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Black hole-neutron star and binary neutron star mergers from Population III and II stars

Population III (Pop. III) stars are expected to be massive and to undergo minimal mass loss due to their lack of metals, making them ideal progenitors of black holes and neutron stars. Here, we investigate the formation and properties of binary neutron star (BNS) and black hole-neutron star (BHNS) m...

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Main Authors: Mestichelli, Benedetta (Author) , Mapelli, Michela (Author) , Santoliquido, Filippo (Author) , Sedda, Manuel Arca (Author) , Branchesi, Marica (Author) , Paiella, Lavinia (Author) , Costa, Guglielmo (Author) , Iorio, Giuliano (Author) , Mould, Matthew (Author) , Lipatova, Veronika (Author) , Liu, Boyuan (Author) , Klessen, Ralf S. (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: December 2025
In: Astronomy and astrophysics
Year: 2025, Volume: 704, Pages: 1-16
ISSN:1432-0746
DOI:10.1051/0004-6361/202555951
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202555951
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2025/12/aa55951-25/aa55951-25.html
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Author Notes:Benedetta Mestichelli, Michela Mapelli, Filippo Santoliquido, Manuel Arca Sedda, Marica Branchesi, Lavinia Paiella, Guglielmo Costa, Giuliano Iorio, Matthew Mould, Veronika Lipatova, Boyuan Liu, and Ralf S. Klessen
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Summary:Population III (Pop. III) stars are expected to be massive and to undergo minimal mass loss due to their lack of metals, making them ideal progenitors of black holes and neutron stars. Here, we investigate the formation and properties of binary neutron star (BNS) and black hole-neutron star (BHNS) mergers originating from Pop. III stars, and compare them to their metal-enriched Population II (Pop. II) counterparts, focusing on their merger rate densities (MRDs), primary masses, and delay times. We find that, despite the high merger efficiency of Pop. III BNSs and BHNSs, their low star formation rate results in a MRD at least one order of magnitude lower than that of Pop. II stars. The MRD of Pop. III BNSs peaks at redshift <i>z<i/> ~ 15, attaining a value <i>R<i/><sub>BNS<sub/>(<i>z<i/> ~ 15) ~ 15 Gpc<sup>−3<sup/> yr<sup>−1<sup/>, while the MRD of Pop. III BHNSs is maximum at <i>z<i/> ~ 13, reaching a value of <i>R<i/><sub>BHNS<sub/>(<i>z<i/> ~ 13) ~ 2Gpc<sup>−3<sup/> yr<sup>−1<sup/>. Finally, we observe that the black hole masses of Pop. III BHNS mergers have a nearly flat distribution, with a peak at ∼20 M<sub>⊙<sub/> and extending up to ∼50 M<sub>⊙<sub/>. Black holes in Pop. II BHNS mergers instead show a peak at ≲ 15 M<sub>⊙<sub/>. We consider these predictions in light of recent gravitational-wave observations in the local Universe, finding that a Pop. III origin is preferred relative to Pop. II for some events.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 03. Dezember 2025
Gesehen am 02.03.2026
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1432-0746
DOI:10.1051/0004-6361/202555951

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