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American Physical Society, Physical Review Letters, 24(116), 2016

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.116.241102

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Properties of the binary black hole merger GW150914

Journal article published in 2016 by V. Tiwari, N. van Bakel, Jfj F. J. F. J.~F.~J van den Brand, M. van Beuzekom, L. van der Schaaf, Mv V. van der Sluys, Jv V. van Heijningen, Aa A. A.~A van Veggel, Abbott T. D, Adhikari R. X, Adya V. B, Altin P. A, Anderson S. B, Anderson W. G, Aston S. M and other authors.
This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational-wave transient (GW150914); we characterise the properties of the source and its parameters. The data around the time of the event were analysed 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 $36^{+5}_{-4} M_⊙$ 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 $590$ deg$^2$, primarily in the southern hemisphere. The binary merges into a black hole of $62^{+4}_{-4} M_⊙$ and spin $0.67^{+0.05}_{-0.07}$. This black hole is significantly more massive than any other known in the stellar-mass regime.