{
  "abstract": "With the growing number of binary black hole (BBH) candidates in the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog 5.0 (GWTC-5.0), an increasing number of BBH systems with distinct properties have been reported. The individual spins are relatively less constrained in the parameter estimations for most events. While the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration (LVK) adopts a uninformative spin prior by default, some binary evolution scenarios have strong predictions on component spins. In this work, we perform Bayesian parameter inference for a subset of BBH events spanning a broad range of properties in the chirp mass, mass ratio, and effective inspiral spin ($\\mathcal{M}_{\\rm c}$-$q$-$χ_{\\rm eff}$) parameter space. We consider three different spin priors: the LVK spin prior and two astrophysically motivated priors, assuming a non-spinning primary BH ($χ_1 = 0$) or a non-spinning secondary BH ($χ_2 = 0$). We find that the non-spinning primary BH prior is disfavored by the data for several systems with high effective inspiral spins, including GW190517_055101, GW190412, GW241113_163507, and GW231028_153006. We suggest that standard common-envelope evolution represents a promising formation channel that can be tested with gravitational-wave observations, and propose a novel method for estimating the merger rate of systems formed through alternative evolutionary channels. We further suggest that the binary evolution involving mass-ratio reversal may provide a possible formation pathway for these systems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.33199",
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Chen-He Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Wei-Hua Guo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shu-Jin Hou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yuan-Zhu Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ying Qin"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fxfdknvy0atcg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.33199",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "fxfdknvy0atcg",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.33199",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.SR"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214788716",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.33199",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-27",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fxfdknvy0atcg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:12Z",
      "native_id": "2609.33199",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.33199"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.SR",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Testing Spin Prior Assumptions of Binary Black Hole Parameter Inference and Their Astrophysical Implications",
  "title_text": "Testing Spin Prior Assumptions of Binary Black Hole Parameter Inference and Their Astrophysical Implications",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fxfdknvy0atcg",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}