Metallicity-constrained merger rates of binary black holes and the stochastic gravitational wave background

Abstract

The recent detection of the binary black hole merger GW150914 demonstrates\nthe existence of black holes more massive than previously observed in X-ray\nbinaries in our Galaxy. This article explores different scenarios of black hole\nformation in the context of self-consistent cosmic chemical evolution models\nthat simultaneously match observations of the cosmic star formation rate,\noptical depth to reionization and metallicity of the interstellar medium. This\nframework is used to calculate the mass distribution of merging black hole\nbinaries and its evolution with redshift. We also study the implications of the\nblack hole mass distribution for the stochastic gravitational wave background\nfrom mergers and from core collapse events.\n