A new gravitational wave event reveals a binary black hole merger with total mass 190-265 solar masses, indicating black holes can form via gravitational-wave driven mergers beyond standard stellar channels.
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Bilby: A user-friendly Bayesian inference library for gravitational-wave astronomy
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abstract
Bayesian parameter estimation is fast becoming the language of gravitational-wave astronomy. It is the method by which gravitational-wave data is used to infer the sources' astrophysical properties. We introduce a user-friendly Bayesian inference library for gravitational-wave astronomy, Bilby. This python code provides expert-level parameter estimation infrastructure with straightforward syntax and tools that facilitate use by beginners. It allows users to perform accurate and reliable gravitational-wave parameter estimation on both real, freely-available data from LIGO/Virgo, and simulated data. We provide a suite of examples for the analysis of compact binary mergers and other types of signal model including supernovae and the remnants of binary neutron star mergers. These examples illustrate how to change the signal model, how to implement new likelihood functions, and how to add new detectors. Bilby has additional functionality to do population studies using hierarchical Bayesian modelling. We provide an example in which we infer the shape of the black hole mass distribution from an ensemble of observations of binary black hole mergers.
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representative citing papers
The first informative astrophysical calibration of gravitational-wave detectors is reported using GW240925 and GW250207.
GW241011 data shows consistency with Kerr black holes for both quadrupole and octupole moments and delivers the first observational bounds on spin-induced octupole deviations.
The central compact object 1E 1207.4-5209 emits pulsed radio waves at its 0.4-second spin period, revealing it as a faint radio pulsar.
All five NSBH events are consistent with zero line-of-sight acceleration; the joint posterior for GW200105_162426 disfavors both zero LOSA and zero eccentricity at 90% credibility.
A general framework for incorporating arbitrary nonequilibrium corrections into linear non-radial relativistic stellar perturbations without specifying constitutive relations.
Bayesian analysis of GW230627 and GW250114 finds no deviation from GR at 4PN and 4.5PN orders, setting the first empirical baseline with 90% intervals of order O(1)-O(10).
First leading-PN derivation of horizon absorption in eccentric precessing BBH inspirals, incorporated into pyEFPEHM, with estimates showing parameter biases in eccentric systems at moderate SNR.
Presents new NSBH waveform models IMRPhenomXHM_NSBH, SEOBNRv5HM_ROM_NRTidalv3_NSBH, and IMRPhenomXPHM_NSBH incorporating higher modes and tidal effects via NRTidalv3 extensions, validated against NR simulations and applied to GWTC events.
A cross-correlation search of ~11,000 event pairs in GWTC-4 including sub-threshold candidates finds no lensed GW pairs above 3σ, setting an upper bound of ≤1.5/yr on the lensing rate.
Introduces a generalized fast framework for modeling interaction-powered transients with arbitrary CSM profiles and multi-wavelength outputs.
Simulations forecast that 10 years of Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer data could detect the cosmic dipole magnitude using strongly lensed GW events, with tighter bounds from combining double, triple, and quadruple lensed systems.
A reference-frequency-independent detection statistic for eccentric binary mergers is introduced and applied to GW200105, yielding ln B ≤ 0.9 in favor of the eccentric aligned-spin model over the quasi-circular precessing model.
Dingo-Pop uses a transformer to perform amortized, end-to-end population inference from GW strain data in seconds, bypassing per-event Monte Carlo sampling.
Numerical simulations of equal-mass boson-star mergers reveal larger waveform deviations from black-hole binaries in late inspiral and merger, plus odd multipole excitations for certain scalar-field phases, with some signals degenerate until IMR consistency tests are applied.
GreyRing model based on greybody factors reproduces numerical relativity ringdown signals with mismatches of order 10^{-6} and enables a new post-merger consistency test of general relativity applied to GW250114.
LIGO and Virgo detected 39 compact binary coalescence events in O3a, including 13 new ones, with black hole binaries up to 150 solar masses and the first significantly asymmetric mass ratios.
All known compact binary mergers show line-of-sight accelerations consistent with zero under a new time-domain Doppler-shift model, with current detectors only sensitive to high-acceleration scenarios.
Reformulation of frequency-domain narrowband cross-correlation estimators for SGWB searches provides new expressions for estimators and covariances, while showing that widely used prior expressions still yield correct posteriors and log-Bayes factors.
Mode-by-mode filtering of higher-order modes enables low-latency marginalization over mode information in NSBH gravitational-wave signals, tightening constraints on distance, inclination, and secondary mass.
A targeted hierarchical search refines GstLAL low-latency gravitational wave candidates to improve sky localization by 16.75% on average using O3 data and has been adopted for O4.
Bayesian multiband analysis shows LISA and Taiji reconstruct PTA-compatible domain wall parameters in the strong-signal regime, with joint PTA priors reducing 10D degeneracies.
Two LIGO transients are consistent with domain wall signals from a shared scalar field but binary black hole models remain favored, with a morphological degeneracy identified.
SEOBNRv6EHM reduces parameter biases for eccentric binaries versus prior models and shows mild support for eccentricity in five catalog events plus comparable unbound fits for three high-mass events.
citing papers explorer
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GW240925 and GW250207: Astrophysical Calibration of Gravitational-wave Detectors
The first informative astrophysical calibration of gravitational-wave detectors is reported using GW240925 and GW250207.
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Joint inference of line-of-sight acceleration and orbital eccentricity in neutron-star--black-hole binaries
All five NSBH events are consistent with zero line-of-sight acceleration; the joint posterior for GW200105_162426 disfavors both zero LOSA and zero eccentricity at 90% credibility.
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End-to-End Population Inference from Gravitational-Wave Strain using Transformers
Dingo-Pop uses a transformer to perform amortized, end-to-end population inference from GW strain data in seconds, bypassing per-event Monte Carlo sampling.
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Novel ringdown tests of general relativity with black hole greybody factors
GreyRing model based on greybody factors reproduces numerical relativity ringdown signals with mismatches of order 10^{-6} and enables a new post-merger consistency test of general relativity applied to GW250114.
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Scalar fields around black hole binaries in LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA
Semi-analytic waveform model for scalar environments around black hole binaries is validated against numerical relativity and applied to LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA data to obtain upper limits on scalar densities with tentative evidence in GW190728.
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Black Hole Spectroscopy and Tests of General Relativity with GW250114
GW250114 data confirm the remnant is consistent with a Kerr black hole and bound the dominant quadrupolar mode frequency to within a few percent of the GR prediction, with constraints tighter than prior multi-event catalogs.
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The Impact of Spin Priors on Parameterized Tests of General Relativity
Spin prior choices propagate into tests of GR via the 1.5PN deviation parameter δφ̂3 in a non-trivial, event-dependent way, with stronger effects for short-inspiral events and partial degeneracy with χ_eff when the deviation is included.
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Bayesian Analysis of Gravitational Wave Microlensing Effects from Galactic Double White Dwarfs
Bayesian analysis of simulated Taiji observations shows microlensing from lenses above 10^5 solar masses can be distinguished from unlensed DWD signals when separation is below 3 Einstein radii, while lower masses or larger separations cannot.
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Biased parameter inference of eccentric, spin-precessing binary black holes
Eccentric BBH signals recovered with quasi-circular precessing models show biases in chirp mass and χ_p; Bayes factors favor eccentric aligned-spin models when both eccentricity and precession are present.
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Basilic: An end-to-end pipeline for Bayesian burst inference and model classification in gravitational-wave data
Basilic is an end-to-end Bayesian pipeline for gravitational-wave burst inference and model classification, with a case study showing signal degeneracies between binary black hole mergers and cosmic strings.
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GW190711_030756 and GW200114_020818: astrophysical interpretation of two asymmetric binary black hole mergers in the IAS catalog
Two asymmetric BBH mergers are characterized with mass ratios 0.35 and ≤0.20; one shows high spins, negative χ_eff, and strong precession, suggesting an emerging population of massive rapidly spinning systems.
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GWTC-2.1: Deep Extended Catalog of Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the First Half of the Third Observing Run
GWTC-2.1 adds eight new high-significance compact binary coalescence events to the prior catalog, extending the observed black hole mass range and including candidates inside the pair-instability mass gap.
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Improved Constraints on Non-Kerr Deviations from Binary Black Hole Inspirals Using GWTC-4 Data
Bayesian constraints from GWTC-4 binary black hole inspirals show Johannsen metric deformation parameters α13 and ε3 consistent with zero, supporting the Kerr hypothesis.
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The Science of the Einstein Telescope
The paper provides state-of-the-art predictions for the Einstein Telescope's impact on fundamental physics, cosmology, compact-object astrophysics, and multi-messenger astronomy across its proposed configurations.
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Tests of General Relativity with GWTC-3
No evidence for physics beyond general relativity is found in the analysis of 15 GW events from GWTC-3, with consistency in residuals, PN parameters, and remnant properties.