GWTC-5.0: Population Properties of Merging Compact Binaries
Abstract
We present the population properties of merging compact binaries inferred using 267 mergers from the cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog 5.0. As this data set contains no new sources with a neutron star, we primarily focus on the properties of the binary black hole mergers. We infer the merger rate of binary black holes with component masses between $2.5\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ and $200\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ to be 27.5−− 49.4 Gpc−3 yr−1 (all intervals at 90% credible levels) at redshift z = 0.2. We find evidence for a subpopulation of binary black hole mergers that host a rapidly spinning black hole (dimensionless spins χ∼ 0.7), consistent with signatures of hierarchical mergers. We find that these occur at two mass scales, the first at primary masses ∼ 10--$20\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ and the second above $\sim 45\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $, and we estimate their total rate at z=0.2 to be 0.2−− 3.11 Gpc−3 yr−1. We infer that, above $40\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $, the mass distribution of the less massive (secondary) black hole declines more steeply than that of the more massive (primary) one. This is consistent with a flatter mass-ratio distribution and indicates the prevalence of unequal-mass binaries with large primary masses. We find evidence for two features in the black hole mass spectrum: a peak around $10\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ and a change of slope at around $35\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $. Black holes of $\sim 35\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ pair preferentially with companions of similar mass. Additionally, we find that the effective inspiral spin distribution of binary black holes is asymmetric about zero, based on which we infer that at least 9 % of mergers occur in channels with some preference for spin-orbit alignment. We find evidence that...
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BibTeX
@misc{collaboration2026gwtc50,
title = {{GWTC-5.0: Population Properties of Merging Compact Binaries}},
author = {The LIGO Scientific collaboration and The LIGO Scientific collaboration and The LIGO Scientific collaboration and Adrian Abac and A. Abe and I. Abouelfettouh and F. Acernese and K.Ackley and A. Adam and S. Adhicary and D. Adhikari and R. X. Adhikari and V. K. Adkins and S. Afroz and A. Agapito and D. Agarwal and M. Agathos and Nancy Aggarwal and S. Aggarwal and O. D. Aguiar and I.-L. Ahrend and L. Aiello and A Ain and P. Ajith and T.Akutsu and L. Albers and W. Ali and S. Al-Kershi and C. Allene and A Allocca and S. Al-Shammari and J. A. Alvarez and S. Álvarez-López and W. Amar and O. Amarasinghe and A. Amato and F. Amicucci and Claude Amra and A. B. Anand and C. Anand and A. Ananyeva and S. B. Anderson and W. G. Anderson and M. Andia and M. Ando and F. Andrade-Oliveira and M. Andrés-Carcasona and J. L. Andrey and T. Andrić and J. Anglin and J. Anna and J. M. Antelis and S. Antier and F. Antonini and T. Aoki and M. Aoumi and E. Z. Appavuravther and E. Appelt and S. Appert and S. K. Apple},
howpublished = {arXiv (Cornell University)},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.27226},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.27226},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - GWTC-5.0: Population Properties of Merging Compact Binaries
AU - The LIGO Scientific collaboration
AU - The LIGO Scientific collaboration
AU - The LIGO Scientific collaboration
AU - Adrian Abac
AU - A. Abe
AU - I. Abouelfettouh
AU - F. Acernese
AU - K.Ackley
AU - A. Adam
AU - S. Adhicary
AU - D. Adhikari
AU - R. X. Adhikari
AU - V. K. Adkins
AU - S. Afroz
AU - A. Agapito
AU - D. Agarwal
AU - M. Agathos
AU - Nancy Aggarwal
AU - S. Aggarwal
AU - O. D. Aguiar
AU - I.-L. Ahrend
AU - L. Aiello
AU - A Ain
AU - P. Ajith
AU - T.Akutsu
AU - L. Albers
AU - W. Ali
AU - S. Al-Kershi
AU - C. Allene
AU - A Allocca
AU - S. Al-Shammari
AU - J. A. Alvarez
AU - S. Álvarez-López
AU - W. Amar
AU - O. Amarasinghe
AU - A. Amato
AU - F. Amicucci
AU - Claude Amra
AU - A. B. Anand
AU - C. Anand
AU - A. Ananyeva
AU - S. B. Anderson
AU - W. G. Anderson
AU - M. Andia
AU - M. Ando
AU - F. Andrade-Oliveira
AU - M. Andrés-Carcasona
AU - J. L. Andrey
AU - T. Andrić
AU - J. Anglin
AU - J. Anna
AU - J. M. Antelis
AU - S. Antier
AU - F. Antonini
AU - T. Aoki
AU - M. Aoumi
AU - E. Z. Appavuravther
AU - E. Appelt
AU - S. Appert
AU - S. K. Apple
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/26
PB - arXiv (Cornell University)
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.27226
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.27226
AB - We present the population properties of merging compact binaries inferred using 267 mergers from the cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog 5.0. As this data set contains no new sources with a neutron star, we primarily focus on the properties of the binary black hole mergers. We infer the merger rate of binary black holes with component masses between $2.5\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ and $200\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ to be 27.5−− 49.4 Gpc^−3 yr^−1 (all intervals at 90% credible levels) at redshift z = 0.2. We find evidence for a subpopulation of binary black hole mergers that host a rapidly spinning black hole (dimensionless spins χ∼ 0.7), consistent with signatures of hierarchical mergers. We find that these occur at two mass scales, the first at primary masses ∼ 10--$20\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ and the second above $\sim 45\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $, and we estimate their total rate at z=0.2 to be 0.2−− 3.11 Gpc^−3 yr^−1. We infer that, above $40\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $, the mass distribution of the less massive (secondary) black hole declines more steeply than that of the more massive (primary) one. This is consistent with a flatter mass-ratio distribution and indicates the prevalence of unequal-mass binaries with large primary masses. We find evidence for two features in the black hole mass spectrum: a peak around $10\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ and a change of slope at around $35\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $. Black holes of $\sim 35\,\mathrm{M}_\odot $ pair preferentially with companions of similar mass. Additionally, we find that the effective inspiral spin distribution of binary black holes is asymmetric about zero, based on which we infer that at least 9 % of mergers occur in channels with some preference for spin-orbit alignment. We find evidence that...
SN - 2331-8422
ER -