Does Matter Matter? Using the mass distribution to distinguish neutron stars and black holes

TL;DR

This study analyzes gravitational-wave data to determine if neutron stars and black holes form distinct populations based on their mass distributions, finding evidence for a mass gap and different mass distribution features.

Contribution

The paper provides the first statistical evidence supporting a mass gap and distinct mass distribution features separating neutron stars and black holes using gravitational-wave observations.

Findings

GW170817 is an outlier, indicating a distinction between NS and BH masses.

Data favor models with a mass gap or a break in the power law between NS and BH masses.

Estimated merger rates are approximately 871 Gpc^-3 yr^-1 for BNS and 47.5 Gpc^-3 yr^-1 for BBH.

Abstract

Gravitational-wave detectors have opened a new window through which we can observe black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs). Analyzing the 11 detections from LIGO/Virgo's first gravitational-wave catalog, GWTC-1, we investigate whether the power-law fit to the BH mass spectrum can also accommodate the binary neutron star (BNS) event GW170817, or whether we require an additional feature, such as a mass gap, in between the NS and BH populations. We find that with respect to the power-law fit to binary black hole (BBH) masses, GW170817 is an outlier at the 0.13\% level, suggesting a distinction between NS and BH masses. A single power-law fit across the entire mass range is in mild tension with: (a) the detection of one source in the BNS mass range ($\sim 1$--$2.5 \,M_\odot$), (b) the absence of detections in the "mass-gap" range ($\sim 2.5$--$5 \,M_\odot$), and (c) the detection of 10 sources in the BBH mass range ($\gtrsim 5 \,M_\odot$). Instead, the data favor models with a feature between NS and BH masses, including a mass gap (Bayes factor of 4.6) and a break in the power law, with a steeper slope at NS masses compared to BH masses (91\% credibility). We estimate the merger rates of compact binaries based on our fit to the global mass distribution, finding $\mathcal{R}_\mathrm{BNS} = 871^{+3015}_{-805} \ \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3} \ \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ and $\mathcal{R}_\mathrm{BBH} = 47.5^{+57.9}_{-28.8} \ \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3} \ \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. We conclude that, even in the absence of any prior knowledge of the difference between NSs and BHs, the gravitational-wave data alone already suggest two distinct populations of compact objects.