Rumors of 3rd LIGO Event: New Scientific Article Sheds Light

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the recent announcements regarding gravitational wave events detected by LIGO, specifically referencing the event on 14-Sep-2015 and a subsequent event on 12-Oct-2015 as detailed in the paper LIGO-P1500217. The latter event has an 84-91% probability of being of astrophysical origin, indicating it may be a weak detection. Additionally, a new search for optical counterparts initiated in late December suggests the detection of another significant event that has not yet been publicly reported. This indicates ongoing developments in LIGO's research and detection capabilities.

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phyzguy
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I'm trying to reconcile yesterday's announcements with the rumors that have been reported. I and others have heard rumors of three events. Yesterday they reported on the event from 14-Sep-2015, and the paper LIGO-P1500217 titled "The Rate of Binary Black Hole Mergers Inferred from Advanced LIGO Observations Surrounding GW150914" at the LIGO DCC site refers to an event on 12-Oct-2015, but says that it has only an 84-91% chance of being of astrophysical origin. So this was presumably a weak event. Now, look at this article on New Scientist, where someone has been tracking LIGO's search for optical counterparts. The blue search that began in mid-September clearly corresponds to the event we heard about yesterday. But there is a new search that began in late December. So it looks like they saw another high-signifcance event in late December that we have yet to hear about. More to come!
 
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Clever detective work. Thanks.