On the maximum black hole mass at solar metallicity

Abstract

Recently, models obtained with MESA and Genec detailed evolutionary codes indicated that black holes formed at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014) may reach 35 M\(_\odot\) or even higher masses. We perform a replication study to assess the validity of these results. We use MESA and Genec to calculate a suite of massive stellar models at solar metallicity. In our calculations we employ updated physics important for massive star evolution (moderate rotation, high overshooting, magnetic angular momentum transport). The key feature of our models is a new prescription for stellar winds for massive stars that updates significantly previous calculations. We find a maximum BH mass of 28 M\(_\odot\) at Z = 0.014. The most massive BHs are predicted to form from stars with initial mass \(M_{\rm zams}\sim\)40 M\(_\odot\) and for stars with \(M_{\rm zams}\) above 200 M\(_\odot\). The lower mass BHs found in our study mostly result from the updated wind mass loss prescriptions. While we acknowledge the inherent uncertainties in stellar evolution modelling, our study underscores the importance of employing the most up-to-date knowledge of key physics (e.g., stellar wind mass loss rates) in BH mass predictions.