GW241011 and GW241110: Exploring binary formation and fundamental physics with asymmetric, high-spin black hole coalescences

Al-Shammari, S., Amarasinghege, O., Antonini, F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3138-6199, Bergamin, F., Divyajyoti, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-1012, Dooley, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1636-0233, Fairhurst, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8480-1961, Goettel, A. S., Grote, H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0797-3943, Hannam, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5571-325X, Higginbotham, S., Javed, W. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1471-7890, Kinnear, M., Kokeyama, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2896-1992, Kuntimaddi, N., MacLeod, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1395-8694, Mahapatra, P., Norman, M., North, C., Patra, D., Patterson, B. G., Pearce, T., Raymond, V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0066-0095, Riley, H., Sathyaprakash, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3845-7586, Schutz, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9487-6983, Skliris, V., Sutton, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-3922, Tanioka, S. and Tsang, T. 2025. GW241011 and GW241110: Exploring binary formation and fundamental physics with asymmetric, high-spin black hole coalescences. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 993 , L21. 10.3847/2041-8213/ae0d54

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Abstract

We report the observation of gravitational waves from two binary black hole coalescences during the fourth observing run of the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA detector network, GW241011 and GW241110. The sources of these two signals are characterized by rapid and precisely measured primary spins, nonnegligible spin–orbit misalignment, and unequal mass ratios between their constituent black holes. These properties are characteristic of binaries in which the more massive object was itself formed from a previous binary black hole merger and suggest that the sources of GW241011 and GW241110 may have formed in dense stellar environments in which repeated mergers can take place. As the third-loudest gravitational-wave event published to date, with a median network signal-to-noise ratio of 36.0, GW241011 furthermore yields stringent constraints on the Kerr nature of black holes, the multipolar structure of gravitational-wave generation, and the existence of ultralight bosons within the mass range 10−13–10−12 eV.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Physics and Astronomy
Additional Information:	For the full list of authors, please refer to the article webpage at https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae0d54
Publisher:	American Astronomical Society
ISSN:	2041-8213
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 November 2025
Date of Acceptance:	26 September 2025
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2025 11:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182092

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