Scientists Just Doubled Our Catalog of Black Hole and Neutron Star Collisions (space.com) 26
Colliding black holes were detected through spacetime ripples for the first time in 2015 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), notes Space.com:
Since then, LIGO and its partner gravitational wave detectors Virgo in Italy and KAGRA (Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector) in Japan have detected a multitude of gravitational waves from colliding black holes, merging neutron stars, and even the odd "mixed merger" between a black hole and a neutron star... During the first three observing runs of LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA, scientists had only "heard" 90 potential gravitational wave sources.
But now they've published new data from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration that includes 128 more gravitatational wave sources — some incredibly distant: [Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog-4.0, or GWTC-4] was collected during the fourth observational run of these gravitational wave detectors, which was conducted between May 2023 and Jan. 2024... Excitingly, GWTC-4 could technically have been even larger, as around 170 other gravitational wave detections made by LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA haven't yet made their way into the catalog.
One aspect of GWTC-4 that really stands out is the variety of events that created these signals. Within this catalog are gravitational waves from mergers between the heaviest black hole binaries yet, each about 130 times as massive as the sun, lopsided mergers between black holes with seriously mismatched masses, and black holes that are spinning at incredible speeds of around 40% the speed of light. In these cases, scientists think the extreme characteristics of the black holes involved in these mergers are the result of prior collisions, providing evidence of merger chains that explain how some black holes grow to masses billions of times that of the sun... GWTC-4 also includes two new mixed mergers involving black holes and neutron stars.
[LVK member Daniel Williams, of the University of Glasgow in the U.K., said in their statement] "We are really pushing the edges, and are seeing things that are more massive, spinning faster, and are more astrophysically interesting and unusual." The catalog also demonstrates just how sensitive the LVK detectors have become. Some of the neutron star mergers occurred up to 1 billion light-years away, while some of the black hole mergers occurred up to 10 billion light-years away.
Einstein's theory of general relativity can be tested with these detections, and "So far, the theory is passing all our tests," says LVK member Aaron Zimmerman, of the University of Texas at Austin. "But we're also learning that we have to make even more accurate predictions to keep up with all the data the universe is giving us." And LVK member Rachel Gray, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, says "every merging black hole gives us a measurement of the Hubble constant, and by combining all of the gravitational wave sources together, we can vastly improve how accurate this measurement is."
In short, says LVK member Lucy Thomas of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), "Each new gravitational-wave detection allows us to unlock another piece of the universe's puzzle in ways we couldn't just a decade ago."
But now they've published new data from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration that includes 128 more gravitatational wave sources — some incredibly distant: [Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog-4.0, or GWTC-4] was collected during the fourth observational run of these gravitational wave detectors, which was conducted between May 2023 and Jan. 2024... Excitingly, GWTC-4 could technically have been even larger, as around 170 other gravitational wave detections made by LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA haven't yet made their way into the catalog.
One aspect of GWTC-4 that really stands out is the variety of events that created these signals. Within this catalog are gravitational waves from mergers between the heaviest black hole binaries yet, each about 130 times as massive as the sun, lopsided mergers between black holes with seriously mismatched masses, and black holes that are spinning at incredible speeds of around 40% the speed of light. In these cases, scientists think the extreme characteristics of the black holes involved in these mergers are the result of prior collisions, providing evidence of merger chains that explain how some black holes grow to masses billions of times that of the sun... GWTC-4 also includes two new mixed mergers involving black holes and neutron stars.
[LVK member Daniel Williams, of the University of Glasgow in the U.K., said in their statement] "We are really pushing the edges, and are seeing things that are more massive, spinning faster, and are more astrophysically interesting and unusual." The catalog also demonstrates just how sensitive the LVK detectors have become. Some of the neutron star mergers occurred up to 1 billion light-years away, while some of the black hole mergers occurred up to 10 billion light-years away.
Einstein's theory of general relativity can be tested with these detections, and "So far, the theory is passing all our tests," says LVK member Aaron Zimmerman, of the University of Texas at Austin. "But we're also learning that we have to make even more accurate predictions to keep up with all the data the universe is giving us." And LVK member Rachel Gray, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, says "every merging black hole gives us a measurement of the Hubble constant, and by combining all of the gravitational wave sources together, we can vastly improve how accurate this measurement is."
In short, says LVK member Lucy Thomas of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), "Each new gravitational-wave detection allows us to unlock another piece of the universe's puzzle in ways we couldn't just a decade ago."
Re:Thank You Mr. Trump (Score:4, Funny)
Genius Donald invented a time machine and went back to build LIGO in the early 2010's! Obama tried to stop him by throwing a tan suit over his head, but Donald's Super-Tie whipped commie Obamie away and saved the day! Donald knows the most about gravity because he makes so much.
(LIGO actually kind of happened in stages, I'm oversimplifying for trolling purposes.)
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Oh, so that explains his proposed cuts to NASA, NSF, and other science programs. He's a @$@%$@ genius. And all this from a brain the size of a walnut that needs signs all over the White House so he does not get lost. His Alzheimer's prevents him from stringing together coherent thoughts. And his Epstein-Trump war, pure ^$^%#&!# genius.
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actually just giant aliens sumo wrestling (Score:3)
...on the far side of the moon. Prove me wrong!
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So the orange guy called it? [blogspot.com]
Re: Flat Earth and Flat Moon! (Score:2)
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"There is no dark side in the moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun."
-- Gerry O'Driscoll, the doorman at Abbey Road Studios
LIGO (Score:2)
I recently watched a documentary on LIGO. The technology and precision behind that equipment is just astounding and they keep improving it all the time.
They "doubled their catalog"? (Score:2)
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What do we got, Scooter Braun working over at NASA now?
You have a hell of a way of saying Follow The Money, but I hear you. And we should.
And no “black hole” jokes during the audit please.
Once again, we get more proof that (Score:2)
Einstein Rocks.
128? (Score:2)
Re: 128? (Score:2)
Just 128, or any 2^n number? (Score:2)
Any positive number can be 2^n
(of course, if you restrict n to be integer..)
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Just 128, or any 2^n number?
One has to admit that not many random results by humans, factor perfectly.
Normally one could dismiss this to chance. But then you factor in the probability of greedy humans and you realize you need to follow the money. Every time.
Parent has a point. This cynicism sponsored by The Angry Taxpayer who already paid for enough water-is-wet studies on this planet.
Re: 128? (Score:2)
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I'm more suspicious of number evenly divisible by 100.
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I on the other hand am meta paranoid. I know that these scientists know all about numbers, and how to fake data, so I would be suspicious of any unsuspicious number. If you were a scientist trying to fake the data, would you allow something obvious like 7, 13, 99, 100, 106*, 111 or 128? No, you would carefully choose one of those numbers so that nobody thought you were faking the data.
* - 106 is the number of one of the busses that goes to Slough, as in the famous poem, "Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Sl
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No, you would carefully avoid all of those numbers
Sorry, got the sense of that the wrong way round. Or maybe I'm just trying to fool you?
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Pics or it didn't happen. (Score:3)