We present an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of the rates for all types of compact binary coalescence sources detectable by the initial and advanced versions of the ground-based gravitational-wave detectors LIGO and Virgo. Astrophysical estimates for compact-binary coalescence rates depend on a number of assumptions and unknown model parameters and are still uncertain. The most confident among these estimates are the rate predictions for coalescing binary neutron stars which are based on extrapolations from observed binary pulsars in our galaxy. These yield a likely coalescence rate of 100 Myr−1 per Milky Way Equivalent Galaxy (MWEG), although the rate could plausibly range from 1 Myr−1 MWEG−1 to 1000 Myr−1 MWEG−1 (Kalogera et al 2004 Astrophys. J. 601 L179; Kalogera et al 2004 Astrophys. J. 614 L137 (erratum)). We convert coalescence rates into detection rates based on data from the LIGO S5 and Virgo VSR2 science runs and projected sensitivities for our advanced detectors. Using the detector sensitivities derived from these data, we find a likely detection rate of 0.02 per year for Initial LIGO–Virgo interferometers, with a plausible range between 2 × 10−4 and 0.2 per year. The likely binary neutron–star detection rate for the Advanced LIGO–Virgo network increases to 40 events per year, with a range between 0.4 and 400 per year.

Even if Einstein's General Relativity achieved a great success and over-

Introducing a black hole (BH) effective temperature, which takes into account both the non-strictly thermal character of Hawking radiation and the countable behavior of emissions of subsequent Hawking quanta, we recently re-analysed BH quasi-normal modes (QNMs) and interpreted them naturally in terms of quantum levels. In this work we improve such an analysis removing some approximations that have been implicitly used in our previous works and obtaining the corrected expressions for the formulas of the horizon's area quantization and the number of quanta of area and hence also for Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, its sub-leading corrections and the number of micro-states, i.e. quantities which are fundamental to realize the underlying quantum gravity theory, like functions of the QNMs quantum "overtone" number n and, in turn, of the BH quantum excited level. An approximation concerning the maximum value of n is also corrected. On the other hand, our previous results were strictly corrected only for scalar and gravitational perturbations. Here we show that the discussion holds also for vector perturbations.The analysis is totally consistent with the general conviction that BHs result in highly excited states representing both the "hydrogen atom" and the "quasi-thermal emission" in quantum gravity. Our BH model is somewhat similar to the semi-classical Bohr's model of the structure of a hydrogen atom.The thermal approximation of previous results in the literature is consistent with the results in this paper. In principle, such results could also have important implications for the BH information paradox.

In 1976 S. Hawking claimed that "Because part of the information about the state of the system is lost down the hole, the final situation is represented by a density matrix rather than a pure quantum state"1 . This was the starting point of the popular "black hole (BH) information paradox".In a series of papers, together with collaborators, we naturally interpreted BH quasi-normal modes (QNMs) in terms of quantum levels discussing a model of excited BH somewhat similar to the historical semiclassical Bohr model of the structure of a hydrogen atom. Here we explicitly write down, for the same model, a time dependent Schrödinger equation for the system composed by Hawking radiation and BH QNMs. The physical state and the correspondent wave function are written in terms of an unitary evolution matrix instead of a density matrix. Thus, the final state results to be a pure quantum state instead of a mixed one. Hence, Hawking's claim is falsified because BHs result to be well defined quantum mechanical systems, having ordered, discrete quantum spectra, which respect 't Hooft's assumption that Schröedinger equations can be 1 Verbatim from ref. 2 1 used universally for all dynamics in the universe. As a consequence, information comes out in BH evaporation in terms of pure states in an unitary time dependent evolution.In Section 4 of this paper we show that the present approach permits also to solve the entanglement problem connected with the information paradox.To the memory of the latter IFM Secretary Franco Pettini.