This page contains a list of observed/candidate gravitational wave events.
Direct observation of gravitational waves, which commenced with the detection of an event by LIGO in 2015, [1] plays a key role in gravitational wave astronomy. LIGO has been involved in all subsequent detections to date, with Virgo joining in August 2017. [2]
Joint observation runs of LIGO and VIRGO, designated "O1, O2, etc." span many months, with months of maintenance and upgrades in-between designed to increase the instruments sensitivity and range. Within these run periods, the instruments are capable of detecting gravitational waves.
The first run, O1, ran from September 12, 2015, to January 19, 2016, and succeeded in its first gravitational wave detection. O2 ran for a greater duration, from November 30, 2016, to August 25, 2017. [3] O3 began on April 1, 2019, which was briefly suspended on September 30, 2019, for maintenance and upgrades, thus O3a. O3b marks resuming of the run and began on November 1, 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic [4] O3 was forced to end prematurely. [5] O4 began on May 24, 2023; initially planned for March, the project needed more time to stabilize the instruments.
The O4 observing run has been extended from one year to 18 months, following plans to make further upgrades for the O5 run. [2] [6] Updated observing plans are published on the official website, containing the latest information on these runs. [6] There is a two month commissioning break planned from January to March 2024, after which observations will resume for the remainder of O4. [7]
Gravitational wave events are named starting with the prefix GW, while observations that trigger an event alert but have not (yet) been confirmed are named starting with the prefix S. [8] Six digits then indicate the date of the event, with the two first digits representing the year, the two middle digits the month and two final digits the day of observation. This is similar to the systematic naming for other kinds of astronomical event observations, such as those of gamma-ray bursts.
Probable detections that are not confidently identified as gravitational wave events are designated LVT ("LIGO-Virgo trigger"). Known gravitational wave events come from the merger of two black holes (BH), two neutron stars (NS), or a black hole and a neutron star (BHNS). [9] [10] Some objects are in the mass gap between the largest predicted neutron star masses (Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit) and the smallest known black holes.
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GW event and time (UTC) [n 1] | Date published | Location area [n 2] (deg2) | Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) | Luminosity distance (Mpc) [n 3] | Energy radiated/c 2 (M☉) [n 4] | Chirp mass (M☉) [n 5] | Effective spin [n 6] | Primary | Secondary | Remnant | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Mass (M☉) | Type | Mass (M☉) | Type | Mass (M☉) | Spin [n 7] | ||||||||||
GW150914 09:50:45 | 2016-02-11 | 179; mostly to the south | 24.4+0.8 −0.8 | 430+150 −170 | 3.1+0.4 −0.4 | 28.6+1.6 −1.5 | −0.01+0.12 −0.13 | BH [n 8] | 35.6+4.8 −3.0 | BH [n 9] | 30.6+3.0 −4.4 | BH | 63.1+3.3 −3.0 | 0.69+0.05 −0.04 | First GW detection; first BH merger observed | [18] [19] [17] |
GW151012 09:54:43 | 2016-06-15 | 1555 | 10.0+0.5 −0.5 | 1060+540 −480 | 1.5+0.5 −0.5 | 15.2+2.0 −1.1 | 0.04+0.28 −0.19 | BH | 23.3+14.0 −5.5 | BH | 13.6+4.1 −4.8 | BH | 35.7+9.9 −3.8 | 0.67+0.13 −0.11 | Formerly candidate LVT151012; accepted as astrophysical since February 2019 | [20] [12] [11] |
GW151226 03:38:53 | 2016-06-15 | 1033 | 13.1+0.0 −1.2 | 440+180 −190 | 1.0+0.1 −0.2 | 8.9+0.3 −0.3 | 0.18+0.20 −0.12 | BH | 13.7+8.8 −3.2 | BH | 7.7+2.2 −2.6 | BH | 20.5+6.4 −1.5 | 0.74+0.07 −0.05 | [21] [22] | |
GW170104 10:11:58 | 2017-06-01 | 924 | 13.0+0.0 −0.0 | 960+430 −410 | 2.2+0.5 −0.5 | 21.5+2.1 −1.7 | −0.04+0.17 −0.20 | BH | 31.0+7.2 −5.6 | BH | 20.1+4.9 −4.5 | BH | 49.1+5.2 −3.5 | 0.66+0.08 −0.10 | [13] [23] | |
GW170608 02:01:16 | 2017-11-16 | 396; to the north | 14.9+0.5 −0.8 | 320+120 −110 | 0.9+0.0 −0.1 | 7.9+0.2 −0.2 | 0.03+0.19 −0.07 | BH | 10.9+5.3 −1.7 | BH | 7.6+1.3 −2.1 | BH | 17.8+3.2 −0.7 | 0.69+0.04 −0.04 | Smallest BH progenitor masses to date | [24] |
GW170729 18:56:29 | 2018-11-30 | 1033 | 10.2+0.6 −0.4 | 2750+1350 −1320 | 4.8+1.7 −1.7 | 35.7+6.5 −4.7 | 0.36+0.21 −0.25 | BH | 50.6+16.6 −10.2 | BH | 34.3+9.1 −10.1 | BH | 80.3+14.6 −10.2 | 0.81+0.07 −0.13 | Largest progenitor masses until GW190521 | [12] |
GW170809 08:28:21 | 2018-11-30 | 340; towards Cetus | 12.4+0.0 −0.2 | 990+320 −380 | 2.7+0.6 −0.6 | 25.0+2.1 −1.6 | 0.07+0.16 −0.16 | BH | 35.2+8.3 −6.0 | BH | 23.8+5.2 −5.1 | BH | 56.4+5.2 −3.7 | 0.70+0.08 −0.09 | [12] | |
GW170814 10:30:43 | 2017-09-27 | 87; towards Eridanus | 16.3+0.9 −0.4 | 580+160 −210 | 2.7+0.4 −0.3 | 24.2+1.4 −1.1 | 0.07+0.12 −0.11 | BH | 30.7+5.7 −3.0 | BH | 25.3+2.9 −4.1 | BH | 53.4+3.2 −2.4 | 0.72+0.07 −0.05 | First announced detection by three observatories; first polarization measurement | [25] [26] |
GW170817 12:41:04 | 2017-10-16 | 16; NGC 4993 | 33.0+0.0 −2.1 | 40±10 | ≥ 0.04 | 1.186+0.001 −0.001 | 0.00+0.02 −0.01 | NS | 1.46+0.12 −0.10 | NS | 1.27+0.09 −0.09 | HMNS-BH [n 10] | ≤ 2.8 [n 11] | ≤ 0.89 | First NS merger observed in GW; first detection of EM counterpart (GRB 170817A; AT 2017gfo); nearest event to date | [16] [30] [31] |
GW170818 02:25:09 | 2018-11-30 | 39; towards Pegasus | 11.3+0.0 −0.0 | 1020+430 −360 | 2.7+0.5 −0.5 | 26.7+2.1 −1.7 | −0.09+0.18 −0.21 | BH | 35.5+7.5 −4.7 | BH | 26.8+4.3 −5.2 | BH | 59.8+4.8 −3.8 | 0.67+0.07 −0.08 | [12] | |
GW170823 13:13:58 | 2018-11-30 | 1651 | 11.1+0.4 −0.3 | 1850±840 | 3.3+0.9 −0.8 | 29.3+4.2 −3.2 | 0.08+0.20 −0.22 | BH | 39.6+10.0 −6.6 | BH | 29.4+6.3 −7.1 | BH | 65.6+9.4 −6.6 | 0.71+0.08 −0.10 | [12] | |
GW190403_051519 2019-04-03 05:15:19 | 2022-05-11 | 3900 | 7.6+0.6 −1.1 | 8300+6700 −4300 | 34.0+15.1 −8.4 | 0.68+0.16 −0.43 | BH | 85.0+6.7 −4.3 | BH | 20.0+26.3 −8.4 | BH | 102+26 −24 | 0.91+0.05 −0.17 | [32] | ||
GW190408_181802 2019-04-08 18:18:02 | 2020-10-27 | 140 | 15.3+0.2 −0.3 | 1580+400 −590 | 18.3+1.4 −1.2 | −0.03+0.13 −0.19 | BH | 24.5+5.1 −3.4 | BH | 18.3+3.2 −3.5 | BH | 41.0+3.8 −2.7 | 0.67+0.06 −0.07 | Originally designated S190408an. | [33] | |
GW190412 2019-04-12 05:30:44 | 2020-04-17 | 18.9+0.2 −0.3 | 730+140 −170 | 13.3+0.4 −0.3 | 0.25+0.08 −0.11 | BH | 29.7+5.0 −5.3 | BH | 8.4+1.8 −1.0 | BH | 37.0+4.1 −3.9 | 0.67+0.05 −0.07 | First possible observation of a merger of two black holes of very different masses. Originally designated S190412m. | [34] [35] | ||
GW190413_052954 2019-04-13 | 2020-10-27 | 1400 | 8.9+0.4 −0.7 | 4100+2410 −1890 | 24.0+5.4 −3.7 | 0.01+0.29 −0.33 | BH | 33.4+12.4 −7.4 | BH | 23.4+6.7 −6.3 | BH | 54.3+12.4 −8.4 | 0.69+0.12 −0.13 | [33] | ||
GW190413_134308 2019-04-13 | 2020-10-27 | 520 | 10.0+0.4 −0.5 | 5150+2440 −2340 | 31.9+7.3 −4.6 | −0.01+0.24 −0.28 | BH | 45.4+13.6 −9.6 | BH | 30.9+10.2 −9.6 | BH | 72.8+15.2 −10.3 | 0.69+0.10 −0.12 | [33] | ||
GW190421_213856 2019-04-21 | 2020-10-27 | 1000 | 10.7+0.2 −0.4 | 3150+1370 −1420 | 30.7+5.5 −6.6 | −0.05+0.23 −0.26 | BH | 40.6+10.4 −6.6 | BH | 31.4+7.5 −8.2 | BH | 68.6+11.7 −8.1 | 0.68+0.10 −0.11 | Originally designated S190421ar. | [33] | |
GW190424_180648 2019-04-24 18:06:48 | 2020-10-27 | 26000 | 10.4+0.2 −0.4 | 2550+1560 −1330 | 30.3+5.7 −4.2 | 0.15+0.22 −0.22 | BH | 39.5+10.9 −6.9 | BH | 31.0+7.4 −7.3 | BH | 67.1+12.5 −9.2 | 0.75+0.08 −0.09 | [33] | ||
GW190425 2019-04-25 08:18:05 | 2020-01-06 | 12.4+0.3 −0.4 | 159+69 −72 | 1.44+0.02 −0.02 | 0.012+0.01 −0.01 | NS | 1.60 - 1.87 | NS | 1.46 - 1.69 | ? | Originally designated S190425z (z:26th trigger|UTC day), this trigger was detected by a single LIGO instrument (of three LVC stations), and is considered by some scientists to have been confirmed as a binary neutron star merger. [37] It was published in 2020 that a gamma-ray burst was detected (GRB 190425) ~0.5 seconds after the LIGO trigger, lasting 6 seconds and bearing similarities to GRB170817 (such as weakness [most power in sub-100 keV, or soft X-rays) bands], elevated energetic photon background levels [signal exceeding background by less than a factor of 2], and similar differences from other transients classified as short GRBs). Confidence was established for interpretation of a set of peaks through a control interval of only 2 days prior to the LIGO-Livingston trigger in INTEGRAL Electronic anticoincidence, could not be corroborated by other instruments and wasn't initially noted as a significant event. Non-detection in other instruments may be a consequence of an Earth-occulted source as the Fermi telescope attempted follow-up. [36] | [38] [39] | ||||
GW190426_152155 2019-04-26 15:21:55 | 2020-10-27 | 1300 | 8.7+0.5 −0.6 | 370+180 −160 | 2.41+0.08 −0.08 | −0.03+0.32 −0.30 | BH? | 5.7+3.9 −2.3 | NS | 1.5+0.8 −0.5 | BH? | The primary object, being between 3.4 and 9.6 solar masses, is either a black hole or an object in the mass gap. Originally designated S230426c. | [33] | |||
GW190426_190642 2019-04-26 19:06:42 | 2022-05-11 | 4600 | 8.7+0.4 −0.6 | 4600+3400 −2300 | 76.0+19.1 −17.4 | 0.23+0.42 −0.41 | BH | 106+45 −24 | BH | 76+26 −36 | BH | 173+38 −34 | 0.77+0.14 −0.16 | [32] | ||
GW190503_185404 2019-05-03 18:54:04 | 2020-10-27 | 12.4+0.2 −0.3 | 1450+690 −630 | 30.2+4.2 −4.2 | −0.03+0.20 −0.26 | BH | 43.3+9.1 −8.2 | BH | 28.4+7.7 −8.0 | BH | 68.6+8.8 −7.7 | 0.66+0.09 −0.12 | Originally designated S230503bf. | [33] | ||
GW190512_180714 2019-05-12 18:07:14 | 2020-10-27 | 12.2+0.2 −0.4 | 1430+550 −550 | 14.6+1.3 −1.0 | 0.03+0.12 −0.13 | BH | 23.3+5.3 −3.8 | BH | 12.6+3.6 −2.5 | BH | 34.5+3.8 −3.5 | 0.65+0.07 −0.07 | Originally designated S230512at. | [33] | ||
GW190513_205428 2019-05-13 20:54:28 | 2020-10-27 | 12.9+0.3 −0.4 | 2060+880 −800 | 21.6+3.8 −1.9 | 0.11+0.28 −0.17 | BH | 35.7+9.5 −9.2 | BH | 18.0+7.7 −4.2 | BH | 51.6+8.2 −5.8 | 0.68+0.14 −0.12 | Originally designated S230513bm. | [33] | ||
GW190514_065416 2019-05-14 06:54:16 | 2020-10-27 | 3000 | 8.2+0.3 −0.6 | 4100+2700 −2200 | 28.5+7.9 −4.8 | −0.19+0.29 −0.32 | BH | 39.0+14.7 −8.2 | BH | 28.4+9.3 −8.8 | BH | 65+18 −10 | 0.63+0.11 −0.15 | [33] | ||
GW190517_055101 2019-05-17 06:54:16 | 2020-10-27 | 470 | 10.7+0.4 −0.6 | 1860+1620 −840 | 26.6+4.0 −4.0 | 0.52+0.19 −0.19 | BH | 37.4+11.7 −7.6 | BH | 25.3+7.0 −7.3 | BH | 59.3+9.1 −8.9 | 0.87+0.05 −0.07 | Originally designated S190517h. | [33] | |
GW190519_153544 2019-05-19 15:35:44 | 2020-10-27 | 860 | 15.6+0.2 −0.3 | 2530+1830 −920 | 44.5+6.4 −7.1 | 0.31+0.20 −0.22 | BH | 66+11 −12 | BH | 41+11 −11 | BH | 101+12 −14 | 0.79+0.07 −0.13 | Originally designated S190519bj. | [33] | |
GW190521 2019-05-21 03:02:29 | 2020-09-02 | 14.2+0.3 −0.3 | 5300+2400 −2600 | 7.6+2.2 −1.9 | 64+13 −8 | 0.08+0.27 −0.36 | BH | 85+21 −14 | BH | 66+17 −18 | BH | 142+28 −16 | 0.72+0.09 −0.12 | Originally designated S190521g. Largest progenitor masses to date. | [40] [41] | |
GW190521_074359 2019-05-21 07:43:59 | 2020-10-27 | 550 | 25.8+0.1 −0.2 | 1240+400 −570 | 32.1+3.2 −2.5 | 0.09+0.10 −0.13 | BH | 42.2+5.9 −4.8 | BH | 32.8+5.4 −6.4 | BH | 71.0+6.5 −4.4 | 0.72+0.05 −0.07 | Originally designated S190521r. | [33] | |
GW190527_092055 2019-05-27 09:20:55 | 2020-10-27 | 3700 | 8.1+0.3 −0.9 | 2500+2500 −1200 | 24.3+9.2 −4.1 | 0.11+0.28 −0.28 | BH | 36.5+16.4 −9.0 | BH | 22.6+10.5 −8.1 | BH | 56.4+20.2 −9.3 | 0.71+0.12 −0.16 | [33] | ||
GW190602_175927 2019-06-02 17:59:27 | 2020-10-27 | 690 | 12.8+0.2 −0.3 | 2700+1800 −1100 | 49.1+9.1 −8.5 | 0.07+0.25 −0.24 | BH | 69+16 −13 | BH | 48+14 −17 | BH | 111+18 −15 | 0.70+0.10 −0.14 | Originally designated S190602aq. | [33] | |
GW190620_030421 2019-06-20 03:04:21 | 2020-10-27 | 7200 | 12.1+0.3 −0.4 | 2800+1700 −1300 | 38.3+8.3 −6.5 | 0.33+0.22 −0.25 | BH | 57+16 −13 | BH | 36+12 −12 | BH | 87+17 −12 | 0.79+0.08 −0.15 | [33] | ||
GW190630_185205 2019-06-30 18:52:05 | 2020-10-27 | 1200 | 15.6+0.2 −0.3 | 890+560 −370 | 24.9+2.1 −2.1 | 0.10+0.12 −0.13 | BH | 35.1+6.9 −5.6 | BH | 23.7+5.2 −5.1 | BH | 56.4+4.4 −4.6 | 0.70+0.05 −0.07 | Originally designated S190630ag. | [33] | |
GW190701_203306 2019-07-01 20:33:06 | 2020-10-27 | 11.3+0.2 −0.3 | 2060+760 −730 | 40.3+5.4 −4.9 | −0.07+0.23 −0.29 | BH | 53.9+11.8 −8.0 | BH | 40.8+8.7 −12.0 | BH | 90.2+11.3 −8.9 | 0.66+0.09 −0.13 | Originally designated S190701ah. | [33] | ||
GW190706_222641 2019-07-06 22:26:41 | 2020-10-27 | 650 | 12.6+0.2 −0.4 | 4400+2600 −1900 | 42.7+10.0 −7.0 | 0.28+0.26 −0.29 | BH | 67+15 −16 | BH | 38+15 −13 | BH | 99+18 −14 | 0.78+0.09 −0.18 | Originally designated S190706ai. | [33] | |
GW190707_093326 2019-07-07 09:33:26 | 2020-10-27 | 1300 | 13.3+0.2 −0.4 | 770+380 −270 | 8.5+0.7 −0.6 | −0.05+0.10 −0.08 | BH | 11.6+3.3 −1.7 | BH | 8.4+1.4 −1.7 | BH | 19.2+1.9 −1.3 | 0.66+0.03 −0.04 | Originally designated S190707q. | [33] | |
GW190708_232457 2019-07-08 23:24:57 | 2020-10-27 | 14000 | 13.1+0.2 −0.3 | 880+330 −390 | 13.2+0.9 −0.6 | 0.02+0.08 −0.10 | BH | 17.6+4.7 −2.3 | BH | 13.2+2.0 −2.7 | BH | 29.5+2.5 −1.8 | 0.69+0.04 −0.04 | [33] | ||
GW190719_215514 2019-07-09 21:55:14 | 2020-10-27 | 2900 | 8.3+0.3 −0.8 | 3900+2600 −2000 | 23.5+6.5 −4.0 | 0.32+0.29 −0.31 | BH | 37+18 −10 | BH | 20.8+9.0 −7.2 | BH | 55+17 −10 | 0.78+0.11 −0.17 | [33] | ||
GW190720_000836 2019-07-20 00:08:36 | 2020-10-27 | 460; mostly towards Cygnus | 11.0+0.3 −0.7 | 790+690 −320 | 8.9+0.5 −0.8 | 0.18+0.14 −0.12 | BH | 13.4+6.7 −3.0 | BH | 7.8+2.3 −2.2 | BH | 20.4+4.5 −2.2 | 0.72+0.06 −0.05 | Originally designated S190720a. | [33] | |
GW190725_174728 2019-07-25 17:47:28 | 2022-05-11 | 2200 | 9.1+0.4 −0.7 | 1030+520 −430 | 7.4±0.5 | −0.04+0.36 −0.16 | BH | 11.8+10.1 −3.0 | BH? | 6.3+2.1 −2.5 | BH | 17.6+7.7 −1.8 | 0.65+0.09 −0.07 | [32] | ||
GW190727_060333 2019-07-27 06:03:33 | 2020-10-27 | 830 | 11.9+0.3 −0.5 | 790+690 −320 | 28.6+5.3 −3.7 | 0.11+0.26 −0.25 | BH | 38.0+9.5 −6.2 | BH | 29.4+7.1 −8.4 | BH | 63.8+10.9 −7.5 | 0.73+0.10 −0.10 | Originally designated S190727h. | [33] | |
GW190728_064510 2019-07-28 06:45:10 | 2020-10-27 | 400 | 13.0+0.2 −0.4 | 870+260 −370 | 8.6+0.5 −0.3 | 0.12+0.20 −0.07 | BH | 12.3+7.2 −2.2 | BH | 8.1+1.7 −2.6 | BH | 19.6+4.7 −1.3 | 0.71+0.04 −0.04 | Originally designated S190728q. | [33] | |
GW190731_140936 2019-07-31 14:09:36 | 2020-10-27 | 3400 | 8.7+0.2 −0.5 | 3300+2400 −1700 | 29.5+7.1 −5.2 | 0.06+0.24 −0.24 | BH | 41.5+12.2 −9.0 | BH | 28.8+9.7 −9.5 | BH | 67+15 −11 | 0.70+0.10 −0.13 | [33] | ||
GW190803_022701 2019-08-03 02:27:01 | 2020-10-27 | 1500 | 8.6+0.3 −0.5 | 3300+2000 −1600 | 27.3+5.7 −4.1 | −0.03+0.24 −0.27 | BH | 37.3+10.6 −7.0 | BH | 27.3+7.8 −8.2 | BH | 61.7+11.8 −8.5 | 0.68+0.10 −0.11 | [33] | ||
GW190805_211137 2019-08-05 21:11:37 | 2022-05-11 | 1600 | 8.1+0.5 −0.7 | 6100+3700 −3100 | 31.9+8.8 −6.3 | 0.37+0.29 −0.39 | BH | 46+15 −11 | BH | 31+12 −11 | BH | 72+18 −13 | 0.82+0.09 −0.16 | [32] | ||
GW190814 2019-08-14 21:11:18 | 2020-06-23 | 24.9+0.1 −0.2 | 241+41 −45 | 6.09+0.06 −0.06 | −0.002+0.06 −0.061 | BH | 23.2+1.1 −1.0 | MG | 2.59+0.08 −0.09 | BH | 25.6+1.1 −0.9 | 0.28+0.02 −0.02 | No optical counterpart was discovered despite an extensive search of the probability region. The mass of the lighter component is estimated to be 2.6 times the mass of the Sun, placing it in the mass gap between neutron stars and black holes. [42] | [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] | ||
GW190828_063405 2019-08-28 06:34:05 | 2020-10-27 | 520 | 16.2+0.2 −0.3 | 2130+660 −930 | 25.0+3.4 −2.1 | 0.19+0.15 −0.16 | BH | 32.1+5.8 −4.0 | BH | 26.2+4.6 −4.8 | BH | 54.9+7.2 −4.3 | 0.75+0.06 −0.07 | Originally designated S190828j. | [33] | |
GW190828_065509 2019-08-28 06:55:09 | 2020-10-27 | 660 | 10.0+0.3 −0.5 | 1600+620 −600 | 13.3+1.2 −1.0 | 0.08+0.16 −0.16 | BH | 24.1+7.0 −7.2 | BH | 10.2+3.6 −2.1 | BH | 33.1+5.5 −4.5 | 0.65+0.08 −0.08 | Originally designated S190828l. | [33] | |
GW190909_114149 2019-09-09 11:41:49 | 2020-10-27 | 4700 | 8.1+0.4 −0.6 | 3800+3300 −2200 | 30.9+17.2 −7.5 | −0.06+0.37 −0.37 | BH | 46+53 −13 | BH | 28+13 −13 | BH | 72+55 −17 | 0.66+0.15 −0.20 | [33] | ||
GW190910_112807 2019-09-10 11:28:07 | 2020-10-27 | 11000 | 14.1+0.2 −0.3 | 1460+1030 −580 | 34.3+4.1 −4.1 | 0.02+0.18 −0.18 | BH | 43.9+7.6 −6.1 | BH | 35.6+6.3 −7.2 | BH | 75.8+8.5 −8.6 | 0.70+0.08 −0.07 | [33] | ||
GW190915_235702 2019-09-15 23:57:02 | 2020-10-27 | 13.6+0.2 −0.3 | 1620+710 −610 | 25.3+3.2 −2.7 | 0.02+0.20 −0.25 | BH | 35.3+9.5 −6.4 | BH | 24.4+5.6 −6.1 | BH | 57.2+7.1 −6.0 | 0.70+0.09 −0.11 | Originally designated S230915ak. | [33] | ||
GW190916_200658 2019-09-16 20:06:58 | 2022-05-11 | 2400 | 8.1+0.3 −0.5 | 4900+3700 −2400 | 26.9+8.2 −5.4 | 0.20+0.33 −0.31 | BH | 44+20 −13 | BH | 23+13 −11 | BH | 65+17 −13 | 0.74+0.13 −0.24 | [32] | ||
GW190917_114630 2019-09-17 11:46:30 | 2022-05-11 | 1700 | 8.3+0.5 −0.8 | 720+300 −310 | 3.7±0.2 | −0.08+0.21 −0.43 | BH | 9.7+3.4 −3.9 | MG? | 2.1+1.1 −0.4 | BH | 11.6+3.1 −2.9 | 0.42+0.14 −0.05 | [32] | ||
GW190924_021846 2019-09-24 02:18:46 | 2020-10-27 | 11.5+0.3 −0.4 | 570+220 −220 | 5.8+0.2 −0.2 | 0.03+0.30 −0.09 | BH | 8.9+7.0 −2.0 | BH? | 5.0+1.4 −1.9 | BH | 13.3+5.2 −1.0 | 0.67+0.05 −0.05 | The secondary component, being between 3.1 and 6.4 solar masses, is either a black hole or an object in the mass gap. Originally designated S230924h. | [33] | ||
GW190925_232845 2019-09-25 23:28:45 | 2022-05-11 | 2900 | 9.7+0.3 −0.6 | 930+460 −350 | 15.6±1.1 | 0.09+0.16 −0.15 | BH | 20.8+6.5 −2.9 | BH | 15.5+2.5 −3.6 | BH | 34.9+3.5 −2.6 | 0.71±0.06 | [32] | ||
GW190926_050336 2019-09-26 05:03:36 | 2022-05-11 | 2000 | 8.1+0.6 −0.8 | 3300+3400 −1700 | 24.4+9.0 −4.9 | −0.02+0.25 −0.32 | BH | 41+21 −13 | BH | 20.4+11.4 −8.2 | BH | 60+22 −12 | 0.64+0.14 −0.20 | [32] | ||
GW190929_012149 2019-09-29 01:21:49 | 2020-10-27 | 2200 | 10.1+0.6 −0.8 | 2100+3700 −1100 | 35.8+14.9 −8.2 | 0.01+0.34 −0.33 | BH | 81+33 −33 | BH | 24+19 −11 | BH | 102+34 −25 | 0.66+0.20 −0.31 | [33] | ||
GW190930_133541 2019-09-30 13:35:41 | 2020-10-27 | 1700 | 9.5+0.3 −0.5 | 760+360 −320 | 8.5+0.5 −0.5 | 0.14+0.31 −0.15 | BH | 12.3+12.4 −2.3 | BH? | 7.8+1.7 −3.3 | BH | 19.4+9.2 −1.5 | 0.72+0.07 −0.06 | The secondary component, being between 4.5 and 9.5 solar masses, is either a black hole or an object in the mass gap. Originally designated S190930s. | [33] | |
GW191103 2019-11-03 01:25:49 | 2021-11-17 | 2500 | 8.9+0.3 −0.5 | 990+500 −470 | 8.34+0.66 −0.57 | 0.21+0.16 −0.10 | BH | 11.8+6.2 −2.2 | BH | 7.9+1.7 −2.4 | BH | 19.0+3.8 −1.7 | 0.75+0.06 −0.05 | [52] | ||
GW191105 2019-11-05 14:35:21 | 2021-11-17 | 640 | 9.7+0.3 −0.5 | 1150+430 −480 | 7.82+0.61 −0.45 | −0.02+0.13 −0.09 | BH | 10.7+3.7 −1.6 | BH | 7.7+1.4 −1.9 | BH | 17.6+2.1 −1.2 | 0.67+0.04 −0.05 | Originally designated S191105e. | [52] | |
GW191109 2019-11-09 01:07:17 | 2021-11-17 | 1600 | 17.3+0.5 −0.5 | 1290+1130 −650 | 47.5+9.6 −7.5 | −0.29+0.42 −0.31 | BH | 65+11 −11 | BH | 47+15 −13 | BH | 107+18 −15 | 0.61+0.18 −0.19 | Originally designated S191109d. | [52] | |
GW191113 2019-11-13 07:17:53 | 2021-11-17 | 3600 | 7.9+0.5 −1.1 | 1290+1130 −650 | 10.7+1.1 −1.0 | 0.00+0.37 −0.29 | BH | 29+12 −14 | BH | 5.9+4.4 −1.3 | BH | 34+11 −10 | 0.45+0.33 −0.11 | [52] | ||
GW191126 2019-11-26 11:52:59 | 2021-11-17 | 1400 | 8.3+0.2 −0.5 | 1620+740 −740 | 8.65+0.95 −0.71 | 0.21+0.15 −0.11 | BH | 12.1+5.5 −2.2 | BH | 8.3+1.9 −2.4 | BH | 19.6+3.5 −2.0 | 0.75+0.06 −0.05 | [52] | ||
GW191127 2019-11-27 05:02:27 | 2021-11-17 | 980 | 9.2+0.7 −0.6 | 3400+3100 −1900 | 29.9+11.7 −9.1 | 0.18+0.34 −0.36 | BH | 53+47 −20 | BH | 24+17 −14 | BH | 76+31 −29 | 0.75+0.13 −0.29 | [52] | ||
GW191129 2019-11-29 13:40:29 | 2021-11-17 | 850 | 13.1+0.2 −0.3 | 790+260 −330 | 7.31+0.43 −0.28 | 0.06+0.18 −0.06 | BH | 10.7+4.1 −2.1 | BH | 6.7+1.5 −1.7 | BH | 16.8+2.5 −1.2 | 0.69+0.03 −0.05 | Originally designated S191129u. | [52] | |
GW191204_110529 2019-12-04 11:05:29 | 2021-11-17 | 3700 | 8.8+0.4 −0.6 | 1800+1700 −1100 | 19.8+3.6 −3.3 | 0.05+0.26 −0.27 | BH | 27.3+11.0 −6.0 | BH | 19.3+5.6 −6.0 | BH | 45.0+8.6 −7.6 | 0.71+0.12 −0.11 | [52] | ||
GW191204_171526 2019-12-04 17:15:26 | 2021-11-17 | 17.5+0.2 −0.2 | 650+190 −250 | 8.55+0.38 −0.27 | 0.16+0.08 −0.05 | BH | 11.9+3.3 −1.8 | BH | 8.2+1.4 −1.6 | BH | 19.21+1.79 −0.95 | 0.73+0.03 −0.03 | Originally designated S191204r. | [52] | ||
GW191215 2019-12-15 22:30:52 | 2021-11-17 | 530 | 11.2+0.3 −0.4 | 1930+890 −860 | 18.4+2.2 −1.7 | −0.04+0.17 −0.21 | BH | 24.9+7.1 −4.1 | BH | 18.1+3.8 −4.1 | BH | 41.4+5.1 −4.1 | 0.68+0.07 −0.07 | Originally designated S191215w. | [52] | |
GW191216 2019-12-16 21:33:38 | 2021-11-17 | 490 | 18.6+0.2 −0.2 | 340+120 −130 | 8.33+0.22 −0.19 | 0.11+0.13 −0.06 | BH | 12.1+4.6 −2.3 | BH | 7.7+1.6 −1.9 | BH | 18.87+2.80 −0.94 | 0.70+0.03 −0.04 | Originally designated S191216ap. | [52] | |
GW191219 2019-12-19 16:31:20 | 2021-11-17 | 1500 | 9.1+0.5 −0.8 | 550+250 −160 | 4.32+0.12 −0.17 | 0.00+0.07 −0.09 | BH | 31.1+2.2 −2.8 | NS | 1.17+0.07 −0.06 | BH | 32.2+2.2 −2.7 | 0.14+0.06 −0.06 | The event is unconfirmed due to difficulty accurately modelling the extreme mass ratio. | [52] | |
GW191222 2019-12-22 03:35:37 | 2021-11-17 | 2000 | 12.5+0.2 −0.3 | 3000+1700 −1700 | 33.8+7.1 −5.0 | −0.04+0.20 −0.25 | BH | 45.1+10.9 −8.0 | BH | 34.7+9.3 −10.5 | BH | 75.5+15.3 −9.9 | 0.67+0.08 −0.11 | Originally designated S191222n. | [52] | |
GW191230 2019-12-30 18:04:58 | 2021-11-17 | 1100 | 10.4+0.3 −0.4 | 4300+2100 −1900 | 36.5+8.2 −5.6 | −0.05+0.26 −0.31 | BH | 49.4+14.0 −9.6 | BH | 37+11 −12 | BH | 82+17 −11 | 0.68+0.11 −0.13 | [52] | ||
GW200105 2020-01-05 16:24:26 | 2021-06-29 | 7200 | 13.7+0.2 −0.4 | 280±110 | 3.41+0.08 −0.07 | −0.01+0.11 −0.15 | BH | 8.9+1.2 −1.5 | NS | 1.9+0.3 −0.2 | BH | 10.4+2.7 −2.0 | 0.43+0.04 −0.03 | First event confirmed to be a black hole and neutron star merger. Originally designated S200105ae. | [53] [54] | |
GW200112 2020-01-12 15:58:38 | 2021-11-17 | 4300 | 19.8+0.1 −0.2 | 1250+430 −460 | 27.4+2.6 −2.1 | 0.06+0.15 −0.15 | BH | 35.6+6.7 −4.5 | BH | 28.3+4.4 −5.9 | BH | 60.8+5.3 −4.3 | 0.71+0.06 −0.06 | Originally designated S200112r. | [52] | |
GW200114 2020-01-14 02:08:08 | 2022-08-18 | 1250+1500 −400 | 68+6 −4 | −0.75+0.50 −0.15 | BH | 78+10 −10 | BH | 70+10 −10 | BH | 140+15 −15 | Originally designated S200114f. The event was initially published as an unmodeled gravitational wave burst, and different studies have offered conflicting interpretations. One study suggested it was a nearby high-mass black hole merger with component masses of 118+10 −12 and 89+18 −8 Msun which was poorly modeled because of its high mass. [55] Another study interpreted it as a somewhat smaller black hole merger taking place at the same time as a detector glitch. [56] Both studies conclude the signal is most likely a real event, and the latter model is included in the table. | [55] [56] | ||||
GW200115 2020-01-15 04:23:09 | 2021-06-29 | 600 | 11.3+0.3 −0.5 | 300+150 −100 | 2.42+0.05 −0.07 | −0.19+0.23 −0.35 | BH | 5.7+1.8 −2.1 | NS | 1.5+0.7 −0.3 | BH | 7.8+1.4 −1.6 | 0.38+0.04 −0.03 | Second event confirmed to be a black hole and neutron star merger. Originally designated S200115j. | [53] [57] | |
GW200128 2020-01-28 02:20:11 | 2021-11-17 | 2600 | 10.6+0.3 −0.4 | 3400+2100 −1800 | 32.0+7.5 −5.5 | 0.12+0.24 −0.25 | BH | 42.2+11.6 −8.1 | BH | 32.6+9.5 −9.2 | BH | 71+16 −11 | 0.74+0.10 −0.10 | Originally designated S200128d. | [52] | |
GW200129 2020-01-29 06:54:58 | 2021-11-17 | 26.8+0.2 −0.2 | 900+290 −380 | 27.2+2.1 −2.3 | 0.11+0.11 −0.16 | BH | 34.5+9.9 −3.2 | BH | 28.9+3.4 −9.3 | BH | 60.3+4.0 −3.3 | 0.73+0.06 −0.05 | Originally designated S200129m. | [52] | ||
GW200202 2020-02-02 15:43:12 | 2021-11-17 | 170 | 10.8+0.2 −0.4 | 410+150 −160 | 7.49+0.24 −0.20 | 0.04+0.13 −0.06 | BH | 10.1+3.5 −1.4 | BH | 7.3+1.1 −1.7 | BH | 16.76+1.87 −0.66 | 0.69+0.03 −0.04 | [52] | ||
GW200208_130117 2020-02-08 13:01:17 | 2021-11-17 | 10.8+0.3 −0.4 | 2230+1000 −850 | 27.7+3.6 −3.1 | −0.07+0.22 −0.27 | BH | 37.8+9.2 −8.2 | BH | 27.5+6.1 −7.4 | BH | 62.5+7.3 −6.4 | 0.66+0.09 −0.13 | Originally designated S200208q. | [52] | ||
GW200208_222617 2020-02-08 22:26:17 | 2021-11-17 | 2000 | 7.4+1.4 −1.2 | 4100+4400 −1900 | 19.6+10.7 −5.1 | 0.45+0.43 −0.44 | BH | 51+104 −30 | BH | 12.3+9.0 −5.7 | BH | 61+100 −25 | 0.83+0.14 −0.27 | [52] | ||
GW200209 2020-02-09 08:54:52 | 2021-11-17 | 730 | 9.6+0.4 −0.5 | 3400+1900 −1800 | 26.7+6.0 −4.2 | −0.12+0.24 −0.30 | BH | 35.6+10.5 −6.8 | BH | 27.1+7.8 −7.8 | BH | 59.9+13.1 −8.9 | 0.66+0.10 −0.12 | [52] | ||
GW200210 2020-02-10 09:22:54 | 2021-11-17 | 1800 | 8.4+0.5 −0.7 | 940+430 −340 | 6.56+0.38 −0.40 | 0.02+0.22 −0.21 | BH | 24.1+7.5 −4.6 | MG | 2.83+0.47 −0.42 | BH | 26.7+7.2 −4.3 | 0.34+0.13 −0.08 | The secondary component, being between 2.41 and 3.30 solar masses, is an object in the mass gap. | [52] | |
GW200216 2020-02-16 22:08:04 | 2021-11-17 | 2900 | 8.1+0.4 −0.5 | 3800+3000 −2000 | 32.9+9.3 −8.5 | 0.10+0.34 −0.36 | BH | 51+22 −13 | BH | 30+14 −16 | BH | 78+19 −13 | 0.70+0.14 −0.24 | [52] | ||
GW200219 2020-02-19 09:44:15 | 2021-11-17 | 700 | 10.7+0.3 −0.5 | 3400+1700 −1500 | 27.6+5.6 −3.8 | −0.08+0.23 −0.29 | BH | 37.5+10.1 −6.9 | BH | 27.9+7.4 −8.4 | BH | 62.2+11.7 −7.8 | 0.66+0.10 −0.13 | Originally designated S200219ac. | [52] | |
GW200220_061928 2020-02-20 06:19:28 | 2021-11-17 | 3000 | 7.2+0.4 −0.7 | 6000+4800 −3100 | 62+23 −15 | 0.06+0.40 −0.38 | BH | 87+40 −23 | BH | 61+26 −25 | BH | 141+51 −31 | 0.71+0.15 −0.17 | [52] | ||
GW200220_124850 2020-02-20 12:48:50 | 2021-11-17 | 3200 | 8.5+0.3 −0.5 | 4000+2800 −2200 | 28.2+7.3 −5.1 | −0.07+0.27 −0.33 | BH | 38.9+14.1 −8.6 | BH | 27.9+9.2 −9.0 | BH | 64+16 −11 | 0.67+0.11 −0.14 | [52] | ||
GW200224 2020-02-24 22:22:34 | 2021-11-17 | 20.0+0.2 −0.2 | 1710+490 −640 | 31.1+3.2 −2.6 | 0.10+0.15 −0.15 | BH | 40.0+6.9 −4.5 | BH | 32.5+5.0 −7.2 | BH | 68.6+6.6 −4.7 | 0.73+0.07 −0.07 | Originally designated S200224ca. | [52] | ||
GW200225 2020-02-25 06:04:21 | 2021-11-17 | 370; towards Ursa Minor or Cepheus | 12.5+0.3 −0.4 | 1150+510 −530 | 14.2+1.5 −1.4 | −0.12+0.17 −0.28 | BH | 19.3+5.0 −3.0 | BH | 14.0+2.8 −3.5 | BH | 32.1+3.5 −2.8 | 0.66+0.07 −0.13 | Originally designated S200225q. | [52] | |
GW200302 2020-03-02 01:58:11 | 2021-11-17 | 6000 | 10.8+0.3 −0.4 | 1480+1020 −700 | 23.4+4.7 −3.0 | 0.01+0.25 −0.26 | BH | 37.8+8.7 −8.5 | BH | 20.0+8.1 −5.7 | BH | 55.5+8.9 −8.6 | 0.66+0.13 −0.15 | Originally designated S200302c. | [52] | |
GW200306 2020-03-06 09:37:14 | 2021-11-17 | 4600 | 7.8+0.4 −0.6 | 2100+1700 −1100 | 17.5+3.5 −3.0 | 0.32+0.28 −0.46 | BH | 28.3+17.1 −7.7 | BH | 14.8+6.5 −6.4 | BH | 41.7+12.3 −6.9 | 0.78+0.11 −0.26 | [52] | ||
GW200308 2020-03-08 17:36:09 | 2021-11-17 | 2000 | 7.1+0.5 −0.5 | 5400+2700 −2600 | 19.0+4.8 −2.8 | 0.65+0.21 −0.17 | BH | 36.4+11.2 −9.6 | BH | 13.8+7.2 −3.3 | BH | 47.4+11.1 −7.7 | 0.91+0.03 −0.08 | [52] | ||
GW200311 2020-03-11 11:58:53 | 2021-11-17 | 35; towards Cetus | 17.8+0.2 −0.2 | 1170+280 −400 | 26.6+2.4 −2.0 | −0.02+0.16 −0.20 | BH | 34.2+6.4 −3.8 | BH | 27.7+4.1 −5.9 | BH | 59.0+4.8 −3.9 | 0.69+0.07 −0.08 | Originally designated S200311bg. | [52] | |
GW200316 2020-03-16 21:57:56 | 2021-11-17 | 190 | 10.3+0.4 −0.7 | 1120+470 −440 | 8.75+0.62 −0.55 | 0.13+0.27 −0.10 | BH | 13.1+10.2 −2.9 | BH | 7.8+1.9 −2.9 | BH | 20.2+7.4 −1.9 | 0.70+0.04 −0.04 | Originally designated S200316bj. | [52] | |
GW200322 2020-03-22 09:11:33 | 2021-11-17 | 6500 | 6.0+1.7 −1.2 | 3600+7000 −2000 | 15.5+15.7 −3.7 | 0.24+0.45 −0.51 | BH | 34+48 −18 | BH | 14.0+16.8 −8.7 | BH | 53+38 −26 | 0.78+0.16 −0.17 | [52] | ||
GW230529 2023-05-29 18:15:00 | 2024-04-05 | 25600 | 11.4+0.2 −0.1 | 201+102 −96 | 1.94+0.04 −0.04 | −0.1+0.12 −0.17 | MG | 3.6+0.8 −1.2 | NS | 1.4+0.6 −0.2 | ? | Originally designated S230529ay. Was detected using only the LIGO Livingston detector. It provides strong support for the primary object to be within the mass gap. | [58] |
There is possible detection of nanohertz waves by observation of the timing of pulsars, but they have not been confirmed at the 5 sigma level of confidence, as of 2023 [update] . [59]
In addition to well-constrained detections listed above, a number of low-significance detections of possible signals were made by LIGO and Virgo. Their characteristics are listed below, only including detections with a <50% chance of being noise:
Candidate event | Detection time (UTC) | Date published | Luminosity distance (Mpc) [n 12] | Detector [n 13] | False alarm rate (year) | Effective spin | Primary | Secondary | Probability of terrestrial noise | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Mass (M☉) | Type | Mass (M☉) | ||||||||||
151205 | 2015-12-05 19:55:25 | 2019-10-11 | 3000+2400 −1600 | H,L | 0.61 | 0.14+0.40 −0.38 | BH | 67+28 −17 | BH | 42+16 −19 | 0.47 | [60] | |
170121 | 2017-01-21 21:25:36 | 2019-04-15 | H,L | −0.3±0.3 | BH | 29+4 −3 | BH | <0.01 | [61] | ||||
170304 | 2017-03-04 16:37:53 | 2019-10-11 | 2300+1600 −1200 | H,L | 2.5 | 0.11+0.29 −0.27 | BH | 44.9+17.6 −9.4 | BH | 31.8+9.5 −11.6 | 0.30 | [60] | |
170402 | 2017-04-02 21:51:50 | 2019-10-21 | H,L | 0.32 | [62] | ||||||||
170727 | 2017-07-27 01:04:30 | 2019-10-11 | 2200+1500 −1100 | H,L | 180 | −0.05+0.25 −0.30 | BH | 41.6+12.8 −7.9 | BH | 30.4+7.9 −8.2 | 0.006 | [60] | |
170817A | 2017-08-17 03:02:46 | 2019-10-21 | H,L,V | 11.5 | 0.5±0.2 | BH | 56+16 −10 | BH | 40+10 −11 | 0.14 | [62] |
From observation run O3/2019 on, observations are published as Open Public Alerts to facilitate multi-messenger observations of events. [63] [64] [65] Candidate event records can be directly accessed at the Gravitational-Wave Candidate Event Database (GraceDB). [66] On 1 April 2019, the start of the third observation run was announced with a circular published in the public alerts tracker. [67] The first O3/2019 binary black hole detection alert was broadcast on 8 April 2019. A significant percentage of O3 candidate events detected by LIGO are accompanied by corresponding triggers at Virgo.
False alarm rates are mixed, with more than half of events assigned false alarm rates greater than 1 per 20 years, contingent on presence of glitches around signal, foreground electromagnetic instability, seismic activity, and operational status of any one of the three LIGO-Virgo instruments. For instance, events S190421ar and S190425z weren't detected by Virgo and LIGO's Hanford site, respectively.
The LIGO/Virgo collaboration took a short break from observing during the month of October 2019 to improve performance and prepare for future plans, with no signals detected in that month as a result. [68]
The Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA) in Japan became operational on 25 February 2020, [69] likely improving the detection and localization of future gravitational wave signals. [70] However, KAGRA does not report their signals in real-time on GraceDB as LIGO and Virgo do, so the results of their observation run will likely not be published until the end of O3.
The LIGO-Virgo collaboration ended the O3 run early on March 27, 2020, due to health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] [71]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 19/04 19/05 19/06 19/07 19/08 19/09 19/10 19/11 19/12 20/01 20/02 20/03
|
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 <100 Mpc 100-200 Mpc 200-500 Mpc 500-1000 Mpc 1-2 Gpc 2-5 Gpc 5+ Gpc
|
GW event | Detection time (UTC) | Location area [n 14] (deg2) | Luminosity distance (Mpc) [n 15] | Detector [n 16] | False alarm Rate (Hz) | False alarm chance in O3 [n 17] | Classification | Notes | Ref | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NS / NS [n 18] | NS / BH [n 19] | BH / BH [n 20] | Mass gap [n 21] | Terrestrial [n 22] | |||||||||
S190901ap | 2019-09-01 23:31:01 | 14753 | 241±79 | L,V | 7.0 10−9 | 0.181 | 0.861 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.139 | [72] | |
S190910d | 2019-09-10 01:26:19 | 2482 | 632±186 | H,L | 3.7 10−9 | 0.100 | 0.0 | 0.976 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.024 | [73] | |
S190910h | 2019-09-10 08:29:58 | 24264 | 230±88 | L | 3.6 10−8 | 0.642 | 0.612 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.388 | Detected by only the Livingston detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [74] |
S190923y | 2019-09-23 12:55:59 | 2107 | 438±133 | H,L | 4.8 10−8 | 0.746 | 0.0 | 0.677 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.322 | [75] | |
S190930t | 2019-09-30 14:34:07 | 24220 | 108±38 | L | 1.5 10−8 | 0.348 | 0.0 | 0.743 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.257 | Detected by only the Livingston detector, resulting in a bad sky localization; last detection of the O3a run. | [76] |
S191205ah | 2019-12-05 21:52:08 | 6378 | 385±164 | H,L,V | 1.2 10−8 | 0.290 | 0.0 | 0.932 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.068 | [77] | |
S191213g | 2019-12-13 04:34:08 | 4480 | 201±81 | H,L,V | 3.5 10−8 | 0.631 | 0.768 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.232 | [78] | |
S200213t | 2020-02-13 04:10:40 | 2326 | 201±80 | H,L,V | 1.8 10−8 | 0.401 | 0.629 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.371 | [79] |
On 15 June 2022, LIGO announced to start the O4 observing run in March 2023. [80] As the date got closer, engineering challenges delayed the observing run to May 2023. [81] An engineering run to assess the sensitivity of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA began in April, with the Hanford detector's first operations beginning on April 29, [82] and the Livingston and Virgo detectors' first operations beginning on May 5. [83]
On March 7, 2023, a gamma-ray burst compatible with a neutron star merger was detected by the Fermi telescope and named GRB 230307A. The burst, identified as being from a host galaxy approximately 296 Mpc away, would likely have only been marginally detected at best by LIGO if it had been operating at the time, as the detectors would only later achieve a sensitivity of 160 Mpc for neutron star mergers by O4's beginning, 3 months later.
Near the end of the engineering run on 15 May 2023, LIGO announced that O4 would be beginning on 24 May 2023, running for 20 months with up to 2 months of maintenance. The LIGO detectors initially failed to achieve the hoped for 160-190 Mpc sensitivity for neutron star mergers, but did achieve an improved 130-150 Mpc sensitivity over O3's 100-140 Mpc, later improving to nearly 160 Mpc for both detectors by late 2023. Virgo was found to have both a damaged mirror and other new, unknown noise sources, limiting its sensitivity to just 31-35 Mpc (similar to its performance during O2 in 2017, and lower than O3's 40-50 Mpc.) As a result, Virgo spent most of 2023 in commissioning, with a deadline of March 2024 to improve its sensitivity before joining O4. KAGRA achieved its planned 1 Mpc sensitivity before returning to commissioning in July, with plans to rejoin at an improved 10 Mpc sensitivity by early 2024. However, the Mw 7.5 2024 Noto earthquake occurred on 1 January 2024 only 103 kilometres (64 mi) from KAGRA, damaging the detector's sensitive instruments and delaying its development by at least several months.
On 18 May 2023, near the end of the engineering run and shortly before O4 proper, the first candidate gravitational wave event was detected. Four more were detected before the official beginning of the run. In October, LIGO announced a planned pause between January and March 2024, for a mid-run commissioning break intended to reduce noise and improve the uptime of the detectors.
The O4b run began in April 2024 with the addition of the Virgo detector at a sensitivity of 55 Mpc. The Livingston detector achieved an increased sensitivity of 170-175 Mpc, while the Hanford detector maintained its pre-break sensitivity of 155-160 Mpc. Due to a variety of factors including delays in technologies required for O5, the decision was made in June 2024 to extend O4 by several months to June 2025, with O5 expected to begin in late 2027 or early 2028.
5 10 15 20 25 30 23/05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 24/01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
|
9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 <100 Mpc 100-200 Mpc 200-500 Mpc 500-1000 Mpc 1-2 Gpc 2-5 Gpc 5-10 Gpc 10+ Gpc
|
GW event | Detection time (UTC) | Location area [n 24] (deg2) | Luminosity distance (Mpc) [n 25] | Detector [n 26] | False Alarm Rate (Hz) | False Alarm chance in O4 [n 27] [n 23] | Classification | Notes | Ref | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NS / NS [n 28] | NS / BH [n 29] | BH / BH [n 30] | Mass gap [n 31] | Terrestrial [n 32] | |||||||||
S230518h | 2023-05-18 12:59:07 | 460; near the galactic plane | 204±57 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.864 | 0.037 | 0.0 | 0.099 | Detected during the engineering phase, before the official start of O4. | [84] |
S230520ae | 2023-05-20 22:48:41 | 1702 | 2014±663 | H,L | 3.1 10−9 | 0.161 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 1.4e-7 | [85] | |
S230522a | 2023-05-22 09:38:04 | 24219 | 3102±1032 | L | 1.0 10−8 | 0.448 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99973 | 0.00071 | 0.00027 | [86] | |
S230522n | 2023-05-22 15:30:32 | 29021 | 2221±870 | L | 6.5 10−9 | 0.311 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.993 | 0.0041 | 0.0069 | [87] | |
S230601bf | 2023-06-01 22:41:34 | 2531 | 3565±1260 | H,L | 1.7 10−15 | 9.6 10−8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0022 | 6.4e-9 | [88] | |
S230605o | 2023-06-05 06:53:43 | 1077 | 1067±333 | H,L | 4.5 10−9 | 0.229 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.988 | 0.0 | 0.012 | [89] | |
S230606d | 2023-06-06 00:43:05 | 1221 | 2545±874 | H,L | 1.1 10−8 | 0.481 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99928 | 0.0 | 0.00072 | [90] | |
S230608as | 2023-06-08 20:50:47 | 1694 | 3447±1079 | H,L | 1.4 10−10 | 0.0078 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99981 | 0.0 | 0.00019 | [91] | |
S230609u | 2023-06-09 06:49:58 | 1287 | 3390±1125 | H,L | 1.0 10−8 | 0.438 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.961 | 0.0 | 0.038 | [92] | |
S230624av | 2023-06-24 11:31:03 | 1024 | 2124±682 | H,L | 1.3 10−8 | 0.526 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.953 | 0.0 | 0.047 | [93] | |
S230627c | 2023-06-27 01:53:37 | 291±64 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.365 | 0.354 | 0.251 | 0.030 | [94] | ||
S230628ax | 2023-06-28 23:12:00 | 705 | 2047±585 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.4e-5 | [95] | |
S230630am | 2023-06-30 12:58:06 | 3642 | 8710±2735 | H,L | 2.4 10−8 | 0.750 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.941 | 0.042 | 0.017 | [96] | |
S230630bq | 2023-06-30 23:45:32 | 1975 | 1150±360 | H,L | 7.7 10−9 | 0.358 | 0.0 | 0.00076 | 0.890 | 0.079 | 0.031 | [97] | |
S230702an | 2023-07-02 18:54:53 | 2267 | 2428±849 | H,L | 1.5 10−12 | 8.8 10−5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.8e-5 | [98] | |
S230704f | 2023-07-04 02:12:11 | 1948 | 2965±978 | H,L | 2.8 10−9 | 0.149 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.997 | 0.0 | 0.0026 | [99] | |
S230706ah | 2023-07-06 10:43:33 | 1553 | 2143±684 | H,L | 4.3 10−8 | 0.914 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.939 | 0.035 | 0.027 | [100] | |
S230707ai | 2023-07-07 12:40:47 | 2714 | 3766±1135 | H,L | 1.4 10−8 | 0.546 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.951 | 0.0 | 0.049 | [101] | |
S230708t | 2023-07-08 05:37:05 | 1227 | 3010±988 | H,L | 4.3 10−8 | 0.917 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.973 | 0.0041 | 0.027 | [102] | |
S230708z | 2023-07-08 07:18:59 | 3373 | 4647±1696 | H,L | 7.0 10−8 | 0.982 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.954 | 0.0041 | 0.046 | [103] | |
S230708cf | 2023-07-08 23:09:35 | 2525 | 2056±608 | H,L | 1.6 10−8 | 0.590 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.989 | 0.0 | 0.011 | [104] | |
S230709bi | 2023-07-09 12:27:27 | 2644 | 4364±1585 | H,L | 3.1 10−9 | 0.161 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.997 | 0.0 | 0.0028 | [105] | |
S230723ac | 2023-07-23 10:18:23 | 1117 | 1551±436 | H,L | 5.3 10−8 | 0.953 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.867 | 0.0 | 0.133 | [106] | |
S230726a | 2023-07-26 00:29:40 | 27774 | 2132±714 | L | 3.8 10−14 | 2.2 10−6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 1.4e-7 | Detected by only the Livingston detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [107] |
S230729z | 2023-07-29 08:23:17 | 1945 | 1495±444 | H,L | 3.4 10−9 | 0.177 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.942 | 0.055 | 0.0030 | [108] | |
S230731an | 2023-07-31 21:53:07 | 599 | 1001±242 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.174 | 0.771 | 0.053 | 0.0022 | [109] | |
S230802aq | 2023-08-02 11:33:59 | 25885 | 576±246 | H | 2.2 10−8 | 0.722 | 0.0 | 0.020 | 0.289 | 0.657 | 0.035 | The other component is a black hole. Detected by only the Hanford detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [110] |
S230805x | 2023-08-05 03:42:49 | 2235 | 3852±1193 | H,L | 9.2 10−9 | 0.410 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99975 | 0.0 | 0.00025 | [111] | |
S230806ak | 2023-08-06 20:40:41 | 3715 | 5423±1862 | H,L | 3.0 10−9 | 0.156 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.997 | 0.0 | 0.0026 | [112] | |
S230807f | 2023-08-07 20:50:45 | 5436 | 5272±1900 | H,L | 7.1 10−8 | 0.983 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.913 | 0.041 | 0.047 | [113] | |
S230811n | 2023-08-11 03:21:16 | 810 | 1905±672 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.2e-5 | [114] | |
S230814r | 2023-08-14 06:19:20 | 3389 | 3788±1416 | H,L | 4.8 10−8 | 0.937 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.932 | 0.0 | 0.068 | [115] | |
S230814ah | 2023-08-14 23:09:01 | 25259 | 330±105 | L | 1.7 10−21 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0e-14 | Detected by only the Livingston detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [116] |
S230819ax | 2023-08-19 17:19:10 | 4044 | 4216±1645 | H,L | 8.8 10−9 | 0.398 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.993 | 0.0 | 0.0072 | [117] | |
S230820bq | 2023-08-20 21:25:15 | 1373 | 3600±1437 | H,L | 4.2 10−8 | 0.912 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.958 | 0.0 | 0.042 | [118] | |
S230822bm | 2023-08-22 23:03:37 | 3974 | 5154±1771 | H,L | 2.6 10−8 | 0.773 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.939 | 0.042 | 0.019 | [119] | |
S230824r | 2023-08-24 03:30:47 | 3279 | 4701±1563 | H,L | 1.6 10−11 | 0.00094 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.9e-5 | [120] | |
S230825k | 2023-08-25 04:13:34 | 3012 | 5283±2117 | H,L | 2.4 10−9 | 0.128 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.939 | 0.059 | 0.0022 | [121] | |
S230831e | 2023-08-31 01:54:14 | 3803 | 4900±2126 | H,L | 2.0 10−8 | 0.679 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.985 | 0.0073 | 0.015 | [122] | |
S230904n | 2023-09-04 05:10:13 | 2015 | 1095±327 | H,L | 2.2 10−9 | 0.121 | 0.0 | 0.0007 | 0.927 | 0.064 | 0.009 | [123] | |
S230911ae | 2023-09-11 19:53:24 | 27759 | 1623±584 | H | 1.9 10−12 | 0.00011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 3.6e-6 | Detected by only the Hanford detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [124] |
S230914ak | 2023-09-14 11:14:01 | 1532 | 2676±827 | H,L | 9.0 10−10 | 0.050 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.992 | 0.0 | 0.0083 | [125] | |
S230919bj | 2023-09-19 21:57:12 | 708 | 1491±402 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99965 | 0.0 | 0.00035 | [126] | |
S230920al | 2023-09-20 07:11:24 | 2180 | 3139±1003 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 1.1e-5 | [127] | |
S230922g | 2023-09-22 02:03:44 | 324; towards Pisces Austrinus or Aquarius | 1491±443 | H,L | 1.9 10−24 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [128] | |
S230922q | 2023-09-22 04:06:58 | 4658 | 6653±2348 | H,L | 3.6 10−10 | 0.021 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.2e-5 | [129] | |
S230924an | 2023-09-24 12:44:53 | 835 | 2358±596 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 1.9e-5 | [130] | |
S230927l | 2023-09-27 04:37:29 | 1177 | 2966±1041 | H,L | 1.1 10−8 | 0.461 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.976 | 0.0 | 0.024 | [131] | |
S230927be | 2023-09-27 15:38:32 | 298 | 1059±289 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99966 | 0.0 | 0.00034 | [132] | |
S230928cb | 2023-09-28 21:58:27 | 3102 | 4060±1553 | H,L | 9.5 10−10 | 0.053 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.8e-5 | [133] | |
S230930al | 2023-09-30 11:07:30 | 3166 | 4902±1671 | H,L | 7.4 10−9 | 0.346 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.994 | 0.0041 | 0.0061 | [134] | |
S231001aq | 2023-10-01 14:02:20 | 3181 | 4425±1946 | H,L | 5.0 10−9 | 0.248 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.996 | 0.0044 | 0.0040 | [135] | |
S231005j | 2023-10-05 02:10:30 | 5480 | 6417±2246 | H,L | 3.2 10−8 | 0.842 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.978 | 0.0 | 0.022 | [136] | |
S231005ah | 2023-10-05 09:15:49 | 2497 | 3707±1335 | H,L | 2.0 10−9 | 0.111 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.998 | 0.0041 | 0.0015 | [137] | |
S231008ap | 2023-10-08 14:25:21 | 3102 | 3531±1320 | H,L | 1.5 10−9 | 0.084 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9986 | 0.0 | 0.0014 | [138] | |
S231014r | 2023-10-14 04:05:48 | 1807 | 2857±903 | H,L | 1.0 10−8 | 0.448 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.992 | 0.0 | 0.0080 | [139] | |
S231020ba | 2023-10-20 14:29:47 | 1339 | 1168±361 | H,L | 1.3 10−9 | 0.070 | 0.0 | 0.076 | 0.851 | 0.066 | 0.0070 | [140] | |
S231020bw | 2023-10-20 18:05:09 | 386 | 2620±694 | H,L | 3.5 10−10 | 0.020 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99965 | 0.0 | 0.00035 | [141] | |
S231028bg | 2023-10-28 15:30:06 | 1207 | 4221±923 | H,L | 7.6 10−31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [142] | |
S231029y | 2023-10-29 11:15:08 | 29972 | 3292±1313 | L | 2.2 10−10 | 0.012 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99977 | 0.0 | 0.00023 | Detected by only the Livingston detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [143] |
S231102w | 2023-11-02 07:17:36 | 2343 | 3493±1015 | H,L | 5.8 10−23 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 3.3e-16 | [144] | |
S231104ac | 2023-11-04 13:34:18 | 759 | 1357±321 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0020 | 0.988 | 0.0088 | 0.0018 | [145] | |
S231108u | 2023-11-08 12:51:42 | 949 | 1986±494 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99969 | 0.0 | 0.00032 | [146] | |
S231110g | 2023-11-10 04:03:20 | 636 | 1849±533 | H,L | 1.9 10−8 | 0.670 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.968 | 0.0 | 0.032 | [147] | |
S231113bb | 2023-11-13 12:26:23 | 2172 | 3260±1181 | H,L | 5.6 10−8 | 0.960 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.965 | 0.0041 | 0.035 | [148] | |
S231113bw | 2023-11-13 20:04:17 | 1713 | 1186±376 | H,L | 1.4 10−8 | 0.543 | 0.0 | 0.161 | 0.743 | 0.056 | 0.040 | [149] | |
S231114n | 2023-11-14 04:32:11 | 1267 | 1317±407 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99985 | 0.0095 | 0.00015 | [150] | |
S231118d | 2023-11-18 00:56:26 | 956 | 2110±585 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99981 | 0.0 | 0.00019 | [151] | |
S231118ab | 2023-11-18 07:14:02 | 2898 | 4353±1588 | H,L | 1.9 10−8 | 0.663 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.985 | 0.0 | 0.015 | [152] | |
S231118an | 2023-11-18 09:06:02 | 1107 | 1337±347 | H,L | 7.5 10−8 | 0.986 | 0.0 | 0.015 | 0.726 | 0.017 | 0.242 | [153] | |
S231119u | 2023-11-19 07:52:48 | 5211 | 6597±2556 | H,L | 7.4 10−8 | 0.986 | 0.0 | 0.015 | 0.914 | 0.041 | 0.045 | [154] | |
S231123cg | 2023-11-23 13:54:30 | 2714 | 1148±338 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.015 | 0.99999 | 0.041 | 7.6e-6 | [155] | |
S231127cg | 2023-11-27 16:53:00 | 3450 | 4425±1718 | H,L | 5.8 10−9 | 0.284 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.996 | 0.0063 | 0.0044 | [156] | |
S231129ac | 2023-11-29 08:17:45 | 3089 | 3964±1513 | H,L | 1.8 10−8 | 0.637 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.986 | 0.0041 | 0.014 | [157] | |
S231206ca | 2023-12-06 23:31:34 | 2335 | 3230±1141 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99998 | 0.0 | 0.000018 | [158] | |
S231206cc | 2023-12-06 23:39:01 | 342 | 1467±264 | H,L | 1.9 10−35 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [159] | |
S231213ap | 2023-12-13 11:14:17 | 1469 | 3861±1257 | H,L | 6.3 10−10 | 0.036 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99998 | 0.0 | 0.000022 | [160] | |
S231223j | 2023-12-23 03:28:36 | 3520 | 4468±1602 | H,L | 1.1 10−9 | 0.062 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99905 | 0.000023 | 0.00095 | [161] | |
S231224e | 2023-12-24 02:43:21 | 394 | 863±213 | H,L | 1.5 10−9 | 0.084 | 0.0 | 0.00019 | 0.880 | 0.117 | 0.0034 | [162] | |
S231226av | 2023-12-26 10:15:20 | 199 | 1218±171 | H,L | 1.1 10−50 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [163] | |
S231231ag | 2023-12-31 15:40:16 | 27061 | 1066±339 | H | 8.4 10−15 | 4.8 10−7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.9e-8 | Detected by only the Hanford detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [164] |
S240104bl | 2024-01-04 16:49:32 | 27948 | 1978±618 | H | 3.6 10−17 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.2e-10 | Detected by only the Hanford detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [165] |
S240107b | 2024-01-07 01:32:15 | 4143 | 6089±2429 | H,L | 5.8 10−8 | 0.965 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.966 | 0.0 | 0.034 | [166] | |
S240109a | 2024-01-09 05:04:31 | 28048 | 1594±567 | H | 7.3 10−9 | 0.344 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.995 | 0.0 | 0.0053 | Detected by only the Hanford detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [167] |
S240406aj | 2024-04-06 06:28:47 | 1724 | 2449±692 | H,L | 1.6 10−15 | 8.9 10−8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 9.2e-9 | [168] | |
S240413p | 2024-04-13 02:20:19 | 526±101 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.584 | 0.400 | 0.020 | [169] | ||
S240420ax | 2024-04-20 04:21:16 | 6423 | ? | H,L | 5.7 10−8 | 0.961 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ? | Unidentified gravitational wave "burst" lasting 33 milliseconds at a frequency of 219 Hertz. | [170] |
S240422ed | 2024-04-22 21:35:13 | 188±43 | H,L,V | 3.1 10−13 | 1.8 10-5 | 0.0 | 0.541 | 0.0 | 0.459 | 1.3e-5 | [171] | ||
S240426s | 2024-04-26 03:14:51 | 3050 | 3452±1295 | H,L | 7.6 10−9 | 0.354 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.968 | 0.030 | 0.00191 | [172] | |
S240428dr | 2024-04-28 22:54:40 | 286 | 765±177 | H,V | 2.1 10−14 | 1.2 10−6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 7.4e-8 | [173] | |
S240430ca | 2024-04-30 09:35:17 | 4061 | 6212±2593 | H,L | 7.5 10−8 | 0.986 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.920 | 0.041 | 0.039 | [174] | |
S240501an | 2024-05-01 03:35:34 | 1079 | 4022±1460 | H,L,V | 4.2 10−10 | 0.024 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99999 | 0.0 | 1.3e-5 | [175] | |
S240505av | 2024-05-05 13:35:52 | 1469 | 4570±1415 | H,L,V | 2.3 10−8 | 0.731 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.985 | 0.0 | 0.015 | [176] | |
S240507p | 2024-05-07 04:16:32 | 1328±370 | H,L,V | 6.3 10−10 | 0.036 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.963 | 0.036 | 0.00031 | [177] | ||
S240511i | 2024-05-11 03:15:07 | 1906±404 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99998 | 0.0 | 1.7e-5 | [178] | ||
S240512r | 2024-05-12 02:41:39 | 216 | 1082±266 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.020 | 0.958 | 0.020 | 0.0017 | [179] | |
S240513ei | 2024-05-13 18:33:02 | 2254±458 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99973 | 0.0 | 0.00027 | [180] | ||
S240514c | 2024-05-14 08:03:21 | 30758 | 4182±1833 | L | 9.6 10−9 | 0.425 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9932 | 0.0 | 0.0064 | Detected by only the Livingston detector, resulting in a bad sky localization. | [181] |
S240514x | 2024-05-14 12:17:13 | 142; mostly towards Reticulum | 2594±587 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99998 | 0.0 | 1.8e-5 | [182] | |
S240515m | 2024-05-15 00:53:01 | 978 | 3559±976 | H,L,V | 5.3 10−21 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 4.3e-14 | [183] | |
S240520cv | 2024-05-20 21:36:16 | 1136±235 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.030 | 0.921 | 0.047 | 0.0018 | [184] | ||
S240525p | 2024-05-25 03:12:10 | 1517 | 4337±1519 | H,L,V | 1.7 10−8 | 0.619 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.902 | 0.086 | 0.012 | [185] | |
S240527en | 2024-05-27 18:34:29 | 986 | 5850±1907 | H,L,V | 2.5 10−9 | 0.135 | 0.0 | 0.00090 | 0.99907 | 0.0 | 2.7e-5 | [186] | |
S240527fv | 2024-05-27 23:09:10 | 19; towards Horologium | 1119±188 | H,L,V | 1.4 10−8 | 0.559 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.987 | 0.0036 | 0.0096 | [187] | |
S240530a | 2024-05-30 01:24:17 | 196 | 1066±226 | H,L,V | 9.5 10−10 | 0.053 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.910 | 0.085 | 0.0048 | [188] | |
S240531bp | 2024-05-31 07:52:48 | 1323 | 3766±1491 | H,L,V | 3.7 10−12 | 0.00022 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99999 | 0.0 | 6.5e-6 | [189] | |
S240601aj | 2024-06-01 06:12:00 | 2009 | 5366±2095 | H,L | 3.1 10−8 | 0.829 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.507 | 0.0 | 0.493 | [190] | |
S240601co | 2024-06-01 23:10:04 | 1110 | 1421±390 | H,L,V | 6.0 10−11 | 0.0034 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.928 | 0.072 | 0.00023 | [191] | |
S240615dg | 2024-06-15 11:36:20 | 5; towards northern Andromeda | 1420±236 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99998 | 0.0 | 1.7e-5 | [192] | |
S240615ea | 2024-06-15 16:07:35 | 653 | 3590±1058 | H,L,V | 1.5 10−8 | 0.582 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99938 | 0.0 | 0.00062 | [193] | |
S240618ah | 2024-06-18 07:16:27 | 5116 | 5939±2437 | H,L | 6.5 10−8 | 0.976 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.921 | 0.041 | 0.038 | [194] | |
S240621dy | 2024-06-21 19:50:59 | 21; towards Perseus | 1184±199 | H,L,V | 4.0 10−20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [195] | |
S240621eb | 2024-06-21 20:09:35 | 920 | 4492±1407 | H,L,V | 4.3 10−8 | 0.916 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9987 | 0.0 | 0.0013 | [196] | |
S240621em | 2024-06-21 21:40:41 | 3069 | 7458±2672 | H,L,V | 6.8 10−8 | 0.979 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.920 | 0.041 | 0.039 | [197] | |
S240622h | 2024-06-22 00:40:48 | 199 | 1350±303 | H,L,V | 1.2 10−8 | 0.499 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.974 | 0.011 | 0.015 | [198] | |
S240627by | 2024-06-27 13:16:22 | 934 | 1479±420 | H,L,V | 1.2 10−8 | 0.500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.911 | 0.080 | 0.0084 | [199] | |
S240629by | 2024-06-29 14:52:56 | 66 | 1173±245 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.073 | 0.798 | 0.127 | 0.0015 | [200] | |
S240630t | 2024-06-30 10:17:03 | 670 | 3161±841 | H,L,V | 1.9 10−12 | 0.00011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 3.3e-6 | [201] | |
S240703ad | 2024-07-03 19:13:55 | 3785 | 1894±679 | H,V | 1.2 10−13 | 6.8 10-6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.8e-7 | [202] | |
S240705at | 2024-07-05 05:32:15 | 172 | 3694±880 | H,L,V | 7.1 10−16 | 3.8 10-8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [203] | |
S240716b | 2024-07-16 03:49:00 | 10324 | 1821±686 | L,V | 7.9 10−16 | 4.5 10-8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 3.6e-9 | [204] | |
S240807h | 2024-08-07 21:45:59 | 12857 | 1018±295 | L,V | 2.0 10−11 | 0.0012 | 0.0 | 0.00010 | 0.956 | 0.044 | 3.2e-5 | [205] | |
S240813c | 2024-08-13 03:45:48 | 13782 | 1240±392 | L,V | 2.6 10−9 | 0.139 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.909 | 0.089 | 0.0022 | [206] | |
S240813d | 2024-08-13 04:39:13 | 1776 | 1065±259 | L,V | 1.8 10−18 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 1.2e-11 | [207] | |
S240825ar | 2024-08-25 05:51:46 | 1203 | 1342±380 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−9 | 0.166 | 0.0 | 0.025 | 0.930 | 0.036 | 0.0091 | [208] | |
S240830gn | 2024-08-30 21:11:20 | 410 | 1118±297 | H,L,V | 6.3 10−10 | 0.036 | 0.0 | 0.105 | 0.891 | 0.084 | 0.0031 | [209] | |
S240902bq | 2024-09-02 14:33:06 | 584 | 2420±828 | H,L,V | 2.5 10−9 | 0.135 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99990 | 0.0 | 9.94e-5 | [210] | |
S240907cg | 2024-09-07 15:38:33 | 1065 | 4333±1354 | H,L,V | 9.1 10−10 | 0.051 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99914 | 0.0 | 0.00086 | [211] | |
S240908bs | 2024-09-08 08:26:28 | 74; towards northern Aries | 3350±1130 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.997 | 0.0031 | 1.4e-5 | [212] | |
S240908dg | 2024-09-08 12:51:34 | 1021 | 5004±1764 | H,L,V | 7.2 10−8 | 0.984 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.910 | 0.041 | 0.050 | [213] | |
S240910ci | 2024-09-10 10:35:35 | 394 | 662±166 | H,L | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.280 | 0.628 | 0.090 | 0.0015 | [214] | |
S240915b | 2024-09-15 00:13:57 | 18; towards Southern Puppis | 872±149 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.121 | 0.745 | 0.132 | 0.0015 | [215] | |
S240915bd | 2024-09-15 10:51:51 | 4244 | 612±139 | H,V | 3.3 10−14 | 1.9 10-6 | 0.0 | 0.00037 | 0.899 | 0.101 | 1.2e-7 | [216] | |
S240917cb | 2024-09-17 13:02:37 | 8644 | 6657±3466 | H,L | 5.4 10−8 | 0.955 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.903 | 0.057 | 0.040 | [217] | |
S240919bn | 2024-09-19 06:15:59 | 16; towards Southern Perseus | 1711±490 | H,L,V | 4.0 10−20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [218] | |
S240920bz | 2024-09-20 07:34:24 | 349 | 1372±305 | H,L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99972 | 0.0 | 0.00028 | [219] | |
S240920dw | 2024-09-20 12:40:24 | 135 | 977±160 | H,L | 9.7 10−52 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [220] | |
S240921cw | 2024-09-21 20:18:35 | 471 | 866±204 | L,V | 3.2 10−10 | 0.045 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.997 | 0.0025 | 0.00078 | [221] | |
S240922df | 2024-09-22 14:21:06 | 97; towards Capricornus | 1175±262 | H,L,V | 1.4 10−24 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.965 | 0.035 | 0.0 | [222] | |
S240923ct | 2024-09-23 20:40:06 | 4025±1076 | H,L,V | 7.6 10−16 | 4.5 10-8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.9e-9 | [223] | ||
S240924a | 2024-09-24 00:03:16 | 660 | 3816±1285 | H,L,V | 2.5 10−9 | 0.132 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99993 | 0.0 | 7.1e-5 | [224] | |
S240925n | 2024-09-25 00:58:59 | 40; towards central Aquila | 329±76 | H,L,V | 4.0 10−20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.742 | 0.258 | 0.0 | [225] | |
S240930aa | 2024-09-30 00:58:59 | 457 | 1400±323 | H,L,V | 3.1 10−19 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99960 | 0.00040 | 1.7e-12 | [226] | |
S240930du | 2024-09-30 23:46:14 | 708 | 3874±1404 | H,L | 1.3 10−8 | 0.521 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.666 | 0.0 | 0.334 | [227] | |
S241002e | 2024-10-02 03:05:59 | 1237 | 1607±557 | L,V | 1.4 10−21 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.997 | 0.003 | 1.05e-14 | [228] | |
S241006k | 2024-10-06 01:53:33 | 263 | 1899±441 | H,L,V | 5.9 10−42 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [229] | |
S241007bw | 2024-10-07 08:29:43 | 967 | 4355±1289 | H,L,V | 1.6 10−8 | 0.611 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.988 | 0.0 | 0.012 | [230] | |
S241009l | 2024-10-09 02:28:35 | 2544 | 6642±2029 | H,L,V | 3.3 10−8 | 0.851 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.971 | 0.004 | 0.025 | [231] | |
S241009an | 2024-10-09 08:48:16 | 542 | 1208±365 | H,L,V | 1.9 10−12 | 0.00011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.982 | 0.017 | 2.9e-6 | [232] | |
S241009em | 2024-10-09 22:04:55 | 813 | 3831±1633 | H,L,V | 2.8 10−9 | 0.149 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.998 | 0.0 | 0.0025 | [233] | |
S241011k | 2024-10-11 23:38:34 | 76; towards Ophiuchus or Serpens Cauda | 232±51 | H,V | 2.5 10−34 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00022 | 0.967 | 0.033 | 1.1e-16 | [234] | |
S241101ee | 2024-11-01 22:05:23 | 9938 | 2003±601 | L,V | 1.4 10−11 | 0.00079 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99998 | 0.0 | 2.0e-5 | [235] | |
S241102br | 2024-11-02 12:40:58 | 354±63 | H,L,V | 1.1 10−41 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0067 | 0.850 | 0.144 | 1.1e-16 | [236] | ||
S241102cy | 2024-11-02 14:47:29 | 1069 | 2815±704 | H,L,V | 1.5 10−8 | 0.582 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.999 | 0.0 | 0.0011 | [237] | |
S241109p | 2024-11-09 03:33:17 | 6741 | 2807±1011 | L,V | 6.0 10−11 | 0.0035 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99992 | 0.0 | 8.3e-5 | [238] | |
S241109bn | 2024-11-09 11:59:24 | 10138 | 603±159 | H,V | 1.4 10−11 | 0.00082 | 0.0 | 0.121 | 0.047 | 0.830 | 0.0026 | The other component is a black hole. | [239] |
S241110br | 2024-11-10 12:41:23 | 102; towards Northern Centaurus | 749±173 | H,L,V | 4.7 10−9 | 0.236 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.942 | 0.054 | 0.0038 | [240] | |
S241111bn | 2024-11-11 11:15:52 | 472 | 1401±367 | H,L | 7.1 10−30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | [241] | |
S241113p | 2024-11-13 16:35:07 | 11072 | 1400±402 | L,V | 1.5 10−14 | 8.4 10−7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 4.0e-8 | [242] | |
S241114y | 2024-11-14 02:47:11 | 538 | 3539±992 | H,L,V | 9.1 10−14 | 5.2 10−6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ~1.0 | 0.0 | 2.4e-7 | [243] | |
S241114bi | 2024-11-14 23:52:58 | 9934 | 782±219 | L,V | 1.8 10−13 | 1.0 10−5 | 0.0 | 0.00049 | 0.943 | 0.056 | 4.2e-7 | [244] | |
S241116cq | 2024-11-16 15:17:53 | 2222 | 4374±1228 | H,L,V | 7.0 10−9 | 0.330 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.99992 | 0.0 | 8.3e-5 | [245] |
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large observatories were built in the United States with the aim of detecting gravitational waves by laser interferometry. These observatories use mirrors spaced four kilometers apart to measure changes in length—over an effective span of 1120 km—of less than one ten-thousandth the charge diameter of a proton.
The gravitational wave background is a random background of gravitational waves permeating the Universe, which is detectable by gravitational-wave experiments, like pulsar timing arrays. The signal may be intrinsically random, like from stochastic processes in the early Universe, or may be produced by an incoherent superposition of a large number of weak independent unresolved gravitational-wave sources, like supermassive black-hole binaries. Detecting the gravitational wave background can provide information that is inaccessible by any other means about astrophysical source population, like hypothetical ancient supermassive black-hole binaries, and early Universe processes, like hypothetical primordial inflation and cosmic strings.
The Virgo interferometer is a large-scale experiment for detecting gravitational waves. It is in Santo Stefano a Macerata, near the city of Pisa, Italy. The instrument –a Michelson interferometer – has two arms that are 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long and contain its mirrors and instrumentation in an ultra-high vacuum.
Gravitational waves are transient displacements in a gravitational field – generated by the relative motion of gravitating masses – that radiate outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1893 and then later by Henri Poincaré in 1905 as the gravitational equivalent of electromagnetic waves. In 1916, Albert Einstein demonstrated that gravitational waves result from his general theory of relativity as ripples in spacetime.
Gravitational-wave astronomy is a subfield of astronomy concerned with the detection and study of gravitational waves emitted by astrophysical sources.
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) is a scientific collaboration of international physics institutes and research groups dedicated to the search for gravitational waves.
Alessandra Buonanno is an Italian-American theoretical physicist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam. She is the head of the "Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity" department. She holds a research professorship at the University of Maryland, College Park, and honorary professorships at the Humboldt University in Berlin, and the University of Potsdam. She is a leading member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which observed gravitational waves from a binary black-hole merger in 2015.
A binary black hole (BBH), or black hole binary, is a system consisting of two black holes in close orbit around each other. Like black holes themselves, binary black holes are often divided into binary stellar black holes, formed either as remnants of high-mass binary star systems or by dynamic processes and mutual capture; and binary supermassive black holes, believed to be a result of galactic mergers.
In astrophysics, the chirp mass of a compact binary system determines the leading-order orbital evolution of the system as a result of energy loss from emitting gravitational waves. Because the gravitational wave frequency is determined by orbital frequency, the chirp mass also determines the frequency evolution of the gravitational wave signal emitted during a binary's inspiral phase. In gravitational wave data analysis, it is easier to measure the chirp mass than the two component masses alone.
A neutron star merger is the stellar collision of neutron stars. When two neutron stars fall into mutual orbit, they gradually spiral inward due to the loss of energy emitted as gravitational radiation. When they finally meet, their merger leads to the formation of either a more massive neutron star, or—if the mass of the remnant exceeds the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit—a black hole. The merger can create a magnetic field that is trillions of times stronger than that of Earth in a matter of one or two milliseconds. These events are believed to create short gamma-ray bursts.
The first direct observation of gravitational waves was made on 14 September 2015 and was announced by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations on 11 February 2016. Previously, gravitational waves had been inferred only indirectly, via their effect on the timing of pulsars in binary star systems. The waveform, detected by both LIGO observatories, matched the predictions of general relativity for a gravitational wave emanating from the inward spiral and merger of two black holes and the subsequent ringdown of a single, 62 M☉ black hole remnant. The signal was named GW150914. It was also the first observation of a binary black hole merger, demonstrating both the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems and the fact that such mergers could occur within the current age of the universe.
GW170104 was a gravitational wave signal detected by the LIGO observatory on 4 January 2017. On 1 June 2017, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations announced that they had reliably verified the signal, making it the third such signal announced, after GW150914 and GW151226, and fourth overall.
GW170817 was a gravitational wave (GW) signal observed by the LIGO and Virgo detectors on 17 August 2017, originating from the shell elliptical galaxy NGC 4993, about 140 million light years away. The signal was produced by the last moments of the inspiral process of a binary pair of neutron stars, ending with their merger. It was the first GW observation to be confirmed by non-gravitational means. Unlike the five previous GW detections—which were of merging black holes and thus not expected to produce a detectable electromagnetic signal—the aftermath of this merger was seen across the electromagnetic spectrum by 70 observatories on 7 continents and in space, marking a significant breakthrough for multi-messenger astronomy. The discovery and subsequent observations of GW170817 were given the Breakthrough of the Year award for 2017 by the journal Science.
NGC 4993 is a lenticular galaxy located about 140 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. It was discovered on 26 March 1789 by William Herschel and is a member of the NGC 4993 Group.
GW170814 was a gravitational wave signal from two merging black holes, detected by the LIGO and Virgo observatories on 14 August 2017. On 27 September 2017, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations announced the observation of the signal, the fourth confirmed event after GW150914, GW151226 and GW170104. It was the first binary black hole merger detected by LIGO and Virgo together.
PyCBC is an open source software package primarily written in the Python programming language which is designed for use in gravitational-wave astronomy and gravitational-wave data analysis. PyCBC contains modules for signal processing, FFT, matched filtering, gravitational waveform generation, among other tasks common in gravitational-wave data analysis.
GW 190412 was a gravitational wave (GW) signal observed by the LIGO and Virgo detectors on 12 April 2019. In April 2020, it was announced as the first time a collision of a pair of very differently sized black holes has been detected. As a result of this asymmetry, the signal included two measurable harmonics with frequencies approximately a factor 1.5 apart.
GW 190814 was a gravitational wave (GW) signal observed by the LIGO and Virgo detectors on 14 August 2019 at 21:10:39 UTC, and having a signal-to-noise ratio of 25 in the three-detector network. The signal was associated with the astronomical super event S190814bv, located 790 million light years away, in location area 18.5 deg2 towards Cetus or Sculptor. No optical counterpart was discovered despite an extensive search of the probability region.
GW190521 was a gravitational wave signal resulting from the merger of two black holes. It was possibly associated with a coincident flash of light; if this association is correct, the merger would have occurred near a third supermassive black hole. The event was observed by the LIGO and Virgo detectors on 21 May 2019 at 03:02:29 UTC, and published on 2 September 2020. The event had a Luminosity distance of 17 billion light years away from Earth, within a 765 deg2 area towards Coma Berenices, Canes Venatici, or Phoenix.
Ground-based interferometric gravitational-wave search refers to the use of extremely large interferometers built on the ground to passively detect gravitational wave events from throughout the cosmos. Most recorded gravitational wave observations have been made using this technique; the first detection, revealing the merger of two black holes, was made in 2015 by the LIGO sites.