Compact binary merger rates using mass and spin models

LIGO and Virgo have observed a handful of compact binary mergers -- binary black holes and binary neutron stars -- and measured their masses and (vector) spins. From the standpoint of population statistics, the two most interesting measurables are the merger rate and the mass \& spin distribution. Since our detection efficiency varies as a function of mass and spin, the rates inferred from the data are sensitive to the mass \& spin distribution. However, that distribution is also unknown, and needs to be determined from the data. Here we present work which jointly infers the mass \& spin distributions -- restricted to a parameterized family of models -- along with rates, using a fully coherent Bayesian approach.