Overview

• Physical Review Letters published an analysis of GW250114 that supports Hawking’s area law at roughly 99% confidence and probes the Kerr nature of the remnant using an exceptionally strong signal.
• The LVK team also highlighted GW231123, a reported merger of roughly 100‑ and 140‑solar‑mass black holes that produced an object near 225 solar masses, challenging conventional formation pathways as the result undergoes peer review.
• Researchers say expanded catalogs and detector upgrades have doubled available gravitational‑wave observations, enabling both precision tests and studies of rare, extreme events.
• A preprint led by Qi Lai proposes that GW190521 could be explained by an echo from a collapsing wormhole linked to a black‑hole collision in another universe.
• Comparisons show a standard binary black‑hole waveform fits GW190521 slightly better than the wormhole model, leaving the exotic scenario possible but not preferred and motivating further observational tests.