Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Physics
Journal Title
PHYSICAL REVIEW D
Pub Date
7-11-2017
Volume
96
Issue
2
Abstract
During their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems. This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves (GWs) from merging intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHBs). The combined results from two independent search techniques were used in this study: the first employs a matched-filter algorithm that uses a bank of filters covering the GW signal parameter space, while the second is a generic search for GW transients (bursts). No GWs from IMBHBs were detected; therefore, we constrain the rate of several classes of IMBHB mergers. The most stringent limit is obtained for black holes of individual mass 100 M-circle dot, with spins aligned with the binary orbital angular momentum. For such systems, the merger rate is constrained to be less than 0.93 Gpc(-3) yr(-1) in comoving units at the 90% confidence level, an improvement of nearly 2 orders of magnitude over previous upper limits.
Recommended Citation
Abbott, B. P.; Mikhailov, Eugeniy E.; Rew, H.; and Zhang, M., Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first observing run of Advanced LIGO (2017). PHYSICAL REVIEW D, 96(2).
10.1103/PhysRevD.96.022001
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevD.96.022001
