Fishbach, M. (2021). Minding the Gap: Lessons from LIGO-Virgo’s Biggest Black Holes. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. https://pirsa.org/21010023

Fishbach, Maya. Minding the Gap: Lessons from LIGO-Virgo’s Biggest Black Holes. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Jan. 28, 2021, https://pirsa.org/21010023 

          @misc{ scivideos_PIRSA:21010023,
            doi = {10.48660/21010023},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/21010023},
            author = {Fishbach, Maya},
            keywords = {Strong Gravity},
            language = {en},
            title = {Minding the Gap: Lessons from LIGO-Virgo{\textquoteright}s Biggest Black Holes},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics},
            year = {2021},
            month = {jan},
            note = {PIRSA:21010023 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/index.php/pirsa/21010023}}
          }

Maya Fishbach Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA)

Talk numberPIRSA:21010023
DOI10.48660/21010023
Source RepositoryPIRSA
Collection
Talk Type Scientific Series
Subject

Abstract

Models for black hole formation from stellar evolution predict the existence of a pair-instability supernova mass gap in the range ~50 to ~120 solar masses. The binary black holes of LIGO-Virgo's first two observing runs supported this prediction, showing evidence for a dearth of component black hole masses above 45 solar masses. Meanwhile, among the 30+ new observations from the third observing run, there are several black holes that appear to sit above the 45 solar mass limit. I will discuss how these unexpectedly massive black holes fit into our understanding of the binary black hole population. The data are consistent with several scenarios, including a mass distribution that evolves with redshift and the possibility that the most massive binary black hole, GW190521, straddles the mass gap, containing an intermediate-mass black hole heavier than 120 solar masses.