Physical Review Letters· 2016Q1
Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
- 14,344citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
For the first time, scientists have directly detected gravitational waves, confirming Einstein's theory and observing a binary black hole merger.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- First direct detection of gravitational waves using the LIGO observatory.
- Observed a binary black hole merger event with a signal-to-noise ratio of 24.
- Confirmed predictions of general relativity regarding black hole mergers.
- Identified initial black hole masses of 36 and 29 solar masses, merging into a 62 solar mass black hole.
- Measured 3.0 solar masses radiated as gravitational waves.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
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.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Physical Review Letters, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy