Abstract:
We present forward modelling from the \textsc{bpass} code suite of the
population of observed gravitational wave (GW) transients reported by the
LIGO/VIRGO consortium (LVC) during the first half of their third observing run
(O3a). Specifically, we predict the expected chirp mass and mass ratio
distributions for GW transients, taking account of detector sensitivity to
determine how many events should have been detected by the current detector
network in O3a. We investigate how these predictions change by alternating
between four different remnant mass estimation schemes and two supernovae (SNe)
kick prescriptions. We find that none of the model populations resulting from
these variations accurately match the whole O3a GW transient catalog. However,
agreement from some models to part of the catalog suggests ways to achieve a
more complete fit. These include reducing the number of low mass black holes
(BHs) close to the mass gap, while also increasing the number of higher mass
BHs below the pair-instability SN limit. Finally, we find that the interaction
between the value of the remnant mass from a stellar model and the choice of SN
kick is complex, and different kick prescriptions may be required depending on
whether a neutron star or BH is formed.
