Abstract
The first four LIGO detections have confirmed the existence of massive black holes (BHs), with mass 30–40 M⊙. Such BHs might originate from massive metal-poor stars (Z < 0:3 Z⊙) or from gravitational instabilities in the early Universe. The formation channels of merging BHs are still poorly constrained. The measure of mass, spin and redshift distribution of merging BHs will give us fundamental clues to distinguish between different models. In parallel, a better understanding of several astrophysical processes (e.g. common envelope, core-collapse SNe, and dynamical evolution of BHs) is decisive, to shed light on the formation channels of merging BHs.
Highlights
The first detections already have crucial implications for the astrophysics of black holes (BHs): they confirm the existence of BH binaries and tell us that such systems can host massive BHs, i.e. BHs with mass higher than ∼ 20 M
We will review our state-of-the-art knowledge of BH astrophysics and we will discuss the implications of the first five detections on the mass spectrum of BHs and on the formation channels of merging BHs
The first five LIGO detections have shown that stellar BHs might be significantly more massive than we thought (∼ 30 − 40 M )
Summary
The first detections already have crucial implications for the astrophysics of BHs: they confirm the existence of BH binaries and tell us that such systems can host massive BHs, i.e. BHs with mass higher than ∼ 20 M. Mass loss by stellar winds is important because it determines the final mass of a star: according to the core-collapse SN models we discussed, stars with a larger final mass ( ∼> 30 M , [18, 19]) are more likely to undergo a failed SN, leaving a larger remnant.
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