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arXiv · 2508.20787

New gravitational-wave data support a bimodal black-hole mass distribution

R. Willcox·F. R. N. Schneider·E. Laplace·Ph. Podsiadlowski·K. Maltsev·I. Mandel·P. Marchant·H. Sana·T. Li·T. Hertog
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Abstract

Detailed stellar evolution and supernova models yield a bimodal black-hole mass distribution with a narrow peak around 10 solar masses from stars within a narrow range of progenitor properties and a second broader peak starting around 20 solar masses from very massive progenitors. This bimodal black-hole mass distribution leads to a characteristic distribution of chirp masses of merging binary black holes, with two main peaks arising from the merger of two black holes where both come either from the low- or the high-mass peak and a smaller peak in between from the mixed merger of a low-mass and a high-mass black hole. We carry out a population synthesis study of binary black hole formation and compare the results to the observed chirp masses of gravitational-wave events. We find that only the bimodal black-hole mass prescription is able to reproduce the structure of peaks and gaps in the observed chirp-mass distribution, which is not matched by predictions from other remnant mass prescriptions in the literature.

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R. Willcox, F. R. N. Schneider, E. Laplace, Ph. Podsiadlowski, K. Maltsev, I. Mandel, P. Marchant, H. Sana, T. Li, T. Hertog. 2025-08-28. New gravitational-wave data support a bimodal black-hole mass distribution. https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20787

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