GW190521: A Binary Black Hole Merger with a Total Mass of 150 M

Date Issued
04-09-2020
Author(s)
Abbott, R.
Abbott, T. D.
Abraham, S.
Acernese, F.
Ackley, K.
Adams, C.
Adhikari, R. X.
Adya, V. B.
Affeldt, C.
Agathos, M.
Agatsuma, K.
Aggarwal, N.
Aguiar, O. D.
Aich, A.
Aiello, L.
Ain, A.
Ajith, P.
Akcay, S.
Allen, G.
Allocca, A.
Altin, P. A.
Amato, A.
Anand, S.
Ananyeva, A.
Anderson, S. B.
Anderson, W. G.
Angelova, S. V.
Ansoldi, S.
Antier, S.
Appert, S.
Arai, K.
Araya, M. C.
Areeda, J. S.
Arène, M.
Arnaud, N.
Aronson, S. M.
Arun, K. G.
Asali, Y.
Ascenzi, S.
Ashton, G.
Aston, S. M.
Astone, P.
Aubin, F.
Aufmuth, P.
Aultoneal, K.
Austin, C.
Avendano, V.
Babak, S.
Bacon, P.
Badaracco, F.
Bader, M. K.M.
Bae, S.
Baer, A. M.
Baird, J.
Baldaccini, F.
Ballardin, G.
Ballmer, S. W.
Bals, A.
Balsamo, A.
Baltus, G.
Banagiri, S.
Bankar, D.
Bankar, R. S.
Barayoga, J. C.
Barbieri, C.
Barish, B. C.
Barker, D.
Barkett, K.
Barneo, P.
Barone, F.
Barr, B.
Barsotti, L.
Barsuglia, M.
Barta, D.
Bartlett, J.
Bartos, I.
Bassiri, R.
Basti, A.
Bawaj, M.
Bayley, J. C.
Bazzan, M.
Bécsy, B.
Bejger, M.
Belahcene, I.
Bell, A. S.
Beniwal, D.
Benjamin, M. G.
Bentley, J. D.
Bergamin, F.
Berger, B. K.
Bergmann, G.
Bernuzzi, S.
Berry, C. P.L.
Bersanetti, D.
Bertolini, A.
Betzwieser, J.
Bhandare, R.
Bhandari, A. V.
Bidler, J.
Biggs, E.
DOI
Abstract
On May 21, 2019 at 03:02:29 UTC Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observed a short duration gravitational-wave signal, GW190521, with a three-detector network signal-to-noise ratio of 14.7, and an estimated false-alarm rate of 1 in 4900 yr using a search sensitive to generic transients. If GW190521 is from a quasicircular binary inspiral, then the detected signal is consistent with the merger of two black holes with masses of 85-14+21 Mm and 66-18+17 Mm (90% credible intervals). We infer that the primary black hole mass lies within the gap produced by (pulsational) pair-instability supernova processes, with only a 0.32% probability of being below 65 Mm. We calculate the mass of the remnant to be 142-16+28 Mm, which can be considered an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH). The luminosity distance of the source is 5.3-2.6+2.4 Gpc, corresponding to a redshift of 0.82-0.34+0.28. The inferred rate of mergers similar to GW190521 is 0.13-0.11+0.30 Gpc-3 yr-1.
Volume
125