Search for intermediate-mass black hole binaries in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo

authored by

The Virgo Collaboration , The Virgo Collaboration , R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, N. Adhikari, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, D. Agarwal, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, T. Akutsu, S. Albanesi, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, C. Anand, S. Anand, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. Ando, T. Andrade, N. Andres, T. Andrić, S. V. Angelova, S. Ansoldi, J. M. Antelis, S. Antier, S. Appert, S. Danilishin, K. Danzmann, M. Heurs, A. Hreibi, K. Isleif, J. Junker, H. Lück, M. Matiushechkina, M. Nery, B. W. Schulte, H. Vahlbruch, D. Wilken, B. Willke, D. S. Wu, Fabio Bergamin, Aparna Bisht, Nina Bode, Phillip Booker, Marc Brinkmann, N. Gohlke, A. Heidt, J. Heinze, S. Hochheim, Wolfgang Kastaun, R. Kirchhoff, Patrick Koch, N. Koper, Volker Kringel, N. V. Krishnendu, Gerrit Kühn, S. Leavey, J. Lehmann, J. Liu, James Lough, Moritz Mehmet, Fabian Meylahn, Nikhil Mukund, S. L. Nadji, F. Ohme, M. Schneewind, B. F. Schutz, J. Venneberg, J. von Wrangel, Michael Weinert, F. Wellmann, Peter Weßels, W. Winkler, J. Woehler

Abstract

Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range 100-10(5)x2006;M-circle dot, between black holes (BHs) that formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most energetic gravitational-wave sources accessible by the terrestrial detector network. Searches of the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo did not yield any significant IMBH binary signals. In the third observing run (O3), the increased network sensitivity enabled the detection of GW190521, a signal consistent with a binary merger of mass similar to 150 x2006;M-circle dot providing direct evidence of IMBH formation. Here, we report on a dedicated search of O3 data for further IMBH binary mergers, combining both modeled (matched filter) and model-independent search methods. We find some marginal candidates, but none are sufficiently significant to indicate detection of further IMBH mergers. We quantify the sensitivity of the individual search methods and of the combined search using a suite of IMBH binary signals obtained via numerical relativity, including the effects of spins misaligned with the binary orbital axis, and present the resulting upper limits on astrophysical merger rates. Our most stringent limit is for equal mass and aligned spin BH binary of total mass 200 x2006;M-circle dot and effective aligned spin 0.8 at 0.056 Gpc(-3) yr(-1) (90, a factor of 3.5 more constraining than previous LIGO-Virgo limits. We also update the estimated rate of mergers similar to GW190521 to 0.08 Gpc(-3) yr(-1).

Organisation(s)

Institute of Gravitation Physics

External Organisation(s)

California Institute of Caltech (Caltech)
Louisiana State University
Universita di Salerno
Monte S. Angelo University Federico II
Monash University
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Australian National University
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)
University of Cambridge
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
University of Birmingham
Northwestern University
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
Sezione di Pisa
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1
University of Tokyo
Universitat de Barcelona
University Grenoble-Alpes (UGA)
Gran Sasso Science Institute
University of Udine
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Université de Paris
National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef)
Maastricht University
Universität Hamburg
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics India
Cardiff University

Type

Article

Journal

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Volume

659

ISSN

0004-6361

Publication date

16.03.2022

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202141452 (Access: Closed)

 

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