GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, and the KAGRA Collaboration

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae2c74

GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, and the KAGRA Collaboration

Department of Physics - at Bar-Ilan University

Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)
National Science Foundation
University of Salerno
National Institute for Nuclear Physics
University of Warwick
Monash University
Pennsylvania State University
Leibniz University Hannover
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
California Institute of Technology
Louisiana State University
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
CPT-Luminy
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Queen Mary University of London
University of California at Davis
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
APC - AstroParticule et Cosmologie
University of Rome Tor Vergata
University of Antwerp
University College Dublin
National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
University of Genoa
Université Savoie Mont Blanc
University of Naples Federico II
Cardiff University
Australian National University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Maastricht University
National Institute for Subatomic Physics
University of Rome La Sapienza
Institut Fresnel
Université Paris-Saclay
The University of Tokyo
Institute for High Energy Physics
Gran Sasso Science Institute
University of Florida
University of Udine
Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
University of Camerino
University of Washington
California State University Fullerton
University of Strathclyde
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Georgia Institute of Technology
SPIC Science Foundation
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The Graduate University for Advanced Studies
University of Urbino
European Gravitational Observatory
Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
King's College London
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The University of Osaka
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Accelerator Laboratory
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Concordia University Wisconsin
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Villanova University
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology
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Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille
National Research Council of Italy
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Western Washington University
University of the West of Scotland
Barry University
Eötvös Loránd University
Osaka Metropolitan University
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University of California at Berkeley
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
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Roma Tre University
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Institute of Science Tokyo
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American University Washington DC
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Ewha Womans University
National Institute for Mathematical Sciences
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Chungnam National University
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics
Nagoya University
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Bard College
Technical University of Braunschweig
Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Polytechnique Montreal
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata
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St. Thomas University, Miami
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
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University College London
Observatoire de Paris
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CSIR - Central Glass Ceramic Research Institute
Yonsei University
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Astronomical Observatory of Padua
Enrico Fermi Center
Kennesaw State University
Nantes Université
Universidad de Antioquia
Technical University of Madrid
National Institute of Technology
Trinity College Hartford
University of Ferrara
Toho University
Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar
Peking University
Laboratoire MSME
Osaka Institute of Technology
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Kochi University
associé au CNRS et à l’Université P&M. Curie
Kyoto University
University of Catania
National Institute of Technology
National Defense Academy of Japan
Eindhoven University of Technology
Beijing Normal University
Wuhan University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Version 4.0 of the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-4.0) adds new candidates detected by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories through the first part of the fourth observing run (O4a: 2023 May 24 15:00:00 to 2024 January 16 16:00:00 UTC) and a preceding engineering run. In these new data, we find 128 compact binary coalescence candidates that are identified by at least one of our search algorithms with a probability of astrophysical origin p_astro ≥ 0.5 and that are not vetoed during event validation. We also provide detailed source property measurements for 86 of these that have a false-alarm rate <1 yr⁻¹. Based on the inferred component masses, these candidates are consistent with signals from binary black holes (BBHs) and neutron star–black hole binaries (GW230518_125908 and GW230529_181500). Median-inferred component masses of BBHs in the catalog now range from 5.79M⊙ (GW230627_015337) to 137 (Formula presented) M⊙ (GW231123_135430), while GW231123_135430 was probably produced by the most massive binary observed in the catalog. For the first time, we have discovered BBH signals with network signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 30, GW230814_230901 and GW231226_101520, enabling high-fidelity studies of the waveforms and astrophysical properties of these systems. Combined with the 90 candidates included in GWTC-3.0, the catalog now contains 218 candidates with p_astro ≥ 0.5 and not otherwise vetoed, more than doubling the size of the catalog and further opening our view of the gravitational-wave Universe.

Original language	English
Article number	L22
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	1004
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae2c74
State	Published - 20 Jun 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

Keywords

Gravitational wave astronomy (675)
Gravitational wave detectors (676)
Gravitational wave sources (677)
Neutron stars (1108)
Stellar mass black holes (1611)

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10.3847/2041-8213/ae2c74

Cite this

@article{5678feb851ff4d97aef6eb5d4fcdc7b9,

title = "GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run",

abstract = "Version 4.0 of the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-4.0) adds new candidates detected by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories through the first part of the fourth observing run (O4a: 2023 May 24 15:00:00 to 2024 January 16 16:00:00 UTC) and a preceding engineering run. In these new data, we find 128 compact binary coalescence candidates that are identified by at least one of our search algorithms with a probability of astrophysical origin pastro ≥ 0.5 and that are not vetoed during event validation. We also provide detailed source property measurements for 86 of these that have a false-alarm rate <1 yr−1. Based on the inferred component masses, these candidates are consistent with signals from binary black holes (BBHs) and neutron star–black hole binaries (GW230518\_125908 and GW230529\_181500). Median-inferred component masses of BBHs in the catalog now range from 5.79M⊙ (GW230627\_015337) to 137 (Formula presented) M⊙ (GW231123\_135430), while GW231123\_135430 was probably produced by the most massive binary observed in the catalog. For the first time, we have discovered BBH signals with network signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 30, GW230814\_230901 and GW231226\_101520, enabling high-fidelity studies of the waveforms and astrophysical properties of these systems. Combined with the 90 candidates included in GWTC-3.0, the catalog now contains 218 candidates with pastro ≥ 0.5 and not otherwise vetoed, more than doubling the size of the catalog and further opening our view of the gravitational-wave Universe.",

keywords = "Gravitational wave astronomy (675), Gravitational wave detectors (676), Gravitational wave sources (677), Neutron stars (1108), Stellar mass black holes (1611)",

author = "\{The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, and the KAGRA Collaboration\} and Abac, \{A. G.\} and I. Abouelfettouh and F. Acernese and K. Ackley and C. Adamcewicz and S. Adhicary and D. Adhikari and N. Adhikari and Adhikari, \{R. X.\} and Adkins, \{V. K.\} and S. Afroz and A. Agapito and D. Agarwal and M. Agathos and N. Aggarwal and S. Aggarwal and Aguiar, \{O. D.\} and Ahrend, \{I. L.\} and L. Aiello and A. Ain and P. Ajith and S. Akcay and T. Akutsu and S. Albanesi and W. Ali and S. Al-Kershi and C. All{\'e}n{\'e} and A. Allocca and S. Al-Shammari and Altin, \{P. A.\} and S. Alvarez-Lopez and W. Amar and O. Amarasinghe and A. Amato and F. Amicucci and C. Amra and A. Ananyeva and Anderson, \{S. B.\} and Anderson, \{W. G.\} and M. Andia and M. Ando and M. Andr{\'e}s-Carcasona and T. Andri{\'c} and J. Anglin and S. Ansoldi and Antelis, \{J. M.\} and S. Antier and M. Aoumi and Appavuravther, \{E. Z.\} and O. Birnholtz",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.",

year = "2026",

month = jun,

day = "20",

doi = "10.3847/2041-8213/ae2c74",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "1004",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8205",

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GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run. / The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, and the KAGRA Collaboration.
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 1004, No. 2, L22, 20.06.2026.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - GWTC-4.0

T2 - Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run

AU - The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, and the KAGRA Collaboration

AU - Abac, A. G.

AU - Abouelfettouh, I.

AU - Acernese, F.

AU - Ackley, K.

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AU - Adhikari, R. X.

AU - Adkins, V. K.

AU - Afroz, S.

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AU - Agarwal, D.

AU - Agathos, M.

AU - Aggarwal, N.

AU - Aggarwal, S.

AU - Aguiar, O. D.

AU - Ahrend, I. L.

AU - Aiello, L.

AU - Ain, A.

AU - Ajith, P.

AU - Akcay, S.

AU - Akutsu, T.

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AU - Ali, W.

AU - Al-Kershi, S.

AU - Alléné, C.

AU - Allocca, A.

AU - Al-Shammari, S.

AU - Altin, P. A.

AU - Alvarez-Lopez, S.

AU - Amar, W.

AU - Amarasinghe, O.

AU - Amato, A.

AU - Amicucci, F.

AU - Amra, C.

AU - Ananyeva, A.

AU - Anderson, S. B.

AU - Anderson, W. G.

AU - Andia, M.

AU - Ando, M.

AU - Andrés-Carcasona, M.

AU - Andrić, T.

AU - Anglin, J.

AU - Ansoldi, S.

AU - Antelis, J. M.

AU - Antier, S.

AU - Aoumi, M.

AU - Appavuravther, E. Z.

AU - Birnholtz, O.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

PY - 2026/6/20

Y1 - 2026/6/20

N2 - Version 4.0 of the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-4.0) adds new candidates detected by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories through the first part of the fourth observing run (O4a: 2023 May 24 15:00:00 to 2024 January 16 16:00:00 UTC) and a preceding engineering run. In these new data, we find 128 compact binary coalescence candidates that are identified by at least one of our search algorithms with a probability of astrophysical origin pastro ≥ 0.5 and that are not vetoed during event validation. We also provide detailed source property measurements for 86 of these that have a false-alarm rate <1 yr−1. Based on the inferred component masses, these candidates are consistent with signals from binary black holes (BBHs) and neutron star–black hole binaries (GW230518_125908 and GW230529_181500). Median-inferred component masses of BBHs in the catalog now range from 5.79M⊙ (GW230627_015337) to 137 (Formula presented) M⊙ (GW231123_135430), while GW231123_135430 was probably produced by the most massive binary observed in the catalog. For the first time, we have discovered BBH signals with network signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 30, GW230814_230901 and GW231226_101520, enabling high-fidelity studies of the waveforms and astrophysical properties of these systems. Combined with the 90 candidates included in GWTC-3.0, the catalog now contains 218 candidates with pastro ≥ 0.5 and not otherwise vetoed, more than doubling the size of the catalog and further opening our view of the gravitational-wave Universe.

AB - Version 4.0 of the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-4.0) adds new candidates detected by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories through the first part of the fourth observing run (O4a: 2023 May 24 15:00:00 to 2024 January 16 16:00:00 UTC) and a preceding engineering run. In these new data, we find 128 compact binary coalescence candidates that are identified by at least one of our search algorithms with a probability of astrophysical origin pastro ≥ 0.5 and that are not vetoed during event validation. We also provide detailed source property measurements for 86 of these that have a false-alarm rate <1 yr−1. Based on the inferred component masses, these candidates are consistent with signals from binary black holes (BBHs) and neutron star–black hole binaries (GW230518_125908 and GW230529_181500). Median-inferred component masses of BBHs in the catalog now range from 5.79M⊙ (GW230627_015337) to 137 (Formula presented) M⊙ (GW231123_135430), while GW231123_135430 was probably produced by the most massive binary observed in the catalog. For the first time, we have discovered BBH signals with network signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 30, GW230814_230901 and GW231226_101520, enabling high-fidelity studies of the waveforms and astrophysical properties of these systems. Combined with the 90 candidates included in GWTC-3.0, the catalog now contains 218 candidates with pastro ≥ 0.5 and not otherwise vetoed, more than doubling the size of the catalog and further opening our view of the gravitational-wave Universe.

KW - Gravitational wave astronomy (675)

KW - Gravitational wave detectors (676)

KW - Gravitational wave sources (677)

KW - Neutron stars (1108)

KW - Stellar mass black holes (1611)

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VL - 1004

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

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ER -

GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run

Abstract

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Keywords

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