GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

B.P. Abbott , T. Adams (1) , R. Bonnand (1) , D. Buskulic (1) , M. Ducrot (1) , V. Germain (1) , R. Gouaty (1) , N. Letendre (1) , F. Marion (1) , A. Masserot (1) , B. Mours (1) , L. Rolland (1) , D. Verkindt (1) , M. Was (1) , M. Yvert (1) , G. Cagnoli (2) , J. Degallaix (2) , V. Dolique (2) , R. Flaminio (2) , M. Granata (2) , D. Hofman (2) , C. Michel (2) , R. Pedurand (2) , L. Pinard (2) , B. Sassolas (2) , N. Straniero (2) , N. Arnaud (3) , M. A. Bizouard (3) , V. Brisson (3) , J. Casanueva Diaz , F. Cavalier (3) , M. Davier (3) , S. Franco (3) , P. Hello (3) , D. Huet (3) , M. Kasprzack (3) , N. Leroy (3) , F. Robinet (3) , M. Boër (4) , G. Bogaert (4) , A. Brillet (4) , F. Cleva (4) , J.-P. Coulon (4) , D. Fiorucci (4) , J.-D. Fournier (4) , F. Kéfélian (4) , N. Man (4) , L Martinelli (4) , M. Merzougui (4) , M. Pichot (4) , T. Regimbau (4) , M. Turconi (4) , J.-Y. Vinet (4) , L.-W. Wei (4) , François Bondu (5)

1 LAPP - Laboratoire d'Annecy de Physique des Particules
2 LMA - Laboratoire des matériaux avancés
3 LAL - Laboratoire de l'Accélérateur Linéaire
4 ARTEMIS - Astrophysique Relativiste Théories Expériences Métrologie Instrumentation Signaux
5 IPR - Institut de Physique de Rennes

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 5 σ. 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+8.3−3.7M⊙ and 7.5+2.3−2.3M⊙ and the final black hole mass is 20.8+6.1−1.7M⊙. 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 440+180−190 Mpc corresponding to a redshift 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.

Domaines: Relativité Générale et Cosmologie Quantique [gr-qc]; Phénomènes cosmiques de haute energie [astro-ph.HE]

B.P. Abbott, T. Adams, R. Bonnand, D. Buskulic, M. Ducrot, et al.. GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence. Physical Review Letters, 2016, 116 (24), pp.241103. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.241103⟩. ⟨in2p3-01332514⟩