TY - JOUR
T1 - GW151226: observation of gravitational waves from a 22-solar-mass binary black hole coalescence
AU - LIGO Scientific Collaboration
AU - Virgo Collaboration
AU - Abbott, B. P.
AU - Abbott, R.
AU - Abbott, T. D.
AU - Abernathy, M. R.
AU - Acernese, F.
AU - Ackley, K.
AU - Adams, C.
AU - Adams, T.
AU - Addesso, P.
AU - Adhikari, R. X.
AU - Adya, V. B.
AU - Affeldt, C.
AU - Agathos, M.
AU - Agatsuma, K.
AU - Aggarwal, N.
AU - Aguiar, O. D.
AU - Aiello, L.
AU - Ain, A.
AU - Ajith, P.
AU - Allen, B.
AU - Allocca, A.
AU - Altin, P. A.
AU - Anderson, S. B.
AU - Anderson, W. G.
AU - Arai, K.
AU - Araya, M. C.
AU - Arceneaux, C. C.
AU - Areeda, J. S.
AU - Arnaud, N.
AU - Arun, K. G.
AU - Ascenzi, S.
AU - Ashton, G.
AU - Ast, M.
AU - Aston, S. M.
AU - Astone, P.
AU - Aufmuth, P.
AU - Aulbert, C.
AU - Babak, S.
AU - Bacon, P.
AU - Bader, M. K. M.
AU - Baker, P. T.
AU - Baldaccini, F.
AU - Ballardin, G.
AU - Ballmer, S. W.
AU - Barayoga, J. C.
AU - Barclay, S. E.
AU - Barish, B. C.
AU - Barker, D.
AU - Barone, F.
AU - Lundgren, A. P.
AU - Nuttall, Laura
PY - 2016/6/15
Y1 - 2016/6/15
N2 - We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5σ. The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3.4+0.7−0.9×10−22. The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2+8.3− 3.7 M⊙ and 7.5+ 2.3− 2.3M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 20.8+6.1−1.7 M⊙. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 44 0+180−190 Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.09+0.03−0.04. All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.
AB - We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5σ. The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3.4+0.7−0.9×10−22. The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2+8.3− 3.7 M⊙ and 7.5+ 2.3− 2.3M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 20.8+6.1−1.7 M⊙. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 44 0+180−190 Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.09+0.03−0.04. All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.
KW - RCUK
KW - STFC
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.241103
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.241103
M3 - Article
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 116
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
IS - 24
M1 - 241103
ER -