On the Angular Momentum Transport Efficiency within the Star Constrained from Gravitational-wave Observations

TL;DR

This paper discusses the implications of a highly spinning black hole detected via gravitational waves, challenging existing models of angular momentum transport in massive stars.

Contribution

It provides the first measurement of an extremely high black hole spin, questioning the efficiency of angular momentum transport mechanisms in stellar evolution models.

Findings

GW190403-051519 has the highest black hole spin measured to date.

The high spin challenges the Tayler-Spruit dynamo model.

Implications for stellar evolution and black hole formation theories.

Abstract

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration (LVC) have recently reported in GWTC-2.1 eight additional candidate events with a probability of astrophysical origin greater than 0.5 in the LVC deeper search on O3a running. In GWTC-2.1, the majority of the effective inspiral spins ($\chi_{\rm eff}$) show magnitudes consistent with zero, while two (GW190403$_{-}$051519 and GW190805$_{-}$211137) of the eight new events have $\chi_{\rm eff}$ $> 0$ (at 90% credibility). We note that GW190403$_{-}$051519 was reported with $\chi_{\rm eff}$ = $0.70^{+0.15}_{-0.27}$ and mass ratio $q$ = $0.25^{+0.54}_{-0.11}$, respectively. Assuming a uniform prior probability between 0 and 1 for each black hole's dimensionless spin magnitude, GW190403$_{-}$051519 was reported with the dimensionless spin of the more massive black hole, $\chi_1$ = $0.92^{+0.07}_{-0.22}$. This is the fastest first-born black hole ever measured in all current gravitational-wave events. If GW190403$_{-}$051519 is formed through isolated binary evolution channel, this extremely high spin challenges, at least in that case, the existence of efficient angular momentum transport mechanism between the stellar core and the radiative envelope of massive stars, as for instance predicted by the Tayler-Spruit dynamo (Spruit 2002) or its revised version by Fuller et al. 2019.