Overview
- A peer-reviewed study reports two 2024 events, GW241011 and GW241110, whose asymmetric masses and unusual spins point to hierarchical black-hole formation.
- GW241011 involved black holes of about 17 and 7 solar masses some 700 million light years away, with the primary among the fastest rotating observed.
- GW241110 featured roughly 16 and 8 solar-mass black holes at a distance of about 2.4 billion light years, with the primary spinning opposite the orbital direction in a first-of-its-kind observation.
- Analysis of GW241011 shows excellent consistency with the Kerr solution and revealed a clearly measured higher harmonic in the signal, strengthening tests of general relativity.
- The persistence of rapid rotation in GW241011 constrains the mass range of hypothetical ultralight bosons, as the O4 run nears completion with roughly 300 gravitational-wave mergers cataloged.