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GW150914: First results from the search for binary black hole coalescence with Advanced LIGO
B. P. Abbott,
1
R. Abbott,
1
T. D. Abbott,
2
M. R. Abernathy,
1
F. Acernese,
3
,
4
K. Ackley,
5
C. Adams,
6
T. Adams,
7
P. Addesso,
3
R. X. Adhikari,
1
V. B. Adya,
8
C. Affeldt,
8
M. Agathos,
9
K. Agatsuma,
9
N. Aggarwal,
10
O. D. Aguiar,
11
L. Aiello,
12
,
13
A. Ain,
14
P. Ajith,
15
B. Allen,
8
,
16
,
17
A. Allocca,
18
,
19
P. A. Altin,
20
S. B. Anderson,
1
W. G. Anderson,
16
K. Arai,
1
M. C. Araya,
1
C. C. Arceneaux,
21
J. S. Areeda,
22
N. Arnaud,
23
K. G. Arun,
24
S. Ascenzi,
25
,
13
G. Ashton,
26
M. Ast,
27
S. M. Aston,
6
P. Astone,
28
P. Aufmuth,
8
C. Aulbert,
8
S. Babak,
29
P. Bacon,
30
M. K. M. Bader,
9
P. T. Baker,
31
F. Baldaccini,
32
,
33
G. Ballardin,
34
S. W. Ballmer,
35
J. C. Barayoga,
1
S. E. Barclay,
36
B. C. Barish,
1
D. Barker,
37
F. Barone,
3
,
4
B. Barr,
36
L. Barsotti,
10
M. Barsuglia,
30
D. Barta,
38
J. Bartlett,
37
I. Bartos,
39
R. Bassiri,
40
A. Basti,
18
,
19
J. C. Batch,
37
C. Baune,
8
V. Bavigadda,
34
M. Bazzan,
41
,
42
B. Behnke,
29
M. Bejger,
43
A. S. Bell,
36
C. J. Bell,
36
B. K. Berger,
1
J. Bergman,
37
G. Bergmann,
8
C. P. L. Berry,
44
D. Bersanetti,
45
,
46
A. Bertolini,
9
J. Betzwieser,
6
S. Bhagwat,
35
R. Bhandare,
47
I. A. Bilenko,
48
G. Billingsley,
1
J. Birch,
6
R. Birney,
49
S. Biscans,
10
A. Bisht,
8
,
17
M. Bitossi,
34
C. Biwer,
35
M. A. Bizouard,
23
J. K. Blackburn,
1
C. D. Blair,
50
D. G. Blair,
50
R. M. Blair,
37
S. Bloemen,
51
O. Bock,
8
T. P. Bodiya,
10
M. Boer,
52
G. Bogaert,
52
C. Bogan,
8
A. Bohe,
29
K. Boh
́
emier,
35
P. Bojtos,
53
C. Bond,
44
F. Bondu,
54
R. Bonnand,
7
B. A. Boom,
9
R. Bork,
1
V. Boschi,
18
,
19
S. Bose,
55
,
14
Y. Bouffanais,
30
A. Bozzi,
34
C. Bradaschia,
19
P. R. Brady,
16
V. B. Braginsky,
48
M. Branchesi,
56
,
57
J. E. Brau,
58
T. Briant,
59
A. Brillet,
52
M. Brinkmann,
8
V. Brisson,
23
P. Brockill,
16
A. F. Brooks,
1
D. A. Brown,
35
D. D. Brown,
44
N. M. Brown,
10
C. C. Buchanan,
2
A. Buikema,
10
T. Bulik,
60
H. J. Bulten,
61
,
9
A. Buonanno,
29
,
62
D. Buskulic,
7
C. Buy,
30
R. L. Byer,
40
M. Cabero,
8
L. Cadonati,
63
G. Cagnoli,
64
,
65
C. Cahillane,
1
J. Calder
́
on Bustillo,
66
,
63
T. Callister,
1
E. Calloni,
67
,
4
J. B. Camp,
68
K. C. Cannon,
69
J. Cao,
70
C. D. Capano,
8
E. Capocasa,
30
F. Carbognani,
34
S. Caride,
71
J. Casanueva Diaz,
23
C. Casentini,
25
,
13
S. Caudill,
16
M. Cavagli
`
a,
21
F. Cavalier,
23
R. Cavalieri,
34
G. Cella,
19
C. B. Cepeda,
1
L. Cerboni Baiardi,
56
,
57
G. Cerretani,
18
,
19
E. Cesarini,
25
,
13
R. Chakraborty,
1
T. Chalermsongsak,
1
S. J. Chamberlin,
72
M. Chan,
36
S. Chao,
73
P. Charlton,
74
E. Chassande-Mottin,
30
H. Y. Chen,
75
Y. Chen,
76
C. Cheng,
73
A. Chincarini,
46
A. Chiummo,
34
H. S. Cho,
77
M. Cho,
62
J. H. Chow,
20
N. Christensen,
78
Q. Chu,
50
S. Chua,
59
S. Chung,
50
G. Ciani,
5
F. Clara,
37
J. A. Clark,
63
J. H. Clayton,
16
F. Cleva,
52
E. Coccia,
25
,
12
,
13
P.-F. Cohadon,
59
T. Cokelaer,
91
A. Colla,
79
,
28
C. G. Collette,
80
L. Cominsky,
81
M. Constancio Jr.,
11
A. Conte,
79
,
28
L. Conti,
42
D. Cook,
37
T. R. Corbitt,
2
N. Cornish,
31
A. Corsi,
71
S. Cortese,
34
C. A. Costa,
11
M. W. Coughlin,
78
S. B. Coughlin,
82
J.-P. Coulon,
52
S. T. Countryman,
39
P. Couvares,
1
E. E. Cowan,
63
D. M. Coward,
50
M. J. Cowart,
6
D. C. Coyne,
1
R. Coyne,
71
K. Craig,
36
J. D. E. Creighton,
16
T. D. Creighton,
85
J. Cripe,
2
S. G. Crowder,
83
A. Cumming,
36
L. Cunningham,
36
E. Cuoco,
34
T. Dal Canton,
8
S. L. Danilishin,
36
S. D’Antonio,
13
K. Danzmann,
17
,
8
N. S. Darman,
84
V. Dattilo,
34
I. Dave,
47
H. P. Daveloza,
85
M. Davier,
23
G. S. Davies,
36
E. J. Daw,
86
R. Day,
34
S. De,
35
D. DeBra,
40
G. Debreczeni,
38
J. Degallaix,
65
M. De Laurentis,
67
,
4
S. Del
́
eglise,
59
W. Del Pozzo,
44
T. Denker,
8
,
17
T. Dent,
8
H. Dereli,
52
V. Dergachev,
1
R. T. DeRosa,
6
R. De Rosa,
67
,
4
R. DeSalvo,
87
S. Dhurandhar,
14
M. C. D
́
ıaz,
85
A. Dietz,
21
L. Di Fiore,
4
M. Di Giovanni,
79
,
28
A. Di Lieto,
18
,
19
S. Di Pace,
79
,
28
I. Di Palma,
29
,
8
A. Di Virgilio,
19
G. Dojcinoski,
88
V. Dolique,
65
F. Donovan,
10
K. L. Dooley,
21
S. Doravari,
6
,
8
R. Douglas,
36
T. P. Downes,
16
M. Drago,
8
,
89
,
90
R. W. P. Drever,
1
J. C. Driggers,
37
Z. Du,
70
M. Ducrot,
7
S. E. Dwyer,
37
T. B. Edo,
86
M. C. Edwards,
78
A. Effler,
6
H.-B. Eggenstein,
8
P. Ehrens,
1
J. Eichholz,
5
S. S. Eikenberry,
5
W. Engels,
76
R. C. Essick,
10
T. Etzel,
1
M. Evans,
10
T. M. Evans,
6
R. Everett,
72
M. Factourovich,
39
V. Fafone,
25
,
13
,
12
H. Fair,
35
S. Fairhurst,
91
X. Fan,
70
Q. Fang,
50
S. Farinon,
46
B. Farr,
75
W. M. Farr,
44
M. Favata,
88
M. Fays,
91
H. Fehrmann,
8
M. M. Fejer,
40
I. Ferrante,
18
,
19
E. C. Ferreira,
11
F. Ferrini,
34
F. Fidecaro,
18
,
19
I. Fiori,
34
D. Fiorucci,
30
R. P. Fisher,
35
R. Flaminio,
65
,
92
M. Fletcher,
36
N. Fotopoulos,
1
J.-D. Fournier,
52
S. Franco,
23
S. Frasca,
79
,
28
F. Frasconi,
19
M. Frei,
112
Z. Frei,
53
A. Freise,
44
R. Frey,
58
V. Frey,
23
T. T. Fricke,
8
P. Fritschel,
10
V. V. Frolov,
6
P. Fulda,
5
M. Fyffe,
6
H. A. G. Gabbard,
21
J. R. Gair,
93
L. Gammaitoni,
32
,
33
S. G. Gaonkar,
14
F. Garufi,
67
,
4
A. Gatto,
30
G. Gaur,
94
,
95
N. Gehrels,
68
G. Gemme,
46
B. Gendre,
52
E. Genin,
34
A. Gennai,
19
J. George,
47
L. Gergely,
96
V. Germain,
7
Archisman Ghosh,
15
S. Ghosh,
51
,
9
J. A. Giaime,
2
,
6
K. D. Giardina,
6
A. Giazotto,
19
K. Gill,
97
A. Glaefke,
36
E. Goetz,
98
R. Goetz,
5
L. M. Goggin,
16
L. Gondan,
53
G. Gonz
́
alez,
2
J. M. Gonzalez Castro,
18
,
19
A. Gopakumar,
99
N. A. Gordon,
36
M. L. Gorodetsky,
48
S. E. Gossan,
1
M. Gosselin,
34
R. Gouaty,
7
C. Graef,
36
P. B. Graff,
62
M. Granata,
65
A. Grant,
36
S. Gras,
10
C. Gray,
37
G. Greco,
56
,
57
A. C. Green,
44
P. Groot,
51
H. Grote,
8
S. Grunewald,
29
G. M. Guidi,
56
,
57
X. Guo,
70
A. Gupta,
14
M. K. Gupta,
95
K. E. Gushwa,
1
E. K. Gustafson,
1
R. Gustafson,
98
J. J. Hacker,
22
B. R. Hall,
55
E. D. Hall,
1
G. Hammond,
36
M. Haney,
99
M. M. Hanke,
8
J. Hanks,
37
C. Hanna,
72
M. D. Hannam,
91
J. Hanson,
6
T. Hardwick,
2
J. Harms,
56
,
57
G. M. Harry,
100
I. W. Harry,
29
M. J. Hart,
36
M. T. Hartman,
5
C.-J. Haster,
44
K. Haughian,
36
A. Heidmann,
59
M. C. Heintze,
5
,
6
H. Heitmann,
52
P. Hello,
23
G. Hemming,
34
M. Hendry,
36
I. S. Heng,
36
J. Hennig,
36
A. W. Heptonstall,
1
M. Heurs,
8
,
17
S. Hild,
36
D. Hoak,
101
K. A. Hodge,
1
D. Hofman,
65
S. E. Hollitt,
102
K. Holt,
6
D. E. Holz,
75
P. Hopkins,
91
D. J. Hosken,
102
J. Hough,
36
E. A. Houston,
36
E. J. Howell,
50
Y. M. Hu,
36
S. Huang,
73
E. A. Huerta,
103
,
82
D. Huet,
23
B. Hughey,
97
S. Husa,
66
S. H. Huttner,
36
T. Huynh-Dinh,
6
A. Idrisy,
72
N. Indik,
8
D. R. Ingram,
37
R. Inta,
71
H. N. Isa,
36
J.-M. Isac,
59
M. Isi,
1
G. Islas,
22
T. Isogai,
10
B. R. Iyer,
15
K. Izumi,
37
T. Jacqmin,
59
H. Jang,
77
K. Jani,
63
P. Jaranowski,
104
S. Jawahar,
105
F. Jim
́
enez-Forteza,
66
W. W. Johnson,
2
D. I. Jones,
26
G. Jones,
91
R. Jones,
36
R. J. G. Jonker,
9
L. Ju,
50
arXiv:1602.03839v3 [gr-qc] 27 Apr 2016
2
Haris K,
106
C. V. Kalaghatgi,
24
,
91
V. Kalogera,
82
S. Kandhasamy,
21
G. Kang,
77
J. B. Kanner,
1
S. Karki,
58
M. Kasprzack,
2
,
23
,
34
E. Katsavounidis,
10
W. Katzman,
6
S. Kaufer,
17
T. Kaur,
50
K. Kawabe,
37
F. Kawazoe,
8
,
17
F. K
́
ef
́
elian,
52
M. S. Kehl,
69
D. Keitel,
8
,
66
D. B. Kelley,
35
W. Kells,
1
D. G. Keppel,
8
R. Kennedy,
86
J. S. Key,
85
A. Khalaidovski,
8
F. Y. Khalili,
48
I. Khan,
12
S. Khan,
91
Z. Khan,
95
E. A. Khazanov,
107
N. Kijbunchoo,
37
C. Kim,
77
J. Kim,
108
K. Kim,
109
Nam-Gyu Kim,
77
Namjun Kim,
40
Y.-M. Kim,
108
E. J. King,
102
P. J. King,
37
D. L. Kinzel,
6
J. S. Kissel,
37
L. Kleybolte,
27
S. Klimenko,
5
S. M. Koehlenbeck,
8
K. Kokeyama,
2
S. Koley,
9
V. Kondrashov,
1
A. Kontos,
10
M. Korobko,
27
W. Z. Korth,
1
I. Kowalska,
60
D. B. Kozak,
1
V. Kringel,
8
B. Krishnan,
8
A. Kr
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110
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111
C. Krueger,
17
G. Kuehn,
8
P. Kumar,
69
L. Kuo,
73
A. Kutynia,
110
B. D. Lackey,
35
M. Landry,
37
J. Lange,
112
B. Lantz,
40
P. D. Lasky,
113
A. Lazzarini,
1
C. Lazzaro,
63
,
42
P. Leaci,
29
,
79
,
28
S. Leavey,
36
E. O. Lebigot,
30
,
70
C. H. Lee,
108
H. K. Lee,
109
H. M. Lee,
114
K. Lee,
36
A. Lenon,
35
M. Leonardi,
89
,
90
J. R. Leong,
8
N. Leroy,
23
N. Letendre,
7
Y. Levin,
113
B. M. Levine,
37
T. G. F. Li,
1
A. Libson,
10
T. B. Littenberg,
115
N. A. Lockerbie,
105
J. Logue,
36
A. L. Lombardi,
101
J. E. Lord,
35
M. Lorenzini,
12
,
13
V. Loriette,
116
M. Lormand,
6
G. Losurdo,
57
J. D. Lough,
8
,
17
H. L
̈
uck,
17
,
8
A. P. Lundgren,
8
J. Luo,
78
R. Lynch,
10
Y. Ma,
50
T. MacDonald,
40
B. Machenschalk,
8
M. MacInnis,
10
D. M. Macleod,
2
F. Maga
̃
na-Sandoval,
35
R. M. Magee,
55
M. Mageswaran,
1
E. Majorana,
28
I. Maksimovic,
116
V. Malvezzi,
25
,
13
N. Man,
52
I. Mandel,
44
V. Mandic,
83
V. Mangano,
36
G. L. Mansell,
20
M. Manske,
16
M. Mantovani,
34
F. Marchesoni,
117
,
33
F. Marion,
7
S. M
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39
Z. M
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39
A. S. Markosyan,
40
E. Maros,
1
F. Martelli,
56
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57
L. Martellini,
52
I. W. Martin,
36
R. M. Martin,
5
D. V. Martynov,
1
J. N. Marx,
1
K. Mason,
10
A. Masserot,
7
T. J. Massinger,
35
M. Masso-Reid,
36
F. Matichard,
10
L. Matone,
39
N. Mavalvala,
10
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55
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37
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20
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6
S. C. McGuire,
118
G. McIntyre,
1
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1
D. J. A. McKechan,
91
D. J. McManus,
20
S. T. McWilliams,
103
D. Meacher,
72
G. D. Meadors,
29
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8
J. Meidam,
9
A. Melatos,
84
G. Mendell,
37
D. Mendoza-Gandara,
8
R. A. Mercer,
16
E. Merilh,
37
M. Merzougui,
52
S. Meshkov,
1
E. Messaritaki,
1
C. Messenger,
36
C. Messick,
72
P. M. Meyers,
83
F. Mezzani,
28
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79
H. Miao,
44
C. Michel,
65
H. Middleton,
44
E. E. Mikhailov,
119
L. Milano,
67
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4
J. Miller,
10
M. Millhouse,
31
Y. Minenkov,
13
J. Ming,
29
,
8
S. Mirshekari,
120
C. Mishra,
15
S. Mitra,
14
V. P. Mitrofanov,
48
G. Mitselmakher,
5
R. Mittleman,
10
A. Moggi,
19
M. Mohan,
34
S. R. P. Mohapatra,
10
M. Montani,
56
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57
B. C. Moore,
88
C. J. Moore,
121
D. Moraru,
37
G. Moreno,
37
S. R. Morriss,
85
K. Mossavi,
8
B. Mours,
7
C. M. Mow-Lowry,
44
C. L. Mueller,
5
G. Mueller,
5
A. W. Muir,
91
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15
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16
S. Mukherjee,
85
N. Mukund,
14
A. Mullavey,
6
J. Munch,
102
D. J. Murphy,
39
P. G. Murray,
36
A. Mytidis,
5
I. Nardecchia,
25
,
13
L. Naticchioni,
79
,
28
R. K. Nayak,
122
V. Necula,
5
K. Nedkova,
101
G. Nelemans,
51
,
9
M. Neri,
45
,
46
A. Neunzert,
98
G. Newton,
36
T. T. Nguyen,
20
A. B. Nielsen,
8
S. Nissanke,
51
,
9
A. Nitz,
8
F. Nocera,
34
D. Nolting,
6
M. E. Normandin,
85
L. K. Nuttall,
35
J. Oberling,
37
E. Ochsner,
16
J. O’Dell,
123
E. Oelker,
10
G. H. Ogin,
124
J. J. Oh,
125
S. H. Oh,
125
F. Ohme,
91
M. Oliver,
66
P. Oppermann,
8
Richard J. Oram,
6
B. O’Reilly,
6
R. O’Shaughnessy,
112
D. J. Ottaway,
102
R. S. Ottens,
5
H. Overmier,
6
B. J. Owen,
71
A. Pai,
106
S. A. Pai,
47
J. R. Palamos,
58
O. Palashov,
107
C. Palomba,
28
A. Pal-Singh,
27
H. Pan,
73
Y. Pan,
62
C. Pankow,
82
F. Pannarale,
91
B. C. Pant,
47
F. Paoletti,
34
,
19
A. Paoli,
34
M. A. Papa,
29
,
16
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8
H. R. Paris,
40
W. Parker,
6
D. Pascucci,
36
A. Pasqualetti,
34
R. Passaquieti,
18
,
19
D. Passuello,
19
B. Patricelli,
18
,
19
Z. Patrick,
40
B. L. Pearlstone,
36
M. Pedraza,
1
R. Pedurand,
65
L. Pekowsky,
35
A. Pele,
6
S. Penn,
126
A. Perreca,
1
M. Phelps,
36
O. Piccinni,
79
,
28
M. Pichot,
52
F. Piergiovanni,
56
,
57
V. Pierro,
87
G. Pillant,
34
L. Pinard,
65
I. M. Pinto,
87
M. Pitkin,
36
R. Poggiani,
18
,
19
P. Popolizio,
34
A. Post,
8
J. Powell,
36
J. Prasad,
14
V. Predoi,
91
S. S. Premachandra,
113
T. Prestegard,
83
L. R. Price,
1
M. Prijatelj,
34
M. Principe,
87
S. Privitera,
29
G. A. Prodi,
89
,
90
L. Prokhorov,
48
O. Puncken,
8
M. Punturo,
33
P. Puppo,
28
M. P
̈
urrer,
29
H. Qi,
16
J. Qin,
50
V. Quetschke,
85
E. A. Quintero,
1
R. Quitzow-James,
58
F. J. Raab,
37
D. S. Rabeling,
20
H. Radkins,
37
P. Raffai,
53
S. Raja,
47
M. Rakhmanov,
85
P. Rapagnani,
79
,
28
V. Raymond,
29
M. Razzano,
18
,
19
V. Re,
25
J. Read,
22
C. M. Reed,
37
T. Regimbau,
52
L. Rei,
46
S. Reid,
49
D. H. Reitze,
1
,
5
H. Rew,
119
S. D. Reyes,
35
F. Ricci,
79
,
28
K. Riles,
98
N. A. Robertson,
1
,
36
R. Robie,
36
F. Robinet,
23
C. Robinson,
62
A. Rocchi,
13
A. C. Rodriguez,
2
L. Rolland,
7
J. G. Rollins,
1
V. J. Roma,
58
R. Romano,
3
,
4
G. Romanov,
119
J. H. Romie,
6
D. Rosi
́
nska,
127
,
43
S. Rowan,
36
A. R
̈
udiger,
8
P. Ruggi,
34
K. Ryan,
37
S. Sachdev,
1
T. Sadecki,
37
L. Sadeghian,
16
L. Salconi,
34
M. Saleem,
106
F. Salemi,
8
A. Samajdar,
122
L. Sammut,
84
,
113
E. J. Sanchez,
1
V. Sandberg,
37
B. Sandeen,
82
J. R. Sanders,
98
,
35
L. Santamar
́
ıa,
1
B. Sassolas,
65
B. S. Sathyaprakash,
91
P. R. Saulson,
35
O. Sauter,
98
R. L. Savage,
37
A. Sawadsky,
17
P. Schale,
58
R. Schilling
,
8
J. Schmidt,
8
P. Schmidt,
1
,
76
R. Schnabel,
27
R. M. S. Schofield,
58
A. Sch
̈
onbeck,
27
E. Schreiber,
8
D. Schuette,
8
,
17
B. F. Schutz,
91
,
29
J. Scott,
36
S. M. Scott,
20
D. Sellers,
6
A. S. Sengupta,
94
D. Sentenac,
34
V. Sequino,
25
,
13
A. Sergeev,
107
G. Serna,
22
Y. Setyawati,
51
,
9
A. Sevigny,
37
D. A. Shaddock,
20
S. Shah,
51
,
9
M. S. Shahriar,
82
M. Shaltev,
8
Z. Shao,
1
B. Shapiro,
40
P. Shawhan,
62
A. Sheperd,
16
D. H. Shoemaker,
10
D. M. Shoemaker,
63
K. Siellez,
52
,
63
X. Siemens,
16
D. Sigg,
37
A. D. Silva,
11
D. Simakov,
8
A. Singer,
1
L. P. Singer,
68
A. Singh,
29
,
8
R. Singh,
2
A. Singhal,
12
A. M. Sintes,
66
B. J. J. Slagmolen,
20
J. R. Smith,
22
N. D. Smith,
1
R. J. E. Smith,
1
E. J. Son,
125
B. Sorazu,
36
F. Sorrentino,
46
T. Souradeep,
14
A. K. Srivastava,
95
A. Staley,
39
M. Steinke,
8
J. Steinlechner,
36
S. Steinlechner,
36
D. Steinmeyer,
8
,
17
B. C. Stephens,
16
R. Stone,
85
K. A. Strain,
36
N. Straniero,
65
G. Stratta,
56
,
57
N. A. Strauss,
78
S. Strigin,
48
R. Sturani,
120
A. L. Stuver,
6
T. Z. Summerscales,
128
L. Sun,
84
P. J. Sutton,
91
B. L. Swinkels,
34
M. J. Szczepa
́
nczyk,
97
M. Tacca,
30
D. Talukder,
58
D. B. Tanner,
5
M. T
́
apai,
96
S. P. Tarabrin,
8
A. Taracchini,
29
3
R. Taylor,
1
T. Theeg,
8
M. P. Thirugnanasambandam,
1
E. G. Thomas,
44
M. Thomas,
6
P. Thomas,
37
K. A. Thorne,
6
K. S. Thorne,
76
E. Thrane,
113
S. Tiwari,
12
V. Tiwari,
91
K. V. Tokmakov,
105
C. Tomlinson,
86
M. Tonelli,
18
,
19
C. V. Torres
,
85
C. I. Torrie,
1
D. T
̈
oyr
̈
a,
44
F. Travasso,
32
,
33
G. Traylor,
6
D. Trifir
`
o,
21
M. C. Tringali,
89
,
90
L. Trozzo,
129
,
19
M. Tse,
10
M. Turconi,
52
D. Tuyenbayev,
85
D. Ugolini,
130
C. S. Unnikrishnan,
99
A. L. Urban,
16
S. A. Usman,
35
H. Vahlbruch,
17
G. Vajente,
1
G. Valdes,
85
N. van Bakel,
9
M. van Beuzekom,
9
J. F. J. van den Brand,
61
,
9
C. Van Den Broeck,
9
D. C. Vander-Hyde,
35
,
22
L. van der Schaaf,
9
J. V. van Heijningen,
9
A. A. van Veggel,
36
M. Vardaro,
41
,
42
S. Vass,
1
M. Vas
́
uth,
38
R. Vaulin,
10
A. Vecchio,
44
G. Vedovato,
42
J. Veitch,
44
P. J. Veitch,
102
K. Venkateswara,
131
D. Verkindt,
7
F. Vetrano,
56
,
57
A. Vicer
́
e,
56
,
57
S. Vinciguerra,
44
D. J. Vine,
49
J.-Y. Vinet,
52
S. Vitale,
10
T. Vo,
35
H. Vocca,
32
,
33
C. Vorvick,
37
D. Voss,
5
W. D. Vousden,
44
S. P. Vyatchanin,
48
A. R. Wade,
20
L. E. Wade,
132
M. Wade,
132
M. Walker,
2
L. Wallace,
1
S. Walsh,
16
,
8
,
29
G. Wang,
12
H. Wang,
44
M. Wang,
44
X. Wang,
70
Y. Wang,
50
R. L. Ward,
20
J. Warner,
37
M. Was,
7
B. Weaver,
37
L.-W. Wei,
52
M. Weinert,
8
A. J. Weinstein,
1
R. Weiss,
10
T. Welborn,
6
L. Wen,
50
P. Weßels,
8
M. West,
35
T. Westphal,
8
K. Wette,
8
J. T. Whelan,
112
,
8
D. J. White,
86
B. F. Whiting,
5
K. Wiesner,
8
R. D. Williams,
1
A. R. Williamson,
91
J. L. Willis,
133
B. Willke,
17
,
8
M. H. Wimmer,
8
,
17
W. Winkler,
8
C. C. Wipf,
1
A. G. Wiseman,
16
H. Wittel,
8
,
17
G. Woan,
36
J. Worden,
37
J. L. Wright,
36
G. Wu,
6
J. Yablon,
82
W. Yam,
10
H. Yamamoto,
1
C. C. Yancey,
62
M. J. Yap,
20
H. Yu,
10
M. Yvert,
7
A. Zadro
̇
zny,
110
L. Zangrando,
42
M. Zanolin,
97
J.-P. Zendri,
42
M. Zevin,
82
F. Zhang,
10
L. Zhang,
1
M. Zhang,
119
Y. Zhang,
112
C. Zhao,
50
M. Zhou,
82
Z. Zhou,
82
X. J. Zhu,
50
M. E. Zucker,
1
,
10
S. E. Zuraw,
101
and J. Zweizig
1
(LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration)
Deceased, May 2015.
Deceased, March 2015.
1
LIGO, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
2
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
3
Universit
`
a di Salerno, Fisciano, I-84084 Salerno, Italy
4
INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Complesso Universitario di Monte S.Angelo, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
5
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
6
LIGO Livingston Observatory, Livingston, LA 70754, USA
7
Laboratoire d’Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules (LAPP),
Universit
́
e Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS/IN2P3, F-74941 Annecy-le-Vieux, France
8
Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut f
̈
ur Gravitationsphysik, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
9
Nikhef, Science Park, 1098 XG Amsterdam, Netherlands
10
LIGO, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
11
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, 12227-010 S
̃
ao Jos
́
e dos Campos, S
̃
ao Paulo, Brazil
12
INFN, Gran Sasso Science Institute, I-67100 L’Aquila, Italy
13
INFN, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, I-00133 Roma, Italy
14
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune 411007, India
15
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560012, India
16
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
17
Leibniz Universit
̈
at Hannover, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
18
Universit
`
a di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
19
INFN, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
20
Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
21
The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
22
California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA
23
LAL, Universit
́
e Paris-Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Universit
́
e Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France
24
Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai 603103, India
25
Universit
`
a di Roma Tor Vergata, I-00133 Roma, Italy
26
University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
27
Universit
̈
at Hamburg, D-22761 Hamburg, Germany
28
INFN, Sezione di Roma, I-00185 Roma, Italy
29
Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut f
̈
ur Gravitationsphysik, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
30
APC, AstroParticule et Cosmologie, Universit
́
e Paris Diderot, CNRS/IN2P3, CEA/Irfu,
Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cit
́
e, F-75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
31
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
32
Universit
`
a di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
33
INFN, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
34
European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), I-56021 Cascina, Pisa, Italy
35
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
36
SUPA, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
37
LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland, WA 99352, USA
38
Wigner RCP, RMKI, H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Mikl
́
os
́
ut 29-33, Hungary
39
Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
4
40
Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
41
Universit
`
a di Padova, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, I-35131 Padova, Italy
42
INFN, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy
43
CAMK-PAN, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland
44
University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
45
Universit
`
a degli Studi di Genova, I-16146 Genova, Italy
46
INFN, Sezione di Genova, I-16146 Genova, Italy
47
RRCAT, Indore MP 452013, India
48
Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
49
SUPA, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE, United Kingdom
50
University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
51
Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 GL Nijmegen, Netherlands
52
Artemis, Universit
́
e C
ˆ
ote d’Azur, CNRS, Observatoire C
ˆ
ote d’Azur, CS 34229, Nice cedex 4, France
53
MTA E
̈
otv
̈
os University, “Lendulet” Astrophysics Research Group, Budapest 1117, Hungary
54
Institut de Physique de Rennes, CNRS, Universit
́
e de Rennes 1, F-35042 Rennes, France
55
Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
56
Universit
`
a degli Studi di Urbino “Carlo Bo,” I-61029 Urbino, Italy
57
INFN, Sezione di Firenze, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
58
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
59
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universit
́
es, CNRS,
ENS-PSL Research University, Coll
`
ege de France, F-75005 Paris, France
60
Astronomical Observatory Warsaw University, 00-478 Warsaw, Poland
61
VU University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
62
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
63
Center for Relativistic Astrophysics and School of Physics,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
64
Institut Lumi
`
ere Mati
`
ere, Universit
́
e de Lyon, Universit
́
e Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UMR CNRS 5306, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
65
Laboratoire des Mat
́
eriaux Avanc
́
es (LMA), IN2P3/CNRS,
Universit
́
e de Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne, Lyon, France
66
Universitat de les Illes Balears, IAC3—IEEC, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
67
Universit
`
a di Napoli “Federico II,” Complesso Universitario di Monte S.Angelo, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
68
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
69
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H8, Canada
70
Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
71
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
72
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
73
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, 30013 Taiwan, Republic of China
74
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2678, Australia
75
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
76
Caltech CaRT, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
77
Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejeon 305-806, Korea
78
Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, USA
79
Universit
`
a di Roma “La Sapienza,” I-00185 Roma, Italy
80
University of Brussels, Brussels 1050, Belgium
81
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USA
82
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
83
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
84
The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
85
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA
86
The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
87
University of Sannio at Benevento, I-82100 Benevento,
Italy and INFN, Sezione di Napoli, I-80100 Napoli, Italy
88
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA
89
Universit
`
a di Trento, Dipartimento di Fisica, I-38123 Povo, Trento, Italy
90
INFN, Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, I-38123 Povo, Trento, Italy
91
Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
92
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
93
School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, United Kingdom
94
Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar Ahmedabad Gujarat 382424, India
95
Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428, India
96
University of Szeged, D
́
om t
́
er 9, Szeged 6720, Hungary
97
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ 86301, USA
98
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
99
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005, India
5
100
American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
101
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
102
University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
103
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
104
University of Białystok, 15-424 Białystok, Poland
105
SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ, United Kingdom
106
IISER-TVM, CET Campus, Trivandrum Kerala 695016, India
107
Institute of Applied Physics, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russia
108
Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Korea
109
Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea
110
NCBJ, 05-400
́
Swierk-Otwock, Poland
111
IM-PAN, 00-956 Warsaw, Poland
112
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
113
Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
114
Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea
115
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
116
ESPCI, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France
117
Universit
`
a di Camerino, Dipartimento di Fisica, I-62032 Camerino, Italy
118
Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA 70813, USA
119
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA
120
Instituto de F
́
ısica Te
́
orica, University Estadual Paulista/ICTP South
American Institute for Fundamental Research, S
̃
ao Paulo SP 01140-070, Brazil
121
University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom
122
IISER-Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal 741252, India
123
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, HSIC, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
124
Whitman College, 345 Boyer Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA
125
National Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Daejeon 305-390, Korea
126
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY 14456, USA
127
Janusz Gil Institute of Astronomy, University of Zielona G
́
ora, 65-265 Zielona G
́
ora, Poland
128
Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI 49104, USA
129
Universit
`
a di Siena, I-53100 Siena, Italy
130
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78212, USA
131
University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
132
Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022, USA
133
Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX 79699, USA
(Dated: April 28, 2016)
On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave
Observatory (LIGO) simultaneously observed the binary black hole merger GW150914. We report the results
of a matched-filter search using relativistic models of compact-object binaries that recovered GW150914 as the
most significant event during the coincident observations between the two LIGO detectors from September 12
to October 20, 2015. GW150914 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
.
1
σ
.
I. INTRODUCTION
On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the LIGO Han-
ford, WA, and Livingston, LA, observatories detected a signal
from the binary black hole merger GW150914 [1]. The initial
detection of the event was made by low-latency searches for
generic gravitational-wave transients [2]. We report the results
of a matched-filter search using relativistic models of compact
binary coalescence waveforms that recovered GW150914 as
the most significant event during the coincident observations
between the two LIGO detectors from September 12 to Oc-
tober 20, 2015. This is a subset of the data from Advanced
LIGO’s first observational period that ended on January 12,
2016.
The binary coalescence search targets gravitational-wave
emission from compact-object binaries with individual
masses from 1 M
to 99 M
, total mass less than 100 M
and
dimensionless spins up to 0.99. The search was performed
using two independently implemented analyses, referred to
as PyCBC [3–5] and GstLAL [6–8]. These analyses use a
common set of template waveforms [9–11], but differ in their
implementations of matched filtering [12, 13], their use of de-
tector data-quality information [14], the techniques used to
mitigate the effect of non-Gaussian noise transients in the de-
tector [6, 15], and the methods for estimating the noise back-
ground of the search [4, 16].
GW150914 was observed in both LIGO detectors [17] with
a time-of-arrival difference of 7 ms, which is less than the
10 ms inter-site propagation time, and a combined matched-
filter signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 24.
The search re-
ported a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per
203 000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5
.
1
σ
.
The basic features of the GW150914 signal point to it being
produced by the coalescence of two black holes [1]. The best-