Targeting black holes from metal-poor progenitors with next-generation gravitational-wave detectors
Abstract
Next-generation gravitational-wave detectors such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer will be able to detect binary black-hole mergers out to the cosmic dawn. Mergers observed in the local Universe represent a mixture of systems formed across the entire cosmic history, spanning a wide range of astrophysical environments. Iron-group elements govern metallicity effects on stellar evolution, making metallicity a key tracer that leaves a strong imprint on the black-hole population. We introduce the concept of a ``target'' redshift, zt, defined as the epoch at which more than 90% of stars form with metallicity Z < 0.1 Z⊙. This provides a straightforward way to isolate mergers originating from metal-poor environments. The determination of zt relies on the reconstruction of the cosmic star formation rate density as a function of iron abundance. This reconstruction is not unique, as it depends on the combination of different empirical scaling relations. Consequently, zt spans a broad range, from zt ∼ 4 to zt > 10, depending on the adopted model variation. We present a statistical framework that enables rapid tests of astrophysical predictions against forecasted observations from next-generation \acrlong{gw} detectors. By quantifying variations in the binary black-hole merger-rate density between the target redshift and the local Universe, our approach maps evolutionary trends across parameter space and estimates the detection statistics required to distinguish genuine astrophysical variations from statistical fluctuations.
Versions
Related
- Probing Scalar Polarization with Next-Generation Gravitational-Wave Detectors: The Roles of Detector Geometry and Source Inclination
- Synergy between CSST and future gravitational-wave detectors: Probing primordial black holes by cross-correlating dark sirens with galaxies
- Constraining the Equation of State of Neutron Stars with third-generation Gravitational Wave detectors
- Fast Bayesian Inference for Long-Duration Gravitational-Wave Signals in 3G detectors
- Path-Degenerate Quantum Interferometry for Loss Resilience in Gravitational-Wave Detectors
BibTeX
@misc{priolo2026targeting,
title = {{Targeting black holes from metal-poor progenitors with next-generation gravitational-wave detectors}},
author = {Federico Leto di Priolo and Martyna Chruślińska and Davide Gerosa},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.03776},
eprint = {2606.03776},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.03776},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Targeting black holes from metal-poor progenitors with next-generation gravitational-wave detectors
AU - Federico Leto di Priolo
AU - Martyna Chruślińska
AU - Davide Gerosa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.03776
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.03776
AB - Next-generation gravitational-wave detectors such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer will be able to detect binary black-hole mergers out to the cosmic dawn. Mergers observed in the local Universe represent a mixture of systems formed across the entire cosmic history, spanning a wide range of astrophysical environments. Iron-group elements govern metallicity effects on stellar evolution, making metallicity a key tracer that leaves a strong imprint on the black-hole population. We introduce the concept of a ``target'' redshift, z_t, defined as the epoch at which more than 90% of stars form with metallicity Z < 0.1 Z_⊙. This provides a straightforward way to isolate mergers originating from metal-poor environments. The determination of z_t relies on the reconstruction of the cosmic star formation rate density as a function of iron abundance. This reconstruction is not unique, as it depends on the combination of different empirical scaling relations. Consequently, z_t spans a broad range, from z_t ∼ 4 to z_t > 10, depending on the adopted model variation. We present a statistical framework that enables rapid tests of astrophysical predictions against forecasted observations from next-generation \acrlong{gw} detectors. By quantifying variations in the binary black-hole merger-rate density between the target redshift and the local Universe, our approach maps evolutionary trends across parameter space and estimates the detection statistics required to distinguish genuine astrophysical variations from statistical fluctuations.
ER -