Compact object populations over cosmic time II. Compact object merger rates and masses over redshift from varying initial conditions

ABSTRACT We perform a first study of the impact of varying two components of the initial conditions in binary population synthesis of compact binary mergers – the initial mass function, which is made metallicity- and star formation rate-dependent, and the orbital parameter (orbital period, mass ratio, and eccentricity) distributions, which are assumed to be correlated – within a larger grid of initial condition models also including alternatives for the primary mass-dependent binary fraction and the metallicity-specific cosmic star formation history. We generate the initial populations with the sampling code bossa and evolve them with the rapid population synthesis code compas. We find strong suggestions that the main role of initial conditions models is to set the relative weights of key features defined by the evolution models. In the two models we compare, black hole–black hole (BHBH) mergers are the most strongly affected, which we connect to a shift from the common envelope to the stable Roche lobe overflow formation channels with decreasing redshift. We also characterize variations in the black hole–neutron star (BHNS) and neutron star–neutron star (NSNS) final parameter distributions. We obtain the merger rate evolution for BHBH, BHNS, and NSNS mergers up to $z=10$, and find a variation by a factor of $\sim 50\textnormal {--}60$ in the local BHBH and BHNS merger rates, suggesting a more important contribution from initial conditions than previously thought, and calling for a complete exploration of the initial conditions model permutations.