Joint detection of gravitational waves from binary black hole and binary neutron star mergers by LIGO and Virgo

Abstract

Advanced Virgo detector joined advanced LIGO twin detectors on 1st August 2017 in the quest to look for the gravitational waves. The global network of three detectors was operational for 25 days until the LIGO shut down on 25th August 2017. Two gravitational wave events were registered during this period. One of them was the binary black hole merger dubbed as GW170814 and other one is binary neutron star merger referred to as GW170817. Electromagnetic counterpart associated with binary neutron star merger was promptly identified which marks the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy. This article describes these events emphasizing on the crucial role played by the Virgo and focusing on some methodological issues.

Keywords

• gravitational waves
• neutron stars
• black holes