Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first observing run of Advanced LIGO

Understand

During their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals and GW151226, produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems.

• This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves (GWs) from merging intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHBs).
• The combined results from two independent search techniques were used in this study: the first employs a matched-filter algorithm that uses a bank of filters covering the GW signal parameter space, while the second is a generic search for GW transients (bursts).
• No GWs from IMBHBs were detected, therefore, we constrain the rate of several classes of IMBHB mergers.