Binary Black Hole Merger Rates Inferred from Luminosity Function of Ultra-Luminous X-ray Sources

TL;DR

This paper estimates binary black hole merger rates using ULX luminosity functions, linking X-ray source data to gravitational wave observations, and finds consistency with LIGO's detected event rates.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to derive black hole merger rates from ULX luminosity functions, connecting X-ray observations with gravitational wave data.

Findings

Merger rate estimate aligns with LIGO's GW150914 event rate.

The ULX luminosity function is consistent with black hole mass range inferred from GW data.

Further X-ray and GW observations can refine ULX Eddington ratio estimates.

Abstract

The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) has detected direct signals of gravitational waves (GWs) from GW150914. The event was a merger of binary black holes whose masses are $36^{+5}_{-4}M_{\odot}$ and $29^{+4}_{-4}M_{\odot}$. Such binary systems are expected to be directly evolved from stellar binary systems or formed by dynamical interactions of black holes in dense stellar environments. Here we derive the binary black hole merger rate based on the nearby ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) luminosity function (LF) under the assumption that binary black holes evolve through X-ray emitting phases. We obtain the binary black hole merger rate as $5.8 ({t}_{\rm ULX}/{0.1 \ \rm Myr})^{-1} \lambda^{-0.6} \exp{(-0.30\lambda)} \ {\rm Gpc^{-3}\ yr^{-1}}$, where $t_{\rm ULX}$ is the typical duration of the ULX phase and $\lambda$ is the Eddington ratio in luminosity. This is coincident with the event rate inferred from the detection of GW150914 as well as the predictions based on binary population synthesis models. Although we are currently unable to constrain the Eddington ratio of ULXs in luminosity due to the uncertainties of our models and measured binary black hole merger event rates, further X-ray and GW data will allow us to narrow down the range of the Eddington ratios of ULXs. We also find the cumulative merger rate for the mass range of $5M_\odot\le M_{\rm BH}\le100M_\odot$ inferred from the ULX LF is consistent with that estimated by the aLIGO collaboration considering various astrophysical conditions such as the mass function of black holes.