Some black holes are 'forbidden,' ripples in spacetime reveal: Analysis of gravitational waves supports theory that some stars explode without leaving behind black holes.

The article focuses on recent gravitational wave analyses that support the theory of a "mass gap" in black hole formation, where stars within a certain heavy mass range explode as pair instability supernovae and leave no black hole remnants. Using data from the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo interferometer, researchers examined 153 black hole mergers and identified a lower limit around 44 solar masses below which black holes form, confirming the predicted absence of black holes in the mass gap. Some heavier black holes observed likely result from mergers of smaller black holes rather than direct stellar collapse. This finding aligns with theoretical models and offers new insights into stellar evolution and the fundamental physics governing massive stars. [Extracted from the article]