{
  "abstract": "The LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA collaborations have reported gravitational wave (GW) signals from more than 150 binary black holes (BBHs) in the fourth catalog (GWTC-4). Here, we investigate the population properties of these BBHs using the mixture-model framework Vamana. We present one-dimensional distributions of masses and spins, explore their correlations, and examine their evolution with redshift. These features may reflect astrophysical processes associated with BBH formation channels, although most remain poorly constrained. A notable feature is a peak near 10 M ⊙ in the primary mass and 8 M ⊙ in the chirp mass. Additionally, the primary and secondary masses correlate uniquely, producing pronounced chirp-mass peaks around 14 M ⊙ and 27 M ⊙ . The three peaks are roughly separated by a factor of two. A simple explanation for such well-placed peaks is a hierarchical merger scenario, in which the first peak dominantly arises from mergers of black holes (BHs) of stellar origin, and higher-mass peaks arise from repeated mergers of BHs from lower-mass peaks. Although most binaries do not exhibit the high spins and characteristic mass ratios expected from hierarchical mergers, those that do are associated with the peaks observed in the chirp mass distribution.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Birmingham"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Vaibhav Tiwari",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1602-4176"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6qs2fccv3kzvg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6qs2fccv3kzvg",
  "issns": [
    "1538-4357",
    "0004-637X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "feed-journal",
      "astronomy/general"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-02",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6qs2fccv3kzvg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:20:42Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc",
      "source": "feed-iop",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:21:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea6bc"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:3103|Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Population of Binary Black Holes Inferred from One Hundred and Fifty Gravitational Wave Signals",
  "title_text": "Population of Binary Black Holes Inferred from One Hundred and Fifty Gravitational Wave Signals",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T00:22:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6qs2fccv3kzvg",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": []
}