Properties of the Binary Black Hole Merger GW150914

Creators: Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abernathy, M. R.; Adhikari, R. X.; Anderson, S. B.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barish, B. C.; Berger, B. K.; Billingsley, G.; Blackburn, J. K.; Bork, R.; Brooks, A. F.; Cahillane, C.; Callister, T.; Cepeda, C. B.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Couvares, P.; Coyne, D. C.; Dergachev, V.; Drever, R. W. P.; Ehrens, P.; Etzel, T.; Gossan, S. E.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Hall, E. D.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Hodge, K. A.; Isi, M.; Kanner, J. B.; Kells, W.; Kondrashov, V.; Korth, W. Z.; Kozak, D. B.; Lazzarini, A.; Li, T. G. F.; Mageswaran, M.; Maros, E.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; Meshkov, S.; Pedraza, M.; Perreca, A.; Price, L. R.; Quintero, E. A.; Reitze, D. H.; Robertson, N. A.; Rollins, J. G.; Sachdev, S.; Sanchez, E. J.; Schmidt, P.; Shao, Z.; Singer, A.; Smith, N. D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Taylor, R.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Torrie, C. I.; Vajente, G.; Vass, S.; Wallace, L.; Weinstein, A. J.; Williams, R. D.; Wipf, C. C.; Yamamoto, H.; Zhang, L.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.; Chen, Y.; Engels, W.; Thorne, K. S.; Hamberger, D.; Scheel, M. A.; Szilagyi, B.; Teukolsky, S.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

Abstract

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational-wave transient (GW150914); we characterize the properties of the source and its parameters. The data around the time of the event were analyzed coherently across the LIGO network using a suite of accurate waveform models that describe gravitational waves from a compact binary system in general relativity. GW150914 was produced by a nearly equal mass binary black hole of masses 36^(+5)_(−4)M_⊙ and 29^(+4)_(−4)M_⊙; for each parameter we report the median value and the range of the 90% credible interval. The dimensionless spin magnitude of the more massive black hole is bound to be <0.7 (at 90% probability). The luminosity distance to the source is 410^(+160)_(−180) Mpc, corresponding to a redshift 0.09+0.03−0.04 assuming standard cosmology. The source location is constrained to an annulus section of 610 deg^2, primarily in the southern hemisphere. The binary merges into a black hole of mass 62^(+4)_(−4)M_⊙ and spin 0.67^(+0.05)_(−0.07). This black hole is significantly more massive than any other inferred from electromagnetic observations in the stellar-mass regime.

Additional Information

© 2016 American Physical Society. Received 18 February 2016; revised manuscript received 18 April 2016; published 14 June 2016. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) for the construction and operation of the LIGO Laboratory and Advanced LIGO as well as the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of the United Kingdom, the Max-Planck-Society (MPS), and the State of Niedersachsen, Germany for support of the construction of Advanced LIGO and construction and operation of the GEO 600 detector. Additional support for Advanced LIGO was provided by the Australian Research Council. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, for the construction and operation of the Virgo detector and the creation and support of the EGO consortium. The authors also gratefully acknowledge research support from these agencies as well as by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India, Department of Science and Technology, India, Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, India, the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, the Conselleria d'Economia i Competitivitat and Conselleria d'Educació, Cultura i Universitats of the Govern de les Illes Balears, the National Science Centre of Poland, the European Commission, the Royal Society, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), the Lyon Institute of Origins (LIO), the National Research Foundation of Korea, Industry Canada and the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Canada, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Leverhulme Trust, the Research Corporation, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan and the Kavli Foundation. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the NSF, STFC, MPS, INFN, CNRS and the State of Niedersachsen, Germany for provision of computational resources.

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Published - PhysRevLett.116.241102.pdf

Submitted - 1602.03840v1.pdf

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