Population synthesis of massive stellar binaries and predictions for the formation of (binary) black holes

Abstract

Population synthesis codes enable us to simulate large populations of massive stars to compare to different types of observations. In this talk I will focus on the predictions for black hole masses both in high mass X-ray binaries and gravitational wave mergers. I will give a brief overview of basic stellar evolution and the prediction of remnant masses in the context of rapid population synthesis codes. Binary evolution can significantly alter the evolution of stars through events such as mass transfer and supernovae. I show what we believe is the most common formation channel for the binary black mergers we detect with current gravitational wave detectors. I will try to highlight what the critical assumptions are and which newer observations might contest previous results of the population synthesis community