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Abstract We present the results of a search for gravitational-wave transients associated with core-collapse supernova SN 2023ixf, which was observed in the galaxy Messier 101 via optical emission on 2023 May 19, during the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA 15th Engineering Run. We define a five-day on-source window during which an accompanying gravitational-wave signal may have occurred. No gravitational waves have been identified in data when at least two gravitational-wave observatories were operating, which covered ∼14% of this five-day window. We report the search detection efficiency for various possible gravitational-wave emission models. Considering the distance to M101 (6.7 Mpc), we derive constraints on the gravitational-wave emission mechanism of core-collapse supernovae across a broad frequency spectrum, ranging from 50 Hz to 2 kHz, where we assume the gravitational-wave emission occurred when coincident data are available in the on-source window. Considering an ellipsoid model for a rotating proto-neutron star, our search is sensitive to gravitational-wave energy 1 × 10⁻⁴M_⊙c²and luminosity 2.6 × 10⁻⁴M_⊙c²s⁻¹for a source emitting at 82 Hz. These constraints are around an order of magnitude more stringent than those obtained so far with gravitational-wave data. The constraint on the ellipticity of the proto-neutron star that is formed is as low as 1.08, at frequencies above 1200 Hz, surpassing past results. 

Abstract Continuous gravitational waves (CWs) emission from neutron stars carries information about their internal structure and equation of state, and it can provide tests of general relativity. We present a search for CWs from a set of 45 known pulsars in the first part of the fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observing run, known as O4a. We conducted a targeted search for each pulsar using three independent analysis methods considering single-harmonic and dual-harmonic emission models. We find no evidence of a CW signal in O4a data for both models and set upper limits on the signal amplitude and on the ellipticity, which quantifies the asymmetry in the neutron star mass distribution. For the single-harmonic emission model, 29 targets have the upper limit on the amplitude below the theoretical spin-down limit. The lowest upper limit on the amplitude is 6.4 × 10⁻²⁷for the young energetic pulsar J0537−6910, while the lowest constraint on the ellipticity is 8.8 × 10⁻⁹for the bright nearby millisecond pulsar J0437−4715. Additionally, for a subset of 16 targets, we performed a narrowband search that is more robust regarding the emission model, with no evidence of a signal. We also found no evidence of nonstandard polarizations as predicted by the Brans–Dicke theory. 

Abstract We present results from a search for X-ray/gamma-ray counterparts of gravitational-wave (GW) candidates from the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA network using the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (Swift-BAT). The search includes 636 GW candidates received with low latency, 86 of which have been confirmed by the offline analysis and included in the third cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalogs (GWTC-3). Targeted searches were carried out on the entire GW sample using the maximum-likelihood Non-imaging Transient Reconstruction and Temporal Search pipeline on the BAT data made available via the GUANO infrastructure. We do not detect any significant electromagnetic emission that is temporally and spatially coincident with any of the GW candidates. We report flux upper limits in the 15–350 keV band as a function of sky position for all the catalog candidates. For GW candidates where the Swift-BAT false alarm rate is less than 10⁻³Hz, we compute the GW–BAT joint false alarm rate. Finally, the derived Swift-BAT upper limits are used to infer constraints on the putative electromagnetic emission associated with binary black hole mergers. 

Abstract Despite the growing number of binary black hole coalescences confidently observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include the effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that have already been identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total source-frame massM> 70M_⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz emitted gravitational-wave frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place a conservative upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0 <e≤ 0.3 at 16.9 Gpc⁻³yr⁻¹at the 90% confidence level. 

Abstract We report the observation of a coalescing compact binary with component masses 2.5–4.5M_⊙and 1.2–2.0M_⊙(all measurements quoted at the 90% credible level). The gravitational-wave signal GW230529_181500 was observed during the fourth observing run of the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA detector network on 2023 May 29 by the LIGO Livingston observatory. The primary component of the source has a mass less than 5M_⊙at 99% credibility. We cannot definitively determine from gravitational-wave data alone whether either component of the source is a neutron star or a black hole. However, given existing estimates of the maximum neutron star mass, we find the most probable interpretation of the source to be the coalescence of a neutron star with a black hole that has a mass between the most massive neutron stars and the least massive black holes observed in the Galaxy. We provisionally estimate a merger rate density of ${55}_{-47}^{+127}{\mathrm{Gpc}}^{-3}{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$for compact binary coalescences with properties similar to the source of GW230529_181500; assuming that the source is a neutron star–black hole merger, GW230529_181500-like sources may make up the majority of neutron star–black hole coalescences. The discovery of this system implies an increase in the expected rate of neutron star–black hole mergers with electromagnetic counterparts and provides further evidence for compact objects existing within the purported lower mass gap. 

Abstract The global network of gravitational-wave observatories now includes five detectors, namely LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston, Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO 600. These detectors collected data during their third observing run, O3, composed of three phases: O3a starting in 2019 April and lasting six months, O3b starting in 2019 November and lasting five months, and O3GK starting in 2020 April and lasting two weeks. In this paper we describe these data and various other science products that can be freely accessed through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center at https://gwosc.org . The main data set, consisting of the gravitational-wave strain time series that contains the astrophysical signals, is released together with supporting data useful for their analysis and documentation, tutorials, as well as analysis software packages.