Double Neutron Star Populations and Formation Channels

In the past five years, the number of known double neutron stars (DNSs) in the Milky Way has roughly doubled. We argue that the observed sample can be split into three distinct subpopulations based on their orbital characteristics: (i) short-period, low-eccentricity binaries; (ii) wide binaries; and (iii) short-period, high-eccentricity binaries. These subpopulations also exhibit distinct spin period and spindown rate properties. We focus on subpopulation (iii), which contains the Hulse–Taylor binary. Contrary to previous analysis, we demonstrate that, if they are the product of isolated binary evolution, the Porb and e distribution of these systems requires that the second-born NSs must have been formed with small natal kicks (≲25 km s−1) and have pre-SN masses narrowly distributed around 3.2 M⊙. These constraints challenge binary evolution theory and further predict closely aligned spin and orbital axes, inconsistent with the Hulse–Taylor binary's measured spin–orbit misalignment angle of ≈20°. Motivated by the similarity of these DNSs to B2127+11C, a DNS residing in the globular cluster M15, we argue that this subpopulation is consistent with being formed in, and then ejected from, globular clusters. This scenario provides a pathway for the formation and merger of DNSs in stellar environments without recent star formation, as observed in the host galaxy population of short gamma-ray bursts and the recent detection by LIGO of a merging DNS in an old stellar population.