We present models of realistic globular clusters with post-Newtonian dynamics
for black holes. By modeling the relativistic accelerations and
gravitational-wave emission in isolated binaries and during three- and
four-body encounters, we find that nearly half of all binary black hole mergers
occur inside the cluster, with about 10% of those mergers entering the
LIGO/Virgo band with eccentricities greater than 0.1. In-cluster mergers lead
to the birth of a second generation of black holes with larger masses and high
spins, which, depending on the black hole natal spins, can sometimes be
retained in the cluster and merge again. As a result, globular clusters can
produce merging binaries with detectable spins regardless of the birth spins of
black holes formed from massive stars. These second-generation black holes
would also populate any upper mass gap created by pair-instability supernovae.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 appendices. To appear in Physical Review
Letter
