  Gravitational-wave (GW) detections are starting to reveal features in the
mass distribution of double compact objects. The lower end of the black hole
(BH) mass distribution is especially interesting as few formation channels
contribute here and because it is more robust against variations in the cosmic
star formation than the high mass end. In this work we explore the stable mass
transfer channel for the formation of GW sources with a focus on the low-mass
end of the mass distribution. We conduct an extensive exploration of the
uncertain physical processes that impact this channel. We note that, for
fiducial assumptions, this channel reproduces the peak at $\sim9
\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ in the GW-observed binary BH mass distribution remarkably
well, and predicts a cutoff mass that coincides with the upper edge of the
purported neutron star BH mass gap. The peak and cutoff mass are a consequence
of unique properties of this channel, namely (1) the requirement of stability
during the mass transfer phases, and (2) the complex way in which the final
compact object masses scale with the initial mass. We provide an analytical
expression for the cutoff in the primary component mass and show that this
adequately matches our numerical results. Our results imply that selection
effects resulting from the formation channel alone can provide an explanation
for the purported neutron star--BH mass gap in GW detections. This provides an
alternative to the commonly adopted view that the gap emerges during BH
formation.
