On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0 × 10 −21 . It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203 000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410 These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

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.

On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0 × 10 −21 . It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203 000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410 These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

Close binary systems of compact objects with less than ten minutes remaining before coalescence are readily identifiable sources of gravitational radiation for the United States Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and the French-Italian VIRGO gravitational-wave observatory. As a start toward assessing the full capabilities of the LIGO/VIRGO detector network, we investigate the sensitivity of individual LIGO/VIRGO-like interferometers and the precision with which they can determine the characteristics of an inspiralling binary system. Since the two interferometers of the LIGO detector share nearly the same orientation, their joint sensitivity is similar to that of a single, more sensitive interferometer. We express our results for a single interferometer of both initial and advanced LIGO design, and also for the LIGO detector in the limit that its two interferometers share exactly the same orientation.We approximate the secular evolution of a binary system as driven exclusively by its leading order quadrupole gravitational radiation. Observations of a binary in a single interferometer are described by four characteristic quantities: an amplitude A, a chirp mass M, a time T , and a phase ψ. We find the amplitude signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ρ of an observed binary system as a function of A and M for a particular orientation of the binary with respect to the interferometer, and also the distribution of SNRs for randomly oriented binaries at a constant distance To assess the interferometer sensitivity, we calculate the rate at which sources are expected to be observed and the range to which they are observable. Assuming a conservative rate density for coalescing neutron star binary systems of 8 × 10 −8 yr −1 Mpc −3 , we find that the advanced LIGO detector will observe approximately 69 yr −1 with an amplitude SNR greater than 8. Of these, approximately 7 yr −1 will be from binaries at distances greater than 950 Mpc. 1We give analytic and numerical results for the precision with which each of the characteristic quantities can be determined by interferometer observations. For neutron star binaries, the fractional one-sigma statistical error in the determination of A is equal to 1/ρ. For ρ > 8, the fractional one-sigma error in the measurement of M in the advanced LIGO detectors is less than 2 × 10 −5 , a phenomenal precision. The characteristic time is related to the moment when coalescence occurs, and can be measured in the advanced detectors with a one-sigma uncertainty of less than 3 × 10 −4 s (assuming ρ > 8).We also explore the sensitivity of these results to a tunable parameter in the interferometer design (the recycling frequency). The optimum choice of the parameter is dependent on the goal of the observations, e.g., maximizing the rate of detections or maximizing the precision of measurement. We determine the optimum parameter values for these two cases.The calculations leading to the SNR and the precision of measurement assume that the interferometer observations extend over onl...

Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of Earth-based gravitational wave observatories [1, 2, 3, 4] is seeking to directly detect this faint radiation using precision laser interferometry. Photon shot noise, due to the quantum nature of light, imposes a fundamental limit on the attometre-level sensitivity of the kilometre-scale Michelson interferometers deployed for this task. Here, we inject squeezed states to improve the performance of one of the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) beyond the quantum noise limit, most notably in the frequency region down to 150 Hz, critically important for several astrophysical sources, with no deterioration of performance observed at any frequency. With the injection of squeezed states, this LIGO detector demonstrated the best broadband sensitivity to gravitational waves ever achieved, with important implications for observing the gravitational-wave Universe with unprecedented sensitivity