Modern tidal interaction models for rapid binary population synthesis: II. Binary black hole formation, mergers, and spins

Abstract

We present predictions for the merger rates and effective spin ($χ_{\rm eff}$) distribution of binary black holes (BBHs) from isolated binary evolution, using a new self-consistent tidal dissipation implementation in the rapid binary population synthesis code COMPAS. Most of the first-born black holes (BHs) in our simulated merging BBHs are formed with zero spins, with the exception of BBHs formed from chemically homogeneous evolution. The spins of the second-born BHs with the new model depend significantly on the efficiency of tidal dissipation and mass transfer history, and crucially, are not always consistent with pre-supernova synchronization. High-$χ_{\rm eff}$ binaries preferentially merge at high redshift due to smaller binary separations at BBH formation and shorter coalescence times, thus rendering them largely inaccessible to current gravitational wave (GW) detectors. We expect the intrinsic spin distribution of merging BBHs formed from isolated evolution to be strongly biased toward low $χ_{\rm eff}$ with current detectors, with a third of systems having $χ_{\rm eff} < 0.05$ and only $\sim 3\%$ with $χ_{\rm eff}>0.5$. However, $χ_{\rm eff}$ will increase as GW detectors become sensitive to higher redshift sources, with up to $\sim 15\%$ of systems having $χ_{\rm eff}>0.5$.