Two mega objects collide in deep space. Signal hits Earth centuries later

Astronomers have detected a gravitational-wave signal from a collision between what is believed to be a neutron star and a compact object with a mass that intriguingly falls within the so-called “mass gap” between neutron stars and black holes.Â

This event, identified as GW230529, was observed by the LIGO Livingston detector in May 2023, marking a significant milestone in the field of astrophysics.

Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime that were first proposed by Albert Einstein. Detecting gravitational waves directly was one of the most significant achievements in astrophysics in recent times.Â

The detection of GW230529 challenges previous assumptions about the frequency of such collisions, suggesting they may be more common than previously thought. Dr. Jess McIver, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and Deputy Spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, emphasised the importance of this discovery, stating it “reveals that there may be a higher rate of similar collisions between neutron stars and low-mass black holes than we previously thought.”

A neutron star is one of the possible end products of a star as it reaches its end of life. Neutron stars contain a mass of about 1.4 to 2 times that of the Sun. This means that a teaspoonful of neutron star material would weigh billions of tons on Earth.

The latest observation is particularly exciting because it’s the first time a gravitational-wave detection of a mass-gap object paired with a neutron star has been reported. Dr. Sylvia Biscoveanu from Northwestern University highlighted the significance of this system for both theories of binary evolution and the study of electromagnetic counterparts to compact-object mergers.

The detection was made possible thanks to the enhancements made to the detectors, cyberinfrastructure, and analysis software before the start of the fourth observing run (O4) of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration on May 24, 2023.Â

Graphic: Ligo

These improvements allowed researchers to detect signals from further away and extract more detailed information about the extreme events generating these waves.

GW230529 was detected just five days into the fourth run, immediately analysed, and an alert was publicly released, informing the astronomical community of the merger occurring approximately 650 million light-years from Earth.Â

Unfortunately, the exact direction of the source could not be pinpointed due to the observation being made by only one gravitational-wave detector at the time.

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