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Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

2016/02/11 by The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott +99 · 4 voices · 14,410 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Binary black hole #Binary number #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Black hole (networking) #Classical mechanics #Computer science #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Gravitational wave #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph.HE #gr-qc

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.116.061102

published in Physical Review Letters 116(6), 061102 (American Physical Society) · 16 pages, 4 figures

arxiv created 2016/02/11 · openalex publication_date 2016/02/11 · arxiv updated 2016/02/24 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160) Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

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