GWTC-5 Gravitational-Wave Analysis Presentation

An 11-slide GWTC-5 deck covering detectors, catalog evidence, event visualizations, and open-data analysis. Built with Kimi K3.

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How We Detect Gravitational Waves
01 · DETECTOR NETWORK
Figure 1. Dual- recycled Michelson with Fabry– Pérot arm cavities: a passing gravitational wave alternately stretches and squeezes the 4 km arms (schematic, not to scale).
A GW is a transverse, spin- 2 perturbation with two polarizations (h₊ and h×), traveling at the speed of light. Detector band ≈ 10– 1000 Hz (GEO 600: 100 Hz– 10 kHz).
THE MEASUREMENT
h = ΔL/ L ~ 10⁻²¹ → ΔL ≈ 4×10⁻¹⁸ m over 4 km
One arm stretches while the other squeezes — about 1/ 400 of a proton diameter. The arms' differential phase is read out at the dark port.
THE INSTRUMENT
2–3 dB (O3) → 4.6–5.8 dB (O4a) → 6.1 dB (LLO, O4b)
Squeezed light, Michelson + Fabry–Pérot arms (gain ≈ 144, O1), power recycling (≈ 115 kW circulating); 40 kg fused-silica test masses on multistage pendulum suspensions; above ~ 200 Hz: quantum shot noise.
THE NETWORK
≈ 10 ms Hanford–Livingston, ≤30 ms network-wide
≥ 2 detectors: coincidence and glitch rejection. ≥ 3: sky triangulation. GW150914: a broad arc with two; GW170817: ≈ 30 deg² with three.
Takeaway · A 10 - 21 strain — the quietest measurement ever made — is now routine.
Sources: LVK, GWTC-5.0 Intro and Methods, arXiv:2605.27223, arXiv:2605.27224 · notes/detectors.md
1
Five Detectors, One Global Network
01 · DETECTOR NETWORK
TABLE 1 · THE FIVE GROUND-BASED DETECTORS
Code
Observatory
Site
Arms
Character
O4b BNS range
H1
LIGO Hanford
Hanford, WA, USA
4 km
Dual-recycled Fabry–Pérot Michelson
≈ 161 Mpc
L1
LIGO Livingston
Livingston, LA, USA
4 km
Dual-recycled Fabry–Pérot Michelson
≈ 171 Mpc
V1

Start with this prompt

An 11-slide GWTC-5 prompt distinguishing catalog facts, visualization choices, interpretation, and open questions.

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Create a polished 16:9, 11-slide scientific deck on the GWTC-5 gravitational-wave catalog. Cover detector fundamentals, observing runs, catalog growth, the mass plane, sky localization, distance and redshift, highlight events, and an open-data workflow. For every key chart, state the source, sample, selection threshold, and date. Clearly distinguish catalog facts, visualization choices, interpretation, and open questions.

Teach graduate physics students

Tune the same catalog analysis for learners connecting detector methods to astrophysical evidence.

Try in Kimi

Create a polished 16:9, 11-slide scientific deck on the GWTC-5 gravitational-wave catalog. Cover detector fundamentals, observing runs, catalog growth, the mass plane, sky localization, distance and redshift, highlight events, and an open-data workflow. For every key chart, state the source, sample, selection threshold, and date. Clearly distinguish catalog facts, visualization choices, interpretation, and open questions.

Add a reproducibility audit

Record the sample, threshold, date, and reproducibility note behind every key chart.

Try in Kimi

Create a polished 16:9, 11-slide scientific deck on the GWTC-5 gravitational-wave catalog. Cover detector fundamentals, observing runs, catalog growth, the mass plane, sky localization, distance and redshift, highlight events, and an open-data workflow. For every key chart, state the source, sample, selection threshold, and date. Clearly distinguish catalog facts, visualization choices, interpretation, and open questions.

Build a three-act analysis

Move from detection foundations to catalog findings and finish with open-data reproduction.

Try in Kimi

Create a polished 16:9, 11-slide scientific deck on the GWTC-5 gravitational-wave catalog. Cover detector fundamentals, observing runs, catalog growth, the mass plane, sky localization, distance and redshift, highlight events, and an open-data workflow. For every key chart, state the source, sample, selection threshold, and date. Clearly distinguish catalog facts, visualization choices, interpretation, and open questions.

Nearly a Decade of Observing: O1 → O4b

01 · DETECTOR NETWORK

FIGURE 2 · NETWORK OBSERVING COVERAGE BY RUN (2015–2025)

2015- 09 → 2016- 01 · H1+L1

First detection: GW150914

2016- 11 → 2017- 08 · H1+L1

+Virgo 2017- 08- 01 · GW170817

2019- 04 → 2020- 03 · H1+L1+V1

O3GK 2020- 04: GEO600+KAGRA

O4a

2023- 05 → 2024- 01 · H1+L1

Published as GWTC- 4.0; updated as 4.1

O4b

2024- 04 → 2025- 01- 28 · +V1

GWTC- 5.0 data cutoff

Takeaway · GWTC- 5.0 analyzes O4b through 2025- 01- 28 and updates the cumulative catalog.

Sources: LVK, GWTC-5.0 Intro, arXiv:2605.27223 · data/run_timeline.json · GWOSC run pages

The Catalog Grows: 390 Transients at pₐₛₜᵣₒ ≥ 0.5

02 · CATALOG AT A GLANCE

Figure 3. Candidate counts per catalog version as tagged in the GWOSC Event API (N = 391). * GWTC-1.0 = 11 events; this extract tags only GW170817 as GWTC-1-confident — the remaining O1/O2 events are carried under GWTC-2.1, the O1+O2 superset.

READING THE CHART

390

cumulative catalog transients

254

API entries with pastro > 0.9

pastro ≥ 0.5 → catalog threshold (≥50% astrophysical probability)

Cumulative re-analyses — versions are not disjoint samples.

API entries → pₐₛₜᵣₒ > 0.5 — 2.1: 54→44 · 3: 35→35 · 4.1: 140→139 · 5.0: 161→161.

O4b — 104 newly characterized binaries, all BBH- consistent.

Network SNR — median 10.2, all 391 events; loudest GW250114_082203: 78.6.

390

cumulative transients at pastro ≥ 0.5

>300

merging binaries — Intro paper headline

161

new O4b candidates · 104 newly characterized

10.2

median network SNR, all 391 events

Takeaway · All 161 GWTC- 5.0 candidates pass pastro ≥ 0.5 ; 108 pass > 0.9.

Sources: GWOSC Event API (data/events_summary.csv); notes/catalog_stats.md; LVK GWTC- 5.0 Results, arXiv:2605.27225.

The Mass Plane: From Neutron Stars to 100 - M⊙ Black Holes

02 · CATALOG AT A GLANCE

Figure 4. Source-frame component masses of 282 events (log– log); marker area scales with network SNR.

READING THE PLOT

282

events

116 M⊙

heaviest in O4b

78.6

loudest ever

source-frame masses: 273 BBH · 7 NSBH · 2 BNS

The 3 M⊙ line is illustrative; 3– 5 M⊙ is the putative lower mass gap.

GW230529_181500 (3.66 + 1.42 M⊙): a primary in the putative gap.

Its rate, ~55 per cubic Gpc per year, challenges an empty gap.

O4b binaries exceed 100 M⊙ total — heaviest GW241230_233618, 116 M⊙.

Its 68 + 49 M⊙ components leave a ~112 M⊙ remnant.

Marker area scales with network SNR — GW250114_082203 dominates; the catalog median is 10.2.

Takeaway · Over two decades of mass sampled — class boundaries are the new frontier.

Sources: data/events_summary.csv (282 events with source- frame masses); notes/catalog_stats.md.

An All - Sky Survey: Where the Mergers Land

02 · CATALOG AT A GLANCE

Figure 5. Sky positions of 361 localized events (Aitoff projection, equatorial coordinates). Positions are the max-probability pixel of each event's skymap — PE maps preferred, BAYESTAR fallback; O1/O2 events from the GWTC-1 release.

LOCALIZATION

361

of 391 events carry skymaps

≈ 3,300

deg² · median 90% area

6.3 deg²

best 90% area — GW240615_113620

42 deg²

GW250114_082203 · H1+L1 only

2 detectors → a sky ring; a 3rd collapses it.

Dots mark each map's peak pixel.

Skymaps: HEALPix multi-order (NUNIQ) FITS from PE, BAYESTAR, and catalog releases.

Sources are broadly distributed — with no obvious Galactic-plane concentration.

Every patch of sky has now heard a merger.

Sources: data/skymap_positions.csv; GraceDB/GWOSC skymaps; LVK GWTC-5.0 Results, arXiv:2605.27225.

Reaching into Cosmic Time: Distance & Redshift

02 · CATALOG AT A GLANCE

Figure 6. Left: luminosity-distance histogram stacked by catalog (log-spaced bins). Right: total source mass vs luminosity distance (N = 282).

40 Mpc

nearest — GW170817 (BNS)

2.1 Gpc

median, 282 events with distances

8.3 Gpc

farthest — GW190403_051519, z ≈ 1.18

Reading the figure — O4 runs dominate the distant tail: the distance histogram peaks at ≈ 2– 3 Gpc versus ≈ 0.5– 1 Gpc for O1– O3, reflecting the O4 sensitivity upgrade (mean distance 2.58 Gpc; distances are luminosity distances, 282 of 391 events).

THE DISTANCE LADDER

THE O4 SENSITIVITY UPGRADE

2.58 Gpc

mean distance · median 2.1 Gpc

97 → 171

Mpc · L1's BNS range, about 1.8× O2

mean & median across 282 of 391 events with distances

DL — distances are luminosity distances

O4 runs dominate the >2 Gpc tail — peaks ≈ 2–3 Gpc vs ≈ 0.5–1 Gpc (O1– O3).

Distance–mass correlation — heavier binaries are louder and seen farther.

Farthest — GW190403_051519 at z ≈ 1.18 (≈ 8.3 Gpc), highest redshift in the catalog.

Nearest: GW170817 at 40 Mpc — the only event with an EM counterpart.

Takeaway · O4 turns the catalog into a cosmological probe — the Hubble tension meets standard sirens.

Sources: data/events_summary.csv; notes/catalog_stats.md; LVK GWTC-5.0 Populations & Cosmology, arXiv:2605.27226 / arXiv:2605.27227.

GW250114_082203 — The Loudest Gravitational Wave Ever

03 · HIGHLIGHT EVENTS

Figure 7. Whitened H1 + L1 strain and time–frequency map — chirp sweeping 30 → 300 Hz (GWOSC strain data).

BBH · GWTC- 5.0 · O4b

2025-01-14 08:22:03 UTC · H1 + L1

78.6 · net SNR

PE 76.9 · PRL ≈80

<10⁻⁵/ yr

false-alarm rate

(GstLAL/ MBTA)

KEY NUMBERS (90% CREDIBLE)

33.8 M⊙

primary mass − 0.9/+1.3

32.3 M⊙

secondary mass − 1.5/+1.0

28.7 M⊙

chirp mass ±0.5

66.0 M⊙

total mass − 1.2/+1.1

62.9 M⊙

remnant mass − 1.1/+1.0

0.68

remnant spin χf ±0.01

405 Mpc · z ≈ 0.09

distance −73/+84

42 deg² · 90% area

90% volume 430,000 Mpc³

ASTROPHYSICAL NOTE

Loudest GW signal ever — ≈ 1.9× the previous SNR record. Enabled direct tests of Hawking's area law and Kerr ringdown spectroscopy (QNM + first overtone within ±30% of Kerr). Masses sit at the ~35 M⊙ spectrum feature; the ~63 M⊙ remnant nears the pair-instability gap.

Takeaway · The loudest GW signal ever recorded — the high- SNR massive- BBH anchor event.

Source: GWOSC strain data (H1/ L1) · LVK GWTC-5.0 Results, arXiv:2605.27225 · GW250114 paper, PRL 135, 111403 (arXiv:2509.08054).

Selected NSBH Systems Probe the Lower-Mass Boundary

03 · HIGHLIGHT EVENTS

GW200115_042309

5.9 + 1.44 M⊙

90% CI: m₁ − 2.5/+2.0 · m₂ − 0.28/+0.85

First confirmed NSBH class — with GW200105, it opened the NSBH era in O3.

GW230518_125908

8.2 + 1.45 M⊙

90% CI: m₁ − 0.9/+0.8 · m₂ − 0.10/+0.13

Highly asymmetric system — q ≈ 0.18, probing NSBH formation channels.

GW230529_181500

3.66 + 1.42 M⊙

90% CI: m₁ − 1.2/+0.8 · m₂ − 0.2/+0.6

Primary in the putative 3– 5 M⊙ gap — further evidence that the gap is populated.

Takeaway · Selected NSBH systems probe the lower-mass boundary of the compact- object spectrum.

Sources: LVK GWTC-5.0 Results, arXiv:2605.27225 · GWTC-5.0 Populations, arXiv:2605.27226 · GWOSC event pages.

Fully Reproducible: The Open - Science Pipeline

04 · OPEN DATA & OUTLOOK

Sources: arXiv:2605.27090 (Open Data) · gwosc.org · zenodo.org/records/20348004

GWOSC Event API

catalog JSON · 391 events

Per-event detail JSONs

GraceDB IDs · strain links

GraceDB public skymaps

NUNIQ HEALPix FITS · 361 localizations

GWOSC strain HDF5

whitening + STFT · 4 highlight events

Figures

9 palette-matched PNGs · numpy/matplotlib

This deck

11-page academic presentation

Data Portals

391

events · GWOSC catalog JSON

GWOSC Event API & strain — catalog + strain: gwosc.org/eventapi

GraceDB — public superevents: gracedb.ligo.org

Zenodo GWTC-5.0 — search summary + PE samples: zenodo.20348004

Skymap tarballs — zenodo 20348005 (5.0) · 17014085 (4.0) · 8177023 (3) · 6513631 (2.1)

The GWTC-5.0 Catalog Papers

GWTC- 5.0 papers · open access · CC BY 4.0

Intro arXiv:2605.27223 · Methods arXiv:2605.27224

Results arXiv:2605.27225 · Populations arXiv:2605.27226

Cosmology arXiv:2605.27227 · Open data arXiv:2605.27090

Prior catalog — GWTC-4.0 arXiv:2508.18082

GW250114 follow-ups arXiv:2507.08789 · 2509.08054 · 2510.01001

GW230529 arXiv:2404.04248 · GW200115 (NSBH) arXiv:2106.15163

Reproduce This Deck

Every figure regenerated from these public endpoints with numpy/matplotlib.

Strain figures — GWOSC 4 kHz HDF5 → whitening + STFT (4 highlight events)

Skymaps — fetch_details.py → parse_skymaps.py → make_aitoff.py

361 localizations → skymap_positions.csv → Aitoff all-sky map

Takeaway · Gravitational-wave astronomy is an open-science field by construction.

Key Takeaways

04 · OPEN DATA & OUTLOOK

300+

Compact binaries now cataloged

390 transients at pastro ≥ 0.5 — 161 new in GWTC- 5.0

78.6

Record network SNR — GW250114_082203

the cleanest test of black-hole physics yet

<3 M⊙

Secondaries below the mass gap

GW230518 / GW230529 / GW200115 expand the neutron-star frontier — the putative mass gap is populated

8.3 Gpc

The reach of O4

compact-binary mergers become cosmological standard sirens

O4 concluded on 18 November 2025. O4c analysis is underway and will inform a future catalog release.

REFERENCES

[1] LVK, GWTC-5.0 Intro — arXiv:2605.27223 (2026)

[2] LVK, GWTC-5.0 Methods — arXiv:2605.27224

[3] LVK, GWTC-5.0 Results — arXiv:2605.27225

[4] LVK, GWTC-5.0 Populations — arXiv:2605.27226

[5] LVK, GWTC-5.0 Cosmology — arXiv:2605.27227

[6] LVK, GWTC-5.0 Open Data — arXiv:2605.27090

[7] LVK, GW230529 discovery — arXiv:2404.04248 (2024)

[8] LVK, First NSBH detections — arXiv:2106.15163 (2021)

[9] LVK, GW250114 — PRL 135, 111403 (2025)

[10] GWOSC Event API & strain data — gwosc.org

[11] GraceDB public superevents — gracedb.ligo.org

[12] Zenodo GWTC-5.0 data release — DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20348004