Candidate
Dorsa Sadat Hosseini KHajouei | Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Title
Connection between binary black hole mergers (BBHs) and the astrophysical properties of their host galaxies
Abstract
Studying astrophysical objects as tracers of the underlying matter density can not only provide insight into the clustering of the underlying matter distribution but also yield rich information regarding the cosmological and astrophysical processes involved in their formation and evolution. In this ongoing project, we provide the very first calculation of the GW bias parameter, considering binary black holes (BBHs) as gravitational wave (GW) sources tracing the galaxy and matter distribution. This research examines the relationship between the gravitational wave (GW) bias parameter for binary black holes (BBHs) and the astrophysical properties of their host galaxies, such as stellar mass, metallicity, and star formation rate, using a specific galaxy survey, namely the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS DR7). More particularly, we calculate the GW bias parameter by generating GW sources mock catalogs using astrophysical-observational models. Results indicate that the computed GW bias parameter is sensitive to the astrophysical properties of the galaxies hosting the merger and the formation channel of the BBHs. In other words, the GW bias could deviate from the galaxy bias in the case of astrophysical models that prefer BBH formations in galaxies with higher stellar mass, star formation rate, and metallicity. The next step of this ongoing project involves examining how the astrophysical characteristics of galaxies influence the GW bias parameter through simulations rather than observations, which are not limited by survey selection functions but have other limitations.