GW170608: Observation of a 19 Solar-mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

Abstract

On 2017 June 8 at 02:01:16.49 UTC, a gravitational-wave (GW) signal from the merger of two stellar-mass black holes was observed by the two Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detectors with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13. This system is the lightest black hole binary so far observed, with component masses of 12 − 2 + 7 M ⊙ and 7 − 2 + 2 M ⊙ (90% credible intervals). These lie in the range of measured black hole masses in low-mass X-ray binaries, thus allowing us to compare black holes detected through GWs with electromagnetic observations. The source’s luminosity distance is 340 − 140 + 140 Mpc , corresponding to redshift 0.07 − 0.03 + 0.03 . We verify that the signal waveform is consistent with the predictions of general relativity.