Where Do Merging Binary Black Holes Come From?

Explore the origins of merging binary black holes in this comprehensive lecture by Prof. Tomasz Bulik from the Astronomical Observatory at the University of Warsaw. Delve into the latest findings from the LVK (LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA) collaboration, which has detected nearly a hundred mergers, excluding the current O4 run. Examine the properties of the detected population, review the current knowledge of these detections, and investigate possible formation models for these celestial objects. Compare theoretical models with observational data to gain a deeper understanding of binary black hole systems. This Wednesday colloquium, presented at the Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, offers valuable insights into one of the most intriguing topics in modern astrophysics.