New Catalog Doubles LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA Wave Finds

The latest gravitational-wave detections reveal a greater variety of cosmic collisions.

Published on Mar. 6, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration has published its latest compilation of gravitational-wave detections, the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog-4.0 (GWTC-4), which comprises 128 new gravitational-wave "candidates" detected during the observatories' fourth observing run from May 2023 to January 2024. This newest crop more than doubles the size of the gravitational-wave catalog, which previously contained 90 candidates compiled from all three previous observing runs.

Why it matters

The new detections reveal a greater variety of binary systems that produce gravitational waves, including the heaviest black hole binary, a binary with black holes of asymmetric masses, and a binary where both black holes have exceptionally high spins. These observations enable scientists to better understand how black holes form and evolve, probe the cosmological expansion of the universe, and provide rigorous confirmations of Einstein's theory of general relativity.

The details

The LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories use kilometer-scale laser interferometers to detect gravitational waves, which are ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by the collision and merger of the densest objects in the universe, such as black holes and neutron stars. The latest catalog includes detections of binary black hole mergers, as well as a few black hole-neutron star binaries. Some of the more unusual signals include the heaviest black hole binary detected to date, a binary with the highest inspiral spin, and an unusually lopsided pair with one black hole twice as massive as the other.

  • The LVK's fourth observing run took place between May 2023 and January 2024.
  • The GWTC-4 catalog includes detections from the first segment of the LVK's fourth observing run.

The players

LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration

A global network of gravitational-wave observatories that includes the U.S.-based National Science Foundation Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (NSF LIGO), the Virgo interferometer in Italy, and the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA) in Japan.

Nergis Mavalvala

Dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics, and a member of the LVK.

Stephen Fairhurst

Professor at Cardiff University and LIGO Scientific Collaboration spokesperson.

Daniel Williams

Research fellow at the University of Glasgow and a member of the LVK.

Amanda Baylor

Graduate student at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee who was involved in the signal search process for the LVK.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“The beautiful science that we are able to do with this catalog is enabled by significant improvements in the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave detectors as well as more powerful analysis techniques.”

— Nergis Mavalvala, Dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics

“In the past decade, gravitational wave astronomy has progressed from the first detection to the observation of hundreds of black hole mergers. These observations enable us to better understand how black holes form from the collapse of massive stars, probe the cosmological evolution of the universe and provide increasingly rigorous confirmations of the theory of general relativity.”

— Stephen Fairhurst, Professor at Cardiff University and LIGO Scientific Collaboration spokesperson

“The message from this catalog is: We are expanding into new parts of what we call 'parameter space' and a whole new variety of black holes. We are really pushing the edges, and are seeing things that are more massive, spinning faster, and are more astrophysically interesting and unusual.”

— Daniel Williams, Research fellow at the University of Glasgow and a member of the LVK

“One of the striking things about our collection of black holes is their broad range of properties. Some of them are over 100 times the mass of our sun, others are as small as only a few times the mass of the sun. Some black holes are rapidly spinning, others have no measurable spin. We still don't completely understand how black holes form in the universe, but our observations offer a crucial insight into these questions.”

— Jack Heinzel, MIT graduate student and LVK member

“Each new gravitational-wave detection allows us to unlock another piece of the universe's puzzle in ways we couldn't just a decade ago. It's incredibly exciting to think about what astrophysical mysteries and surprises we can uncover with future observing runs.”

— Lucy Thomas, Postdoc in the Caltech LIGO Lab who led part of the catalog's analysis

What’s next

The LVK plans to continue its observing runs and publish additional catalogs of gravitational-wave detections in the future, which will further expand our understanding of black holes and other extreme astrophysical phenomena.

The takeaway

The latest gravitational-wave catalog from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration has more than doubled the number of detected cosmic collisions, revealing a greater diversity of black hole mergers and providing new insights into the formation and evolution of these extreme objects. These observations are helping to test the limits of our understanding of general relativity and cosmology.