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Testing the No-Hair Theorem with GW150914

Maximiliano Isi, Matthew Giesler, Will M. Farr, Mark A. Scheel, and Saul A. Teukolsky
Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 111102 – Published 12 September 2019
Physics logo See Synopsis: Hunting for Hair on Coalescing Black Holes
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Abstract

We analyze gravitational-wave data from the first LIGO detection of a binary black-hole merger (GW150914) in search of the ringdown of the remnant black hole. Using observations beginning at the peak of the signal, we find evidence of the fundamental quasinormal mode and at least one overtone, both associated with the dominant angular mode (=m=2), with 3.6σ confidence. A ringdown model including overtones allows us to measure the final mass and spin magnitude of the remnant exclusively from postinspiral data, obtaining an estimate in agreement with the values inferred from the full signal. The mass and spin values we measure from the ringdown agree with those obtained using solely the fundamental mode at a later time, but have smaller uncertainties. Agreement between the postinspiral measurements of mass and spin and those using the full waveform supports the hypothesis that the GW150914 merger produced a Kerr black hole, as predicted by general relativity, and provides a test of the no-hair theorem at the 10% level. An independent measurement of the frequency of the first overtone yields agreement with the no-hair hypothesis at the 20% level. As the detector sensitivity improves and the detected population of black-hole mergers grows, we can expect that using overtones will provide even stronger tests.

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  • Received 5 May 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.111102

© 2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Synopsis

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Hunting for Hair on Coalescing Black Holes

Published 12 September 2019

A fresh look at data from the first detected black-hole merger supports the “no hair” theorem and proves the potential of black-hole spectroscopy.

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Authors & Affiliations

Maximiliano Isi1,*, Matthew Giesler2, Will M. Farr3,4, Mark A. Scheel2, and Saul A. Teukolsky2,5

  • 1LIGO Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 2TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
  • 3Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10010, USA
  • 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
  • 5Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

  • *maxisi@mit.edu

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Issue

Vol. 123, Iss. 11 — 13 September 2019

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