{
  "abstract": "Observations of binary black hole (BBH) mergers provide a unique window into the lives of massive stars across cosmic time. Connecting redshift-dependent merger properties to massive star progenitors requires accurate models of cosmic star formation and chemical enrichment histories. Analytical fits for the metallicity-specific cosmic star formation rate density S ( Z , z ) are commonly used as proxies for the complex underlying star formation history, yet they remain unconstrained. Using the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulations, we evaluate the accuracy of these analytical S ( Z , z ) prescriptions. By coupling the simulated and analytical S ( Z , z ) to the population synthesis code COMPAS , we investigate the resulting BBH merger rates and mass distributions. We find that analytical S ( Z , z ) prescriptions can overestimate BBH merger rates at high redshift ( z ≳ 6) by up to a factor of 10–10 ⁴ , depending on cosmological simulation resolution, and can introduce spurious features in the BBH mass distribution. For example, they can produce an artificial feature near 8 M ⊙ in the primary mass distribution at z ≲ 2, which is absent when using the full simulation-based S ( Z , z ) , while simultaneously suppressing high-mass features. These discrepancies arise because simple analytical models fail to capture a high-metallicity bump and a more flattened low-metallicity tail in the simulated S ( Z , z ) metallicity distribution. Our results highlight the importance of accurate star formation histories for modeling BBH populations, demonstrate the limitation of widely used analytical S ( Z , z ) fits, and underscore the need for careful integration of cosmological simulations, analytical fits, and population synthesis when interpreting gravitational-wave observations.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of California",
    "Johns Hopkins University",
    "Radboud University",
    "Polish Academy of Sciences",
    "Universität Heidelberg",
    "Università di Padova",
    "Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics",
    "Columbia University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sasha Levina",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1241-7615"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Floor Broekgaarden",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4421-4962"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Lieke van Son",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5484-4987"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Emanuele Berti",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0751-5130"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Amedeo Romagnolo",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9583-4339"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ruediger Pakmor",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3308-2420"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ana Lam",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-9165-9889"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/95hjfkc8xx6fq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/ae9c2f",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "95hjfkc8xx6fq",
  "issns": [
    "0004-637X",
    "1538-4357"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9c2f",
  "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": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7126024974",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9c2f/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/95hjfkc8xx6fq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/ae9c2f",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9c2f"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "From Cosmological Simulations to Binary Black Hole Mergers: The Impact of Using Analytical Star Formation History Models on Gravitational-wave Source Populations",
  "title_text": "From Cosmological Simulations to Binary Black Hole Mergers: The Impact of Using Analytical Star Formation History Models on Gravitational-wave Source Populations",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/95hjfkc8xx6fq",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": []
}