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Abstract The recent LIGO detection of gravitational waves (GW150914), likely originating from the merger of two ∼ 30M⊙ black holes suggests progenitor stars of low metallicity (Z/Z⊙ ≲ 0. 3), constraining when and where the progenitor of GW150914 may have formed. We combine estimates of galaxy properties (star-forming gas metallicity, star formation rate and merger rate) across cosmic time to predict the low redshift black hole – black hole merger rate as a function of present day host galaxy mass, Mgal, the formation redshift of the progenitor system zf and different progenitor metallicities Zp. For Zₚ 0. 1 Z, the signal is dominated by binaries in massive galaxies with zf ≃ 2 while below Zₚ 0. 1 Z most mergers come from binaries formed around zf ≃ 0. 5 in dwarf galaxies. Additional gravitational wave detections from merging massive black holes will provide constraints on the mass–metallicity relation and massive star formation at high redshifts.
Lamberts et al. (Fri,) studied this question.