On Dark Gravitational Wave Standard Sirens as Cosmological Inference and Forecasting the Constraint on Hubble Constant using Binary Black Holes Detected by Deci-hertz Observatory

Gravitational wave(GW) signals from compact binary coalescences can be used as standard sirens to constrain cosmological parameters if their redshift can be measured independently by electromagnetic signals.However,mergers of stellar binary black holes(BBHs) may not have electromagnetic counterparts and thus have no direct redshift measurements.These dark sirens may be still used to statistically constrain cosmological parameters by combining their GW measured luminosity distances and localization with deep redshift surveys of galaxies around it.We investigate this dark siren method to constrain cosmological parameters in detail by using mock BBH and galaxy samples.We find that the Hubble constant can be constrained well with an accuracy■ 1% with a few tens or more of BBH mergers at redshift up to 1 if GW observations can provide accurate estimates of their luminosity distance(with relative error of■ 0.01) and localization(■ 0.1 deg^(2)),though the constraint may be significantly biased if the luminosity distance and localization errors are larger.We also introduce a simple method to correct this bias and find it is valid when the luminosity distance and localization errors are modestly large.We further generate mock BBH samples,according to current constraints on BBH merger rate and the distributions of BBH properties,and find that the Deci-hertz Observatory(DO) in a half year observation period may detect about one hundred BBHs with signal-to-noise ratio■■30,relative luminosity distance error■ 0.02 and localization error ■0.01 deg^(2).By applying the dark standard siren method,we find that the Hubble constant can be constrained to the~0.1%-1% level using these DO BBHs,an accuracy comparable to the constraints obtained by using electromagnetic observations in the near future,thus it may provide insight into the Hubble tension.We also demonstrate that the constraint on the Hubble constant applying this dark siren method is robust and does not depend on the choice of the prior for the properties of BBH host galaxies.

Investigating the co-evolution of massive black holes in dual active galactic nuclei and their host galaxies via galaxy merger simulations

Major galaxy mergers can trigger nuclear activities and are responsible for high-luminosity quasi-stellar objects/active galactic nuclei(QSOs/AGNs). In certain circumstances, such mergers may cause dual active galactic nuclei(dAGN) phenomenon. This study investigates dAGN triggering and evolution of massive black holes(MBHs) during the merging processes using hydrodynamic code GADGET-2 to simulate several gas-rich major mergers at redshift z = 2 and 3, respectively. Results reveal that gas-rich major mergers can trigger significant nuclear activities after the second and third pericentric passages and the formation of dAGN with significant time duration(~10-390 Myr). During the merging processes, galactic bulge evolves with time because of the rapid star formation in each(or both) galactic centers and initial mixing of stars in galactic disks due to violent relaxation.MBHs grow substantially due to accretion and finally merge into a bigger black hole. The growth of galactic bulges and corresponding increases of its velocity dispersions predate the growth of MBHs in the d AGN stages. The MBHs in these stages deviate below the relation between MBH mass and bulge mass(or velocity dispersion), and they revert to the relation after the final mergers due to the significant accretion that occurs mostly at a separation less than a few kpc. Then, the two MBHs merge with each other.