Properties of the Binary Black Hole Merger GW150914

The Space-Time Properties of Three Static Black Holes

In the curved space-time, the neutral test particle is not affected by any other force except for the influence of the curved space-time. Similar to the free sub in the flat space, the Lagrangian of the test particle only contains the kinetic energy term—the kinetic energy term of the four-dimensional curved space-time. In the case of small space-time curvature, linear approximation can be made. That is, under the weak field approximation, the Lagrangian quantity degenerates into the Lagrangian quantity in the axisymmetric gravitational field in Newtonian mechanics. In this paper, the curved space-time composed of axisymmetric equidistant black holes is taken as a model. We study the geodesic motion of the test particles around three black holes with equal mass and static axisymmetric distribution, including time-like particles and photons. The three extreme Reissner–Nordstrom black holes are balanced by electrostatic and gravitational forces. We first give the geodesic motion equation of particles in Three black holes space-time, give the relativistic effective potential, discuss the possible motion state of particles, and classify their motion trajectories. Then, the particle motion of the special plane (equatorial plane) is studied. The circular orbits of the two types of particles in the symmetric plane are studied, respectively. The circular orbits outside the symmetric plane are also studied, and their stability is also discussed. We will show the influence of the separation distance of the three black holes on the geodesic motion and explore the change of the relativistic effective potential. Then, the relationship between the inherent quantity and the coordinate quantity in space-time is analyzed. Finally, the chaos of the test particle orbit is explored.

General-relativistic precession in a black-hole binary

The general-relativistic phenomenon of spin-induced orbital precession has not yet been observed in strong-field gravity. Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes (BBHs) are prime candidates, as we expect the astrophysical binary population to contain precessing binaries^1,2. Imprints of precession have been investigated in several signals^3-5, but no definitive identification of orbital precession has been reported in any of the 84 BBH observations so far^5-7 by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors^8,9. Here we report the measurement of strong-field precession in the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra gravitational-wave signal GW200129. The binary's orbit precesses at a rate ten orders of magnitude faster than previous weak-field measurements from binary pulsars^10-13. We also find that the primary black hole is probably highly spinning. According to current binary population estimates, a GW200129-like signal is extremely unlikely, and therefore presents a direct challenge to many current binary-formation models.

Analysis of Ringdown Overtones in GW150914

We analyze GW150914 postmerger data to understand if ringdown overtone detection claims are robust. We find no evidence in favor of an overtone in the data after the waveform peak. Around the peak, the Bayes factor does not indicate the presence of an overtone, while the support for a nonzero amplitude is sensitive to changes in the starting time much smaller than the overtone damping time. This suggests that claims of an overtone detection are noise dominated. We perform GW150914-like injections in neighboring segments of the real detector noise, and we show that noise can indeed induce artificial evidence for an overtone.

Applications and Techniques for Fast Machine Learning in Science

In this community review report, we discuss applications and techniques for fast machine learning (ML) in science-the concept of integrating powerful ML methods into the real-time experimental data processing loop to accelerate scientific discovery. The material for the report builds on two workshops held by the Fast ML for Science community and covers three main areas: applications for fast ML across a number of scientific domains; techniques for training and implementing performant and resource-efficient ML algorithms; and computing architectures, platforms, and technologies for deploying these algorithms. We also present overlapping challenges across the multiple scientific domains where common solutions can be found. This community report is intended to give plenty of examples and inspiration for scientific discovery through integrated and accelerated ML solutions. This is followed by a high-level overview and organization of technical advances, including an abundance of pointers to source material, which can enable these breakthroughs.

Electromagnetic counterparts to massive black-hole mergers

The next two decades are expected to open the door to the first coincident detections of electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational-wave (GW) signatures associated with massive black-hole (MBH) binaries heading for coalescence. These detections will launch a new era of multimessenger astrophysics by expanding this growing field to the low-frequency GW regime and will provide an unprecedented understanding of the evolution of MBHs and galaxies. They will also constitute fundamentally new probes of cosmology and would enable unique tests of gravity. The aim of this Living Review is to provide an introduction to this research topic by presenting a summary of key findings, physical processes and ideas pertaining to EM counterparts to MBH mergers as they are known at the time of this writing. We review current observational evidence for close MBH binaries, discuss relevant physical processes and timescales, and summarize the possible EM counterparts to GWs in the precursor, coalescence, and afterglow stages of a MBH merger. We also describe open questions and discuss future prospects in this dynamic and quick-paced research area.

Primordial Black Holes and a Common Origin of Baryons and Dark Matter

The origin of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) and the nature of dark matter are two of the most challenging problems in cosmology. We propose a scenario in which the gravitational collapse of large inhomogeneities at the quark-hadron epoch generates both the baryon asymmetry and most of the dark matter in the form of primordial black holes (PBHs). This is due to the sudden drop in radiation pressure during the transition from a quark-gluon plasma to non-relativistic hadrons. The collapse to a PBH is induced by fluctuations of a light spectator scalar field in rare regions and is accompanied by the violent expulsion of surrounding material, which might be regarded as a sort of “primordial supernova". The acceleration of protons to relativistic speeds provides the ingredients for efficient baryogenesis around the collapsing regions and its subsequent propagation to the rest of the Universe. This scenario naturally explains why the observed BAU is of order the PBH collapse fraction and why the baryons and dark matter have comparable densities. The predicted PBH mass distribution ranges from subsolar to several hundred solar masses. This is compatible with current observational constraints and could explain the rate, mass and low spin of the black hole mergers detected by LIGO-Virgo. Future observations will soon be able to test this scenario.

Testing General Relativity with Gravitational Waves: An Overview

The detections of gravitational-wave (GW) signals from compact binary coalescence by ground-based detectors have opened up the era of GW astronomy. These observations provide opportunities to test Einstein’s general theory of relativity at the strong-field regime. Here we give a brief overview of the various GW-based tests of General Relativity (GR) performed by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration on the detected GW events to date. After providing details for the tests performed in four categories, we discuss the prospects for each test in the context of future GW detectors. The four categories of tests include the consistency tests, parametrized tests for GW generation and propagation, tests for the merger remnant properties, and GW polarization tests.

Bound on Photon Circular Orbits in General Relativity and Beyond

The existence of a photon circular orbit can tell us a lot about the nature of the underlying spacetime, since it plays a pivotal role in the understanding of the characteristic signatures of compact objects, namely the quasi-normal modes and shadow radius. For this purpose, determination of the location of the photon circular orbit is of utmost importance. In this work, we derive bounds on the location of the photon circular orbit around compact objects within the purview of general relativity and beyond. As we have explicitly demonstrated, contrary to the earlier results in the context of general relativity, the bound on the location of the photon circular orbit is not necessarily an upper bound. Depending on the matter content, it is possible to arrive at a lower bound as well. This has interesting implications for the quasi-normal modes and shadow radius, the two key observables related to the strong field tests of gravity. Besides discussing the bound for higher dimensional general relativity, we have also considered how the bound on the photon circular orbits gets modified in the braneworld scenario, for pure Lovelock and general Lovelock theories of gravity. Implications of these results for compact objects were also discussed.

PIC methods in astrophysics: simulations of relativistic jets and kinetic physics in astrophysical systems

The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method has been developed by Oscar Buneman, Charles Birdsall, Roger W. Hockney, and John Dawson in the 1950s and, with the advances of computing power, has been further developed for several fields such as astrophysical, magnetospheric as well as solar plasmas and recently also for atmospheric and laser-plasma physics. Currently more than 15 semi-public PIC codes are available which we discuss in this review. Its applications have grown extensively with increasing computing power available on high performance computing facilities around the world. These systems allow the study of various topics of astrophysical plasmas, such as magnetic reconnection, pulsars and black hole magnetosphere, non-relativistic and relativistic shocks, relativistic jets, and laser-plasma physics. We review a plethora of astrophysical phenomena such as relativistic jets, instabilities, magnetic reconnection, pulsars, as well as PIC simulations of laser-plasma physics (until 2021) emphasizing the physics involved in the simulations. Finally, we give an outlook of the future simulations of jets associated to neutron stars, black holes and their merging and discuss the future of PIC simulations in the light of petascale and exascale computing.

A template-free approach for waveform extraction of gravitational wave events

We develop a general data-driven and template-free method for the extraction of event waveforms in the presence of background noise. Recent gravitational-wave observations provide one of the significant scientific areas requiring data analysis and waveform extraction capability. We use our method to find the waveforms for the reported events from the first, second, and third LIGO observation runs (O1, O2, and O3). Using the instantaneous frequencies derived by the Hilbert transform of the extracted waveforms, we provide the physical time delays between the arrivals of gravitational waves to the detectors.

Advanced Virgo: Status of the Detector, Latest Results and Future Prospects

The Virgo detector, based at the EGO (European Gravitational Observatory) and located in Cascina (Pisa), played a significant role in the development of the gravitational-wave astronomy. From its first scientific run in 2007, the Virgo detector has constantly been upgraded over the years; since 2017, with the Advanced Virgo project, the detector reached a high sensitivity that allowed the detection of several classes of sources and to investigate new physics. This work reports the main hardware upgrades of the detector and the main astrophysical results from the latest five years; future prospects for the Virgo detector are also presented.

Particle Motion and Plasma Effects on Gravitational Weak Lensing in Lorentzian Wormhole Spacetime

Here we study particle motion in the specific Lorentzian wormhole spacetime characterized, in addition to the total mass M, with the dimensionless parameter λ. In particular we calculate the radius of the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) for test particles and the photonsphere for massless particles. We show that the effect of the dimensionless wormhole parameter decreases the ISCO radius and the radius of the photon orbit. Then, we study plasma effects on gravitational weak lensing in wormhole spacetime and obtain the deflection angle of the light. We show that the effect of λ decreases the deflection angle. We study the effects of uniform and non-uniform plasma on the light deflection angle separately, and show that the uniform plasma causes the deflection angle to be smaller in contrast to the non-uniform plasma.

Geodesic Circular Orbits Sharing the Same Orbital Frequencies in the Black String Spacetime

We consider isofrequency pairing of geodesic orbits that share the same three orbital frequencies associated with Ωr^, Ωφ^, and Ωω^ in a particular region of parameter space around black string spacetime geometry. We study the effect of a compact extra spatial dimension on the isofrequency pairing of geodesic orbits and show that such orbits would occur in the allowed region when particles move along the black string. We find that the presence of the compact extra dimension leads to an increase in the number of the isofrequency pairing of geodesic orbits. Interestingly we also find that isofrequency pairing of geodesic orbits in the region of parameter space cannot be realized beyond the critical value Jcr≈0.096 of the conserved quantity of the motion arising from the compact extra spatial dimension.

New Spin on LIGO-Virgo Binary Black Holes

Gravitational waves from binary black holes have the potential to yield information on both of the intrinsic parameters that characterize the compact objects: their masses and spins. While the component masses are usually resolvable, the component spins have proven difficult to measure. This limitation stems in great part from our choice to inquire about the spins of the most and least massive objects in each binary, a question that becomes ill defined when the masses are equal. In this Letter, we show that one can ask a different question of the data: what are the spins of the objects with the highest and lowest dimensionless spins in the binary? We show that this can significantly improve estimates of the individual spins, especially for binary systems with comparable masses. When applying this parametrization to the first 13 gravitational-wave events detected by the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration (LVC), we find that the highest-spinning object is constrained to have nonzero spin for most sources and to have significant support at the Kerr limit for GW151226 and GW170729. A joint analysis of all the confident binary black hole detections by the LVC finds that, unlike with the traditional parametrization, the distribution of spin magnitude for the highest-spinning object has negligible support at zero spin. Regardless of the parametrization used, the configuration where all of the spins in the population are aligned with the orbital angular momentum is excluded from the 90% credible interval for the first ten events and from the 99% credible interval for all current confident detections.

Bekenstein-Hod Universal Bound on Information Emission Rate Is Obeyed by LIGO-Virgo Binary Black Hole Remnants

Causality and the generalized laws of black hole thermodynamics imply a bound, known as the Bekenstein-Hod universal bound, on the information emission rate of a perturbed system. Using a time-domain ringdown analysis, we investigate whether remnant black holes produced by the coalescences observed by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo obey this bound. We find that the bound is verified by the astrophysical black hole population with 94% probability, providing a first confirmation of the Bekenstein-Hod bound from black hole systems.

High-Accuracy Guide Star Catalogue Generation with a Machine Learning Classification Algorithm

In order to detect gravitational waves and characterise their sources, three laser links were constructed with three identical satellites, such that interferometric measurements for scientific experiments can be carried out. The attitude of the spacecraft in the initial phase of laser link docking is provided by a star sensor (SSR) onboard the satellite. If the attitude measurement capacity of the SSR is improved, the efficiency of establishing laser linking can be elevated. An important technology for satellite attitude determination using SSRs is star identification. At present, a guide star catalogue (GSC) is the only basis for realising this. Hence, a method for improving the GSC, in terms of storage, completeness, and uniformity, is studied in this paper. First, the relationship between star numbers in the field of view (FOV) of a staring SSR, together with the noise equivalent angle (NEA) of the SSR—which determines the accuracy of the SSR—is discussed. Then, according to the relationship between the number of stars (NOS) in the FOV, the brightness of the stars, and the size of the FOV, two constraints are used to select stars in the SAO GSC. Finally, the performance of the GSCs generated by Decision Trees (DC), K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), the Magnitude Filter Method (MFM), Gradient Boosting (GB), a Neural Network (NN), Random Forest (RF), and Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) is assessed. The results show that the GSC generated by the KNN method is better than those of other methods, in terms of storage, uniformity, and completeness. The KNN-generated GSC is suitable for high-accuracy spacecraft applications, such as gravitational detection satellites.

Scope Out Multiband Gravitational-Wave Observations of GW190521-Like Binary Black Holes with Space Gravitational Wave Antenna B-DECIGO

The gravitational wave event, GW190521, is the most massive binary black hole merger observed by ground-based gravitational wave observatories LIGO/Virgo to date. While the observed gravitational wave signal is mainly in the merger and ringdown phases, the inspiral gravitational wave signal of the GW190521-like binary will be more visible to space-based detectors in the low-frequency band. In addition, the ringdown gravitational wave signal will be louder in the next generation (3G) of ground-based detectors in the high-frequency band, displaying the great potential of multiband gravitational wave observations. In this paper, we explore the scientific potential of multiband observations of GW190521-like binaries with a milli-Hz gravitational wave observatory: LISA; a deci-Hz observatory: B-DECIGO; and (next generation of) hecto-Hz observatories: aLIGO and ET. In the case of quasicircular evolution, the triple-band observations of LISA, B-DECIGO, and ET will provide parameter estimation errors of the masses and spin amplitudes of component black holes at the level of order of 1–10%. This would allow consistency tests of general relativity in the strong field at an unparalleled precision, particularly with the “B-DECIGO + ET” observation. In the case of eccentric evolution, the multiband signal-to-noise ratio found in “B-DECIGO + ET” observation would be larger than 100 for a five-year observation prior to coalescence, even with high final eccentricities.

General Relativistic Simulations of the Quasicircular Inspiral and Merger of Charged Black Holes: GW150914 and Fundamental Physics Implications

We perform general-relativistic simulations of charged black holes targeting GW150914. We show that the inspiral is most efficient for detecting black hole charge through gravitational waves and that GW150914 is compatible with having charge-to-mass ratio as high as 0.3. Our work applies to electric and magnetic charge and to theories with black holes endowed with U(1) (hidden or dark) charges. Using our results, we place an upper bound on the deviation from general relativity in the dynamical strong-filed regime of Moffat's modified gravity.

News from Horizons in Binary Black Hole Mergers

In a binary black hole merger, it is known that the inspiral portion of the waveform corresponds to two distinct horizons orbiting each other and that the merger and ringdown signals correspond to the final horizon being formed and settling down to equilibrium. However, we still lack a detailed understanding of the relation between the horizon geometry in these three regimes and the observed waveform. Here we show that the well-known inspiral chirp waveform has a clear counterpart on black hole horizons, namely, the shear of the outgoing null rays at the horizon. We demonstrate that the shear behaves very much like a compact binary coalescence waveform with increasing frequency and amplitude. Furthermore, the parameters of the system estimated from the horizon agree with those estimated from the waveform. This implies that even though black hole horizons are causally disconnected from us, assuming general relativity to be true, we can potentially infer some of their detailed properties from gravitational wave observations.

Quasinormal Mode Oscillations in an Analogue Black Hole Experiment

The late stages of the relaxation process of a black hole are expected to depend only on its mass and angular momentum and not on the details of its formation process. Inspired by recent analogue gravity experiments, which demonstrate that certain black hole processes take place in gravitational and hydrodynamical systems alike, we conduct an experiment to search for quasinormal mode oscillations of the free surface of a hydrodynamical vortex flow. Our results demonstrate the occurrence and hint at the ubiquity of quasinormal ringing in nonequilibrium analog black hole experiments.

Effective field theories of post-Newtonian gravity: a comprehensive review

This review article presents the progress made over the last decade, since the introduction of effective field theories (EFTs) into post-Newtonian (PN) gravity. These have been put forward in the context of gravitational waves (GWs) from the compact binary inspiral. The mature development of this interdisciplinary field has resulted in significant advances of wide interest to physics at several levels serving various purposes. The field has firmly demonstrated, that seemingly disparate physical domains, such as quantum field theory and classical gravity, are related, and that the EFT framework is a universal one, where it has been proven to supply a robust methodology to boost progress in the development of PN theory. In this review emphasis was put on an accessible pedagogic presentation of the field theoretic aspects of the subject, with the view, that these are in fact common across the whole of theoretical physics, rather than in their original narrow quantum context. The review is aimed at a broad audience, from general readers new to the field, to specialists and experts in related subjects. The review begins with an overview of the introduction of EFTs into classical gravity and their development. Then, the basic ideas, which form the conceptual foundation of EFTs, are provided, and the strategy of a multi-stage EFT framework, which is utilized for the PN binary inspiral problem, is outlined. The main body of the review is then dedicated to presenting in detail the study of each of the effective theories at each of the intermediate scales in the problem, up to the actual GW observables. First, the EFT for a single compact object is considered, from which one proceeds to the EFT of a compact binary system, viewed as a composite particle with internal binding interactions. Finally, one arrives at the effective theory of the time-dependent multipole moments of the radiating system. The review is concluded with the multiple prospects of building on the progress in the field, and using further modern field theory insights and tools, to specifically address the study of GWs, as well as to broadly expand our fundamental understanding of gauge and gravity theories across the classical and quantum regimes.

A virtual “Werkstatt” for digitization in the sciences

Data is central in almost all scientific disciplines nowadays. Furthermore, intelligent systems have developed rapidly in recent years, so that in many disciplines the expectation is emerging that with the help of intelligent systems, significant challenges can be overcome and science can be done in completely new ways. In order for this to succeed, however, first, fundamental research in computer science is still required, and, second, generic tools must be developed on which specialized solutions can be built. In this paper, we introduce a recently started collaborative project funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, a virtual manufactory for digitization in the sciences, the “Werkstatt”, which is being established at the Michael Stifel Center Jena (MSCJ) for data-driven and simulation science to address fundamental questions in computer science and applications. The Werkstatt focuses on three key areas, which include generic tools for machine learning, knowledge generation using machine learning processes, and semantic methods for the data life cycle, as well as the application of these topics in different disciplines. Core and pilot projects address the key aspects of the topics and form the basis for sustainable work in the Werkstatt.

Unique Multimessenger Signal of QCD Axion Dark Matter

We propose a multimessenger probe of QCD axion dark matter based on observations of black hole-neutron star binary inspirals. It is suggested that a dense dark matter spike may grow around intermediate mass black holes (10^{3}-10^{5}  M_{⊙}). The presence of such a spike produces two unique effects: a distinct phase shift in the gravitational wave strain during the inspiral and an enhancement of the radio emission due to the resonant axion-photon conversion occurring in the neutron star magnetosphere throughout the inspiral and merger. Remarkably, the observation of the gravitational wave signal can be used to infer the dark matter density and, consequently, to predict the radio emission. We study the projected reach of the LISA interferometer and next-generation radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array. Given a sufficiently nearby system, such observations will potentially allow for the detection of QCD axion dark matter in the mass range 10^{-7}  eV to 10^{-5}  eV.

Prospects for observing and localizing gravitational-wave transients with Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA

We present our current best estimate of the plausible observing scenarios for the Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA gravitational-wave detectors over the next several years, with the intention of providing information to facilitate planning for multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves. We estimate the sensitivity of the network to transient gravitational-wave signals for the third (O3), fourth (O4) and fifth observing (O5) runs, including the planned upgrades of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. We study the capability of the network to determine the sky location of the source for gravitational-wave signals from the inspiral of binary systems of compact objects, that is binary neutron star, neutron star-black hole, and binary black hole systems. The ability to localize the sources is given as a sky-area probability, luminosity distance, and comoving volume. The median sky localization area (90% credible region) is expected to be a few hundreds of square degrees for all types of binary systems during O3 with the Advanced LIGO and Virgo (HLV) network. The median sky localization area will improve to a few tens of square degrees during O4 with the Advanced LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA (HLVK) network. During O3, the median localization volume (90% credible region) is expected to be on the order of 10 5 , 10 6 , 10 7 Mpc 3 for binary neutron star, neutron star-black hole, and binary black hole systems, respectively. The localization volume in O4 is expected to be about a factor two smaller than in O3. We predict a detection count of 1 - 1 + 12 ( 10 - 10 + 52 ) for binary neutron star mergers, of 0 - 0 + 19 ( 1 - 1 + 91 ) for neutron star-black hole mergers, and 17 - 11 + 22 ( 79 - 44 + 89 ) for binary black hole mergers in a one-calendar-year observing run of the HLV network during O3 (HLVK network during O4). We evaluate sensitivity and localization expectations for unmodeled signal searches, including the search for intermediate mass black hole binary mergers.

Coalescence of Kerr Black Holes—Binary Systems from GW150914 to GW170814

We investigate the energy of the gravitational wave from a binary black hole merger by the coalescence of two Kerr black holes with an orbital angular momentum. The coalescence is constructed to be consistent with particle absorption in the limit in which the primary black hole is sufficiently large compared with the secondary black hole. In this limit, we analytically obtain an effective gravitational spin–orbit interaction dependent on the alignments of the angular momenta. Then, binary systems with various parameters including equal masses are numerically analyzed. According to the numerical analysis, the energy of the gravitational wave still depends on the effective interactions, as expected from the analytical form. In particular, we ensure that the final black hole obtains a large portion of its spin angular momentum from the orbital angular momentum of the initial binary black hole. To estimate the angular momentum released by the gravitational wave in the actual binary black hole, we apply our results to observations at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory: GW150914, GW151226, GW170104, GW170608 and GW170814.

Testing the No-Hair Theorem with GW150914

We analyze gravitational-wave data from the first LIGO detection of a binary black-hole merger (GW150914) in search of the ringdown of the remnant black hole. Using observations beginning at the peak of the signal, we find evidence of the fundamental quasinormal mode and at least one overtone, both associated with the dominant angular mode (ℓ=m=2), with 3.6σ confidence. A ringdown model including overtones allows us to measure the final mass and spin magnitude of the remnant exclusively from postinspiral data, obtaining an estimate in agreement with the values inferred from the full signal. The mass and spin values we measure from the ringdown agree with those obtained using solely the fundamental mode at a later time, but have smaller uncertainties. Agreement between the postinspiral measurements of mass and spin and those using the full waveform supports the hypothesis that the GW150914 merger produced a Kerr black hole, as predicted by general relativity, and provides a test of the no-hair theorem at the ∼10% level. An independent measurement of the frequency of the first overtone yields agreement with the no-hair hypothesis at the ∼20% level. As the detector sensitivity improves and the detected population of black-hole mergers grows, we can expect that using overtones will provide even stronger tests.

Lyman-α Forest Constraints on Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter

The renewed interest in the possibility that primordial black holes (PBHs) may constitute a significant part of dark matter has provided motivation for revisiting old observational constraints, as well as developing new ones. We present new limits on the PBH abundance, from a comprehensive analysis of high-resolution high-redshift Lyman-α forest data. Poisson fluctuations in the PBH number density induce a small-scale power enhancement which departs from the standard cold dark matter prediction. Using a grid of hydrodynamic simulations exploring different values of astrophysical parameters, we obtain a marginalized upper limit on the PBH mass of f_{PBH}M_{PBH}∼60M_{⊙} at 2σ, when a Gaussian prior on the reionization redshift is imposed, preventing its posterior distribution from peaking on very high values, which are disfavored by the most recent estimates obtained both through cosmic microwave background and intergalactic medium observations. Such a bound weakens to f_{PBH}M_{PBH}∼170M_{⊙} when a conservative flat prior is instead assumed. Both limits significantly improve on previous constraints from the same physical observable. We also extend our predictions to nonmonochromatic PBH mass distributions, ruling out large regions of the parameter space for some of the most viable PBH extended mass functions.