Physics
LIGO Data Hint That Many Black Holes Were Born When Stars Died Without a Bang
A Caltech-led study of 257 black hole mergers finds a spike at 10 solar masses and a gap at 12 to 16, matching what 'failed supernova' theories predict.
Topic
LIGO
25 stories from Planck Standard. Latest: November 12, 2026.
PhysicsNew Locking Scheme Using Infrared Light Clears Path for Sharper LIGO Gravitational Wave Mirrors
Australian physicists showed an infrared handover method that works with crystalline mirror coatings that absorb the green light current detectors rely on.
PhysicsA Black Hole Merger Caught in October 2024 Had a Fast-Spinning 19.6-Solar-Mass Primary
Nine years after proposing the test, a Birmingham–Perimeter team measured how rotation squashed the heavier object in GW241011. Rotating boson stars with quartic self-interactions cannot explain it.
PhysicsThe Biggest Black Hole Merger Ever Detected Just Shrank. A Lens in the Way Made It Look Twice as Heavy
GW231123 was reported as a 190-to-265-solar-mass collision. A Max Planck reanalysis published Thursday says gravitational lensing magnified the signal, and the real total is 100 to 180.
PhysicsAn Off-the-Shelf Thermal Camera Could Let LIGO See 33 Million Light-Years Farther
Physicists at UC Riverside found that photographing the detector's mirrors with a commercial infrared camera solves a heat-warping problem that has quietly capped its sensitivity for years.
PhysicsGravitational-Wave Hunters Unveil a 390-Collision Catalog, Catching the Clearest Black-Hole 'Ring' Yet
A single 10-month observing run added 161 new detections, nearly doubling the record — and delivered the sharpest gravitational-wave signal ever recorded, along with hints that some black holes are built from earlier black holes.
PhysicsA Strange LIGO Signal May Be the First Real Fingerprint of 'Primordial' Black Holes From the Dawn of Time
Physicists say a collision between two objects lighter than the Sun, detected last November, could point to black holes born in the first instant after the Big Bang — and to the identity of dark matter.
PhysicsA Strange LIGO Signal May Be the First Sign of Black Holes Born at the Dawn of Time
A gravitational wave from an impossibly light object has scientists asking whether primordial black holes could explain dark matter.
PhysicsLIGO's Biggest-Ever Catalog Adds 161 Black Hole Collisions, Pushing Detections to 390
The new LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA release includes the clearest gravitational-wave signal ever recorded and fresh evidence that some black holes are built from the wreckage of earlier mergers.
PhysicsBlack Holes May Reveal Dark Matter Secrets Through Gravitational Wave Fingerprints
MIT physicists develop new method to detect dark matter interactions hidden within cosmic collisions, with one LIGO signal showing potential evidence.
- Physics
Gravitational Waves May Carry First Dark Matter Fingerprints From Black Hole Collisions
MIT physicists have developed a new method to search for dark matter signatures in ripples from merging black holes, with one LIGO signal showing promising results.
- Physics
Gravitational Waves May Carry First Fingerprints of Dark Matter from Colliding Black Holes
MIT physicists detect potential dark matter signature in LIGO data, offering new way to study the universe's most mysterious substance.
PhysicsScientists Discover Hidden Gravitational Wave Signals in Light Emitted by Atoms
Revolutionary theory proposes detecting cosmic ripples through subtle frequency shifts in atomic light emission, potentially enabling ultra-compact detectors.
- Physics
Record-Breaking Gravitational Wave GW250114 Confirms Hawking's 1971 Black Hole Theorem
The clearest black hole merger ever recorded — with a signal-to-noise ratio nearly three times higher than LIGO's first detection — verified multiple tones predicted by Einstein's general relativity.
- Physics
Scientists Discover How to Detect Gravitational Waves Hidden in Atomic Light
Revolutionary breakthrough could enable ultra-compact detectors using cold-atom systems, offering new way to observe cosmic events.
- Physics
Scientists Detect Gravitational Waves Hidden in Atomic Light for First Time
Revolutionary discovery shows gravitational waves subtly alter photon frequencies, opening path to ultra-compact detectors using cold-atom systems.
- Physics
Scientists Discover Gravitational Waves May Be Hidden in the Light Atoms Emit
Researchers propose detecting spacetime ripples by observing how they subtly shift photon frequencies, potentially enabling ultra-compact detectors using cold-atom systems.
- Physics
Scientists Discover Hidden Gravitational Wave Signals in Atomic Light
Breakthrough research shows gravitational waves can be detected by observing subtle changes in the light emitted by atoms, opening door to compact detectors.
- Physics
Scientists Discover Gravitational Waves Hidden in Light Atoms Emit
Revolutionary detection method could lead to ultra-compact detectors using cold-atom systems, bypassing need for kilometer-scale instruments.
PhysicsScientists Detect Hidden Ripples in Spacetime Using Revolutionary Framework
Researchers create the first unified approach to identify tiny fluctuations that could unlock the mysteries of quantum gravity.
- Physics
Scientists Create Breakthrough Method to Detect Hidden Ripples in Spacetime
New unified framework could enable LIGO and smaller experiments to test quantum gravity theories much sooner than expected.
- Physics
Scientists Create First Unified Framework to Detect Hidden Ripples in Spacetime
Breakthrough allows LIGO and tabletop experiments to search for quantum gravity signatures that could unlock physics' biggest mystery.
- Physics
Scientists Solve Spacetime Fluctuation Mystery With Revolutionary Detection Framework
Researchers create the first unified method to detect tiny gravitational ripples that could unlock quantum gravity secrets using existing technology.
PhysicsScientists Edge Closer to Detecting Hidden Ripples in Spacetime Itself
Breakthrough provides first unified method to search for tiny quantum fluctuations that could reveal how gravity and quantum mechanics connect.
PhysicsAstronomers Release Largest Gravitational Wave Catalog Ever: 218 Detections Including the Heaviest Black Hole Binary in History
The GWTC-4 catalog, led by MIT, adds 128 new events from LIGO's fourth observing run — including a 260-solar-mass merger, the fastest-spinning binary on record, and a new measurement of the universe's expansion rate.
