Compact Object Modeling with the StarTrack Population Synthesis Code

By Krzysztof Belczyński, Vicky Kalogera, F. Rasio, R. Taam, A. Zezas, T. Bulik, T. Maccarone, Natalia Ivanova. 2005

556 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We present a comprehensive description of the population synthesis code StarTrack. The original code has been significantly modified and updated. Special emphasis is placed here on processes leading to the formation and further evolution of compact objects (white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes). Both single and binary star populations are considered. The code now incorporates detailed calculations of all mass transfer phases, a full implementation of orbital evolution due to tides, as well as the most recent estimates of magnetic braking. This updated version of StarTrack can be used for a wide variety of problems, with relevance to observations with many current and planned observatories, e.g., studies of X-ray binaries (Chandra, XMM-Newton), gravitational radiation sources (LIGO, LISA), and gamma-ray burst progenitors (HETE-II, Swift). The code has already been used in studies of Galactic and extragalactic X-ray binary populations, black holes in young star clusters, Type Ia supernova progenitors, and double compact object populations. Here we describe in detail the input physics, we present the code calibration and tests, and we outline our current studies in the context of X-ray binary populations.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/dcaebc11b704c655e19cf2a77101ee42373ab5dd

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In Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. Michela Mapelli
2. N. Giacobbo
3. Ilya Mandel
4. Mario Spera
5. D. Holz
6. Krzysztof Belczyński
7. F. Rasio
8. N. Langer

Citations in the corpus

• Short versus long gamma-ray bursts: spectra, energetics, and luminosities (2009, background): “The other expected difference is in the redshift distribution of the two populations (but see e.g. Belczynski et al. 2008), although the detection of GRB 080913 (atz=6.7) challenges this possibility.”
• X-RAY BINARY EVOLUTION ACROSS COSMIC TIME (2012, methodology): “In the rest of the text, whenever we mention the CE efficiencyαCE, we refer in practice to the productαCE×λ (see Belczynski et al. 2008, for details).”
• Double neutron stars: merger rates revisited (2017, methodology): “The code is based on the fit formulas to the detailed evolutionary models developed by Hurley et al. (2000) and described in detail in Belczynski et al. (2002b, 2008).”
• Massive runaway and walkaway stars (2018, methodology): “The majority of systems are disrupted by the first core collapse event, which can separate the newly formed compact object from its former companion star (e.g., Tauris & Takens 1998; Belczyński & Bulik 1999; Belczynski et al. 2008; Eldridge et al. 2011).”
• The origin of spin in binary black holes (2019, methodology): “We adopt wind mass loss rates as prescribed by Hurley et al. (2000) for stars with effective temperatures smaller than 12 500 K, and for hotter stars the winds of Vink et al. (2001) as implemented by Belczynski et al. (2008).”
• SIMULATING THE COMMON ENVELOPE PHASE OF A RED GIANT USING SMOOTHED-PARTICLE HYDRODYNAMICS AND UNIFORM-GRID CODES (2011, background): “The CE interaction is an essential ingredient for any binary population synthesis study of intermediate (e.g., Politano et al. 2010) or massive stars (e.g., Belczynski et al. 2008).”
• DOUBLE COMPACT OBJECTS. I. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMMON ENVELOPE ON MERGER RATES (2012, methodology): “As a reference we use the standard model introduced in Section 4.1, that resembles input physics described in detail in Belczynski et al. (2008), with some important additions and modifications.”
• The effect of pair-instability mass loss on black-hole mergers (2016, methodology): “Population synthesis calculations were performed with the StarTrack code (Belczynski et al. 2002, 2008).”
• Formation of Double Neutron Star Systems (2017, background): “As we have discussed in the previous sections, the standard formation scenario of DNS binaries involves a number of highly uncertain aspects of binary interactions (e.g. Voss & Tauris 2003; Tauris & van den Heuvel 2006; Belczynski et al. 2008; Dominik et al. 2012).”
• Binary Black Hole Population Properties Inferred from the First and Second Observing Runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (2018, background): “…form from isolated massive binaries in the galactic field through common-envelope evolution(Bethe & Brown 1998; Portegies Zwart & Yungelson 1998; Belczynski et al. 2002, 2007, 2008, 2014; Voss & Tauris 2003; Dewi et al. 2006; Dominik et al. 2013; Mennekens & Vanbeveren 2014; Spera et al. 2015;…”
• A simple approach to the supernova progenitor–explosion connection (2016, background): “…of parametrized supernova explosion models into binary evolution and population synthesis calculations because of the possibility of mass transfer; again the mass of the helium core or the carbon/oxygen (C/O) core is a more appropriate parameter (Hurley, Pols & Tout 2000; Belczynski et al. 2008).”
• THE SUPERNOVA DELAY TIME DISTRIBUTION IN GALAXY CLUSTERS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TYPE-Ia PROGENITORS AND METAL ENRICHMENT (2010, methodology): “DTDs from binary population synthesis models Over the past decade, a number of groups (e.g., Yungelson & Livio 2000; Han & Podsiadlowski 2004; Belczynski et al. 2008; Ruiter et al. 2009; Bogomazov & Tutukov 2009; Wang, Li, & Han 2010; Mennekens et al. 2010) have calculated DTDs using binary…”
• The mass spectrum of compact remnants from the parsec stellar evolution tracks (2015, methodology): “We implemented the three models described in details by Fryer et al. (2012): (i) the model implemented in the STARTRACK population synthesis code (see Belczynski et al. 2008, 2010); (ii) the rapid supernova model and (iii) the delayed supernova model .”
• The Close Binary Fraction of Solar-type Stars Is Strongly Anticorrelated with Metallicity (2018, background): “…studies of blue stragglers, chemically peculiar stars, cataclysmic variables, SNe Ia and Ib/c, X-ray binaries, mergers of compact objects, short gammaray bursts, and sources of gravitational waves (Hurley et al. 2002; Eggleton 2006; Belczynski et al. 2008; Sana et al. 2012; De Marco & Izzard 2017).”
• Mind Your Ps and Qs: The Interrelation between Period (P) and Mass-ratio (Q) Distributions of Binary Stars (2016, methodology): “Approximately one-third of these close binaries will probably merge, particularly those with smaller mass ratios and/or shorter separations (Hurley et al. 2002; Belczynski et al. 2008, §11).”
• Radiation Backgrounds at Cosmic Dawn: X-Rays from Compact Binaries (2016, methodology): “This library of models was constructed using the population synthesis code StarTrack (Belczynski et al. 2002, 2008), which incorporates both single and binary star populations, detailed implementations of all mass transfer phases and of tidally driven orbital evolution, and the most recent estimates”
• MISSING BLACK HOLES UNVEIL THE SUPERNOVA EXPLOSION MECHANISM (2011, background): “…of mass transfer/loss are followed in detail (Belczynski et al. 2008a), the spin evolution and accretion onto compact objects is accounted for (Belczynski et al. 2008b) and recent estimates for stellar mass loss rates (Belczynski et al. 2010) and natal kicks were also included (Fryer et al.…”