Cardiff Study Traces Giant Black Holes to 153 Mergers, Finds 45-Solar-Mass Gap
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · May 11
Cardiff Study Traces Giant Black Holes to 153 Mergers, Finds 45-Solar-Mass Gap
2 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · May 11
153 black hole mergers in the latest LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA GWTC4 catalog show the heaviest objects likely formed through repeated black hole collisions, not direct stellar collapse, Cardiff-led researchers reported.
Two populations emerged from the signals: lower-mass black holes match ordinary stellar collapse, while higher-mass ones show faster, randomly oriented spins consistent with hierarchical mergers inside dense star clusters.
Around 45 solar masses, the study found its strongest evidence yet for the predicted pair-instability mass gap—a range where stars should not directly leave behind black holes.
Dense star clusters, where stars can be packed up to a million times more tightly than near the Sun, offer the environment for those second-generation black holes to merge again and grow larger.
The Nature Astronomy findings suggest future gravitational-wave detections could probe not only black hole growth but also helium-burning nuclear reactions inside massive stars.
How are dense star clusters building 'forbidden' black holes that individual collapsing stars are unable to create?
How can colliding black holes light-years away reveal the secrets of physics deep inside an atomic nucleus?
Cardiff Study Pinpoints 44 Solar Mass Pair-Instability Gap: Gravitational Waves Reveal Hierarchical Black Hole Growth
Overview
A groundbreaking study from Cardiff University has used gravitational-wave data to reveal new insights into how massive stars live and die. By focusing on the 'mass gap'—a range where black holes are not expected to form—the researchers investigated a key nuclear reaction linked to helium burning deep inside stellar cores. This novel approach helps explain the fate of colossal stars and advances our understanding of the extreme conditions that shape black hole formation. The study paves the way for using cosmic signals to unlock the secrets of stellar evolution and nuclear processes in the universe.