Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population
Gravitational waves from compact binary mergers provide a direct measurement of luminosity distance, which, in combination with redshift information, serves as a cosmological probe. In order to statistically infer merger redshifts, the “spectral standard siren” method relies on features, such as pea...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcec5 |
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| author | Hui Tong Maya Fishbach Eric Thrane |
| author_facet | Hui Tong Maya Fishbach Eric Thrane |
| author_sort | Hui Tong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gravitational waves from compact binary mergers provide a direct measurement of luminosity distance, which, in combination with redshift information, serves as a cosmological probe. In order to statistically infer merger redshifts, the “spectral standard siren” method relies on features, such as peaks, dips, or breaks, in the compact object mass spectrum, which get redshifted in the detector frame relative to the source frame. However, if the source-frame location of these features evolves over cosmic time, the spectral siren measurement may be biased. Some features, such as the edges of the pair-instability supernova mass gap, may be more stable than others. We point out that binary black hole (BBH) spins, which are not redshifted in the detector frame, provide a natural way to identify robust mass scales for spectral siren cosmology. For example, there is recent evidence for a mass scale in the BBH population that separates slowly spinning from more rapidly spinning BBH mergers, consistent with the lower edge of the pair-instability gap. Applying our method to data from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA’s third transient catalog, we demonstrate how to isolate this mass scale and produce a robust “spinning spectral siren” measurement of the Hubble constant ${H}_{0}=8{5}_{-67}^{+99}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}\,{{\rm{Mpc}}}^{-1}$ , or ${H}_{0}=8{0}_{-46}^{+60}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}\,{{\rm{Mpc}}}^{-1}$ when combined with other mass features, such as the ∼35 M _⊙ peak. We consider the possibility that the source-frame location of the ∼35 M _⊙ peak evolves with redshift and show that information from black hole spin can be used to mitigate the associated bias for self-calibrating spectral sirens. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-de7c04b14d0f409695e89c599d620f222025-08-20T02:29:15ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01985222010.3847/1538-4357/adcec5Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole PopulationHui Tong0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4534-0485Maya Fishbach1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1980-5293Eric Thrane2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4418-3895School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University , Clayton VIC 3800, Australia ; hui.tong@monash.edu; OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery , Clayton VIC 3800, AustraliaCanadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, 60 St. George Street, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON M5S 3H8, Canada; David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 50 St. George Street, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON M5S 3H8, Canada; Department of Physics, 60 St. George Street, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON M5S 3H8, CanadaSchool of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University , Clayton VIC 3800, Australia ; hui.tong@monash.edu; OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery , Clayton VIC 3800, AustraliaGravitational waves from compact binary mergers provide a direct measurement of luminosity distance, which, in combination with redshift information, serves as a cosmological probe. In order to statistically infer merger redshifts, the “spectral standard siren” method relies on features, such as peaks, dips, or breaks, in the compact object mass spectrum, which get redshifted in the detector frame relative to the source frame. However, if the source-frame location of these features evolves over cosmic time, the spectral siren measurement may be biased. Some features, such as the edges of the pair-instability supernova mass gap, may be more stable than others. We point out that binary black hole (BBH) spins, which are not redshifted in the detector frame, provide a natural way to identify robust mass scales for spectral siren cosmology. For example, there is recent evidence for a mass scale in the BBH population that separates slowly spinning from more rapidly spinning BBH mergers, consistent with the lower edge of the pair-instability gap. Applying our method to data from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA’s third transient catalog, we demonstrate how to isolate this mass scale and produce a robust “spinning spectral siren” measurement of the Hubble constant ${H}_{0}=8{5}_{-67}^{+99}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}\,{{\rm{Mpc}}}^{-1}$ , or ${H}_{0}=8{0}_{-46}^{+60}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}\,{{\rm{Mpc}}}^{-1}$ when combined with other mass features, such as the ∼35 M _⊙ peak. We consider the possibility that the source-frame location of the ∼35 M _⊙ peak evolves with redshift and show that information from black hole spin can be used to mitigate the associated bias for self-calibrating spectral sirens.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcec5Gravitational wave astronomyCosmology |
| spellingShingle | Hui Tong Maya Fishbach Eric Thrane Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population The Astrophysical Journal Gravitational wave astronomy Cosmology |
| title | Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population |
| title_full | Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population |
| title_fullStr | Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population |
| title_short | Spinning Spectral Sirens: Robust Cosmological Measurement Using Mass–Spin Correlations in the Binary Black Hole Population |
| title_sort | spinning spectral sirens robust cosmological measurement using mass spin correlations in the binary black hole population |
| topic | Gravitational wave astronomy Cosmology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcec5 |
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