Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

Abbott, B. P. et al. (2016) Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Physical Review Letters, 116, 061102. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102) (PMID:26918975)

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 410þ160 −180 Mpc corresponding to a redshift z ¼ 0.09þ0.03 −0.04 . In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36þ5 −4M⊙ and 29þ4 −4M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62þ4 −4M⊙, with 3.0þ0.5 −0.5M⊙c2 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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Grant, Mr Alastair and Pascucci, Daniela and Messenger, Dr Christopher and Masso Reid, Ms Mariela and Isa, Hafizah Noor Binti and Bell, Dr Angus and Hammond, Professor Giles and Hild, Professor Stefan and Barr, Dr Bryan and Sorazu Lucio, Dr Borja and Reid, Professor Stuart and Keitel, David and Leavey, Mr Sean and Steinlechner, Dr Jessica and Veitch, Dr John and Hennig, Ms Margot and Heng, Professor Ik Siong and Wright, Ms Jennifer and van Veggel, Dr Marielle and Houston, Mr Ewan and Ward, Professor Henry and Newton, Dr Gavin and Hu, Mr Yiming and Graef, Dr Christian and Pearlstone, Mr Brynley and Hendry, Professor Martin and Douglas, Miss Rebecca and Scott, Dr Jamie and Danilishin, Dr Stefan and Rowan, Professor Sheila and Kumar, Mr Rahul and Martin, Dr Iain and Robertson, Professor Norna and Chan, Mr Man Leong and Robie, Mr Raymond and Cumming, Dr Alan and Berry, Dr Christopher and Hennig, Mr Jan-Simon and Cunningham, Dr Liam and Barclay, Miss Sheena and Powell, Miss Jade and Woan, Professor Graham and Steinlechner, Dr Sebastian and Mangano, Miss Valentina and Hough, Professor James and Lee, Kyung Ha and Huttner, Dr Sabina and Strain, Professor Kenneth and Jones, Mr Russell and Haughian, Dr Karen and Pitkin, Dr Matthew and Murray, Dr Peter and Fletcher, Mr Mark
• Authors: Abbott, B. P., Abbott, R., Abbott, T. D., Abernathy, M. R., Acernese, F., Ackley, K., Adams, C., Adams, T., Addesso, P., Adhikari, R. X., Adya, V. B., Affeldt, C., Agathos, M., Agatsuma, K., Aggarwal, N., Aguiar, O. D., Aiello, L., Ain, A., Ajith, P., Allen, B., Allocca, A., Altin, P. A., Anderson, S. B., Anderson, W. G., Arai, K., Arain, M. A., Araya, M. C., Arceneaux, C. C., Areeda, J. S., Arnaud, N., Arun, K. G., Ascenzi, S., Ashton, G., Ast, M., Aston, S. M., Astone, P., Aufmuth, P., Aulbert, C., Babak, S., Bacon, P., Bader, M. K. M., Baker, P. T., Baldaccini, F., Ballardin, G., Ballmer, S. W., Barayoga, J. C., Barclay, S. E., Barish, B. C., Barker, D., Barone, F., Barr, B., Barsotti, L., Barsuglia, M., Barta, D., Bartlett, J., Barton, M. A., Bartos, I., Bassiri, R., Basti, A., Batch, J. C., Baune, C., Bavigadda, V., Bazzan, M., Behnke, B., Bejger, M., Belczynski, C., Bell, A.S., Bell, C.J., Berger, B. K., Bergman, J., Bergmann, G., Berry, C. P. L., Bersanetti, D., Bertolini, A., Betzwieser, J., Bhagwat, S., Bhandare, R., Bilenko, I. A., Billingsley, G., Birch, J., Birney, R., Birnholtz, O., Biscans, S., Bisht, A., Bitossi, M., Biwer, C., Bizouard, M. A., Blackburn, J. K., Blair, C. D., Blair, D. G., Blair, R. M., Bloemen, S., Bock, O., Bodiya, T. P., Boer, M., Bogaert, G., Bogan, C., Bohe, A., Bojtos, P., Bond, C., Bondu, F., Bonnand, R., Boom, B. A., Bork, R., Boschi, V., Bose, S., Bouffanais, Y., Bozzi, A., Bradaschia, C., Brady, P. R., Braginsky, V. B., Branchesi, M., Brau, J. E., Briant, T., Brillet, A., Brinkmann, M., Brisson, V., Brockill, P., Brooks, A. F., Brown, D. A., Brown, D. D., Brown, N. M., Buchanan, C. C., Buikema, A., Bulik, T., Bulten, H. J., Buonanno, A., Buskulic, D., Buy, C., Byer, R. L., Cabero, M., Cadonati, L., Cagnoli, G., Cahillane, C., Bustillo, J. C., Callister, T., Calloni, E., Camp, J. B., Cannon, K. C., Cao, J., Capano, C. D., Capocasa, E., Carbognani, F., Caride, S., Diaz, J. C., Casentini, C., Caudill, S., Cavaglià, M., Cavalier, F., Cavalieri, R., Cella, G., Cepeda, C. B., Baiardi, L. C., Cerretani, G., Cesarini, E., Chakraborty, R., Chalermsongsak, T., Chamberlin, S. J., Chan, M., Chao, S., Charlton, P., Chassande-Mottin, E., Chen, H. Y., Chen, Y., Cheng, C., Chincarini, A., Chiummo, A., Cho, H. S., Cho, M., Chow, J. H., Christensen, N., Chu, Q., Chua, S., Chung, S., Ciani, G., Clara, F., Clark, J. A., Cleva, F., Coccia, E., Cohadon, P.-F., Colla, A., Collette, C. G., Cominsky, L., Constancio, M., Conte, A., Conti, L., Cook, D., Corbitt, T. R., Cornish, N., Corsi, A., Cortese, S., Costa, C. A., Coughlin, M. W., Coughlin, S. B., Coulon, J.-P., Countryman, S. T., Couvares, P., Cowan, E. E., Coward, D. M., Cowart, M. J., Coyne, D. C., Coyne, R., Craig, K., Creighton, J. D. E., Creighton, T. D., Cripe, J., Crowder, S. G., Cruise, A. M., Cumming, A., Cunningham, L., Cuoco, E., Canton, T. D., Danilishin, S.L., D’Antonio, S., Danzmann, K., Darman, N. 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• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Research Centre: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
• Journal Name: Physical Review Letters
• Journal Abbr.: Phys. Rev. Lett.
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• ISSN: 0031-9007
• ISSN (Online): 1079-7114
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 American Physical Society
• First Published: First published in Physical Review Letters 116:061102
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

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