A catalogue of insights from the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run
Abstract
Over the last decade, gravitational-wave science has developed from an era where a single detection was a Nobel-winning achievement to an (almost) everyday occurrence. The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration's flagship scientific results are now their catalogues of detections, which include a comprehensive set of analysis results characterising the astrophysical properties of sources, and their implications for fundamental physics and cosmology. We review discoveries from the fourth observing run (O4) of the LVK network. The most recent catalogues each include ∼100 new detections. Among these new detections are remarkable single discoveries: the loudest signals detected so far, and sources unlike those seen before. However, significant advances in the field are coming from population-level analyses, leveraging the increasing sample size to infer constraints on the astrophysical distribution of merging compact binaries, potential deviations to general relativity, and the expansion rate of the Universe. Analyses of the latest data have revealed evidence for multiple subpopulations of sources. These observations provide a unique probe into the evolution of massive stars and the formation of coalescing binaries. Our understanding of gravitational-wave signals and their sources will continue to deepen with more observations. The final catalogue from O4}is due for release in December 2026, and future observing runs with even greater detector sensitivity are planned. These will bring even larger catalogues, and additional loud signals, continuing to advance gravitational-wave science.
Related
- Constraints on ultralight bosons from merging binary and remnant black holes observed during the second and third parts of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run
- In Search of the Gravitational Wave of Fast X-Ray Transient in the Second Part of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Fourth Observing Run
- Open Data from LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA through the First Part of the Fourth Observing Run
- Open Data from LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA through the Second Part of the Fourth Observing Run
- GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Observing Run
BibTeX
@misc{berry2026catalogue,
title = {{A catalogue of insights from the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run}},
author = {Christopher P L Berry and Daniel Williams},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.03859},
eprint = {2609.03859},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.03859},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A catalogue of insights from the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run
AU - Christopher P L Berry
AU - Daniel Williams
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.03859
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.03859
AB - Over the last decade, gravitational-wave science has developed from an era where a single detection was a Nobel-winning achievement to an (almost) everyday occurrence. The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration's flagship scientific results are now their catalogues of detections, which include a comprehensive set of analysis results characterising the astrophysical properties of sources, and their implications for fundamental physics and cosmology. We review discoveries from the fourth observing run (O4) of the LVK network. The most recent catalogues each include ∼100 new detections. Among these new detections are remarkable single discoveries: the loudest signals detected so far, and sources unlike those seen before. However, significant advances in the field are coming from population-level analyses, leveraging the increasing sample size to infer constraints on the astrophysical distribution of merging compact binaries, potential deviations to general relativity, and the expansion rate of the Universe. Analyses of the latest data have revealed evidence for multiple subpopulations of sources. These observations provide a unique probe into the evolution of massive stars and the formation of coalescing binaries. Our understanding of gravitational-wave signals and their sources will continue to deepen with more observations. The final catalogue from O4}is due for release in December 2026, and future observing runs with even greater detector sensitivity are planned. These will bring even larger catalogues, and additional loud signals, continuing to advance gravitational-wave science.
ER -