The Loudest Black Hole Has Been Detected

Loud, but probably not as loud as your neighbour.

Ten years after the first detection of gravitational waves, UBC researchers and international collaborators have captured the strongest and clearest signal to date. It's a black hole merger three times “louder” than the Nobel Prize–winning 2015 event.

The breakthrough, published in Physical Review Letters, showcases advances in LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA detectors that allow scientists to test Einstein’s relativity with unprecedented precision, while also advancing quantum technologies with spin-offs for computing and sensing.

“This is the strongest and cleanest signal we’ve received yet which allows us to test general relativity with very fine precision. Turns out, Einstein is still right.”

— Dr. Rhiannon Udall, Postdoctoral Researcher

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