GW170104: Observation of a 50-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence at Redshift 0.2
Source
Physical Review Letters
ISSN
00319007
Date Issued
2017-06-01
Author(s)
Abbott, B. P.
Abbott, R.
Abbott, T. D.
Acernese, F.
Ackley, K.
Adams, C.
Adams, T.
Addesso, P.
Adhikari, R. X.
Adya, V. B.
Affeldt, C.
Afrough, M.
Agarwal, B.
Agathos, M.
Agatsuma, K.
Aggarwal, N.
Aguiar, O. D.
Aiello, L.
Ain, A.
Ajith, P.
Allen, B.
Allen, G.
Allocca, A.
Altin, P. A.
Amato, A.
Ananyeva, A.
Anderson, S. B.
Anderson, W. G.
Antier, S.
Appert, S.
Arai, K.
Araya, M. C.
Areeda, J. S.
Arnaud, N.
Arun, K. G.
Ascenzi, S.
Ashton, G.
Ast, M.
Aston, S. M.
Astone, P.
Aufmuth, P.
Aulbert, C.
Aultoneal, K.
Avila-Alvarez, A.
Babak, S.
Bacon, P.
Bader, M. K.M.
Bae, S.
Baker, P. T.
Baldaccini, F.
Ballardin, G.
Ballmer, S. W.
Banagiri, S.
Barayoga, J. C.
Barclay, S. E.
Barish, B. C.
Barker, D.
Barone, F.
Barr, B.
Barsotti, L.
Barsuglia, M.
Barta, D.
Bartlett, J.
Bartos, I.
Bassiri, R.
Basti, A.
Batch, J. C.
Baune, C.
Bawaj, M.
Bazzan, M.
Bécsy, B.
Beer, C.
Bejger, M.
Belahcene, I.
Bell, A. S.
Berger, B. K.
Bergmann, G.
Berry, C. P.L.
Bersanetti, D.
Bertolini, A.
Betzwieser, J.
Bhagwat, S.
Bhandare, R.
Bilenko, I. A.
Billingsley, G.
Billman, C. R.
Birch, J.
Birney, R.
Birnholtz, O.
Biscans, S.
Bisht, A.
Bitossi, M.
Biwer, C.
Bizouard, M. A.
Blackburn, J. K.
Blackman, J.
Blair, C. D.
Blair, D. G.
Blair, R. M.
Bloemen, S.
Abstract
We describe the observation of GW170104, a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of a pair of stellar-mass black holes. The signal was measured on January 4, 2017 at 10 11:58.6 UTC by the twin advanced detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory during their second observing run, with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a false alarm rate less than 1 in 70 000 years. The inferred component black hole masses are 31.2-6.0+8.4M' and 19.4-5.9+5.3M (at the 90% credible level). The black hole spins are best constrained through measurement of the effective inspiral spin parameter, a mass-weighted combination of the spin components perpendicular to the orbital plane, χeff=-0.12-0.30+0.21. This result implies that spin configurations with both component spins positively aligned with the orbital angular momentum are disfavored. The source luminosity distance is 880-390+450 Mpc corresponding to a redshift of z=0.18-0.07+0.08. We constrain the magnitude of modifications to the gravitational-wave dispersion relation and perform null tests of general relativity. Assuming that gravitons are dispersed in vacuum like massive particles, we bound the graviton mass to mg≤7.7×10-23 eV/c2. In all cases, we find that GW170104 is consistent with general relativity.