Scientists have recorded the largest black hole merger in history

Space Record: Scientists Capture Gravitational Waves from a Grandiose Merger of Supermassive Black Holes

An international scientific collaboration has recorded a unique cosmic event that occurred at a distance of 10 billion light years from our planet. This was reported on the website of the EurekAlert platform, funded by AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) - the largest non-profit scientific organization in the world.

The grandiose cosmic collision was registered thanks to the joint efforts of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration - an international scientific association coordinating the work of the three largest gravitational-wave observatories in the world.

The signal, given the code designation GW231123, was captured on November 23, 2023, during the fourth series of observations with the participation of LIGO observatories, operating with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The cosmic drama ended with the birth of a true monster - a black hole with a mass of about 225 solar masses. This is an absolute record, significantly exceeding the previous achievement of 2021 (GW190521), when the final mass was "only" 140 solar masses.

Two giants participated in the cosmic dance - black holes with masses of approximately 100 and 140 solar masses. Both objects rotated at a colossal speed, approaching the theoretical limit established by Einstein's general theory of relativity. Such cosmic titans do not fit into standard concepts of stellar evolution.

"We are observing something that cannot be explained from the perspective of conventional astrophysics," said Mark Hannam, an astrophysicist from Cardiff University and a member of the LVK collaboration. - "Probably, these black holes emerged as a result of mergers of smaller black holes".

To decipher the received signal, scientists had to employ the newest models that account for the complex dynamics of rapidly rotating objects. Researchers acknowledge that a complete understanding of all the nuances of this cosmic event may require many years of work.

"This is a real challenge for our theoretical and technological capabilities," emphasized Sophie Bini, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a collaboration participant. - "And simultaneously - an exciting opportunity for new discoveries".

Details of this sensational discovery will be officially presented at the International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR24) and the Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, scheduled for July 14-18, 2025, in Glasgow (United Kingdom).

The scientific community will gain access to open data about this cosmic merger through the specialized Gravitational Wave Open Science Center (GWOSC) portal.