GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral

Other free copies

• Maastricht University (cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl)Published version · Web page
• University of the West of Scotland (research-portal.uws.ac.uk)Published version · Web page
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (research.vu.nl)Published version · Web page
• Cardiff University (orca.cardiff.ac.uk)Accepted manuscript · PDF
• University of Strathclyde (strathprints.strath.ac.uk)Accepted manuscript · PDF
• University of Zurich (zora.uzh.ch)Accepted manuscript · PDF
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (arxiv.org)Preprint · PDF
• Cornell University (arxiv.org)Preprint · PDF
• Ghent University (biblio.ugent.be)Preprint · PDF
• hdl.handle.netPreprint · PDF
• University of Trento (iris.unitn.it)Preprint · PDF
• Office of Scientific and Technical Information (osti.gov)Preprint · PDF
• University of Copenhagen (curis.ku.dk)Preprint · PDF
• Leibniz University Hannover (repo.uni-hannover.de)Preprint · PDF
• California Institute of Technology (resolver.caltech.edu)Preprint · Web page
• Monash University (research.monash.edu)Preprint · Web page
• The University of Western Australia (research-repository.uwa.edu.au)Preprint · Web page
• University of Pisa (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• University of Rome Tor Vergata (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• The University of Adelaide (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• Université Libre de Bruxelles (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• Eötvös Loránd University (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• Max Planck Digital Library (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• Australian National University (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• University of Urbino (journals.aps.org)Preprint · Web page
• University of Liège (orbi.uliege.be)Preprint · Web page
• Università di Camerino (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• University of Birmingham (research.birmingham.ac.uk)Preprint · Web page
• University of Birmingham (scopus.com)Preprint · Web page
• Swinburne University of Technology (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• hdl.handle.netPreprint · Web page
• Leibniz University Hannover (repo.uni-hannover.de)Preprint · Web page
• Radboud University Nijmegen (hdl.handle.net)Preprint · Web page
• Cornell University (doi.org)Free copy · Web page
• doi.orgFree copy · Web page
• University of Zurich (doi.org)Free copy · Web page

Abstract

On August 17, 2017 at 12∶41:04 UTC the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detectors made their first observation of a binary neutron star inspiral. The signal, GW170817, was detected with a combined signal-to-noise ratio of 32.4 and a false-alarm-rate estimate of less than one per 8.0×10^{4} years. We infer the component masses of the binary to be between 0.86 and 2.26 M_{⊙}, in agreement with masses of known neutron stars. Restricting the component spins to the range inferred in binary neutron stars, we find the component masses to be in the range 1.17-1.60 M_{⊙}, with the total mass of the system 2.74_{-0.01}^{+0.04}M_{⊙}. The source was localized within a sky region of 28 deg^{2} (90% probability) and had a luminosity distance of 40_{-14}^{+8} Mpc, the closest and most precisely localized gravitational-wave signal yet. The association with the γ-ray burst GRB 170817A, detected by Fermi-GBM 1.7 s after the coalescence, corroborates the hypothesis of a neutron star merger and provides the first direct evidence of a link between these mergers and short γ-ray bursts. Subsequent identification of transient counterparts across the electromagnetic spectrum in the same location further supports the interpretation of this event as a neutron star merger. This unprecedented joint gravitational and electromagnetic observation provides insight into astrophysics, dense matter, gravitation, and cosmology.