LIGO Document P2500781-v17
- The signals from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network of gravitational-wave (GW) detectors allow us to perform sensitive tests of general relativity (GR) in the dynamical and strong-field regime of gravity. We present the results of seven tests of GR using the observed binary signals included in the fifth GW Transient Catalog (GWTC-5.0), i.e., up to and including the second part of the fourth observing run (O4b). We restrict our analysis to the confident signals, henceforth called events, that have been seen by at least two detectors and have false alarm rates \( \le 10^{-3} \ \rm{yr}^{-1} \). These include 72 events from O4b and five events from the first part of the fourth observing
run that are now analyzed due to their increased significance from updated search results, bringing the total
number of events for tests of GR in the cumulative GWTC to 168. After subtracting the best-fit waveforms, we
find the residuals are consistent with detector noise for all events considered. We also find no strong evidence
for additional polarizations beyond those predicted by GR. We perform tests of GW generation, improving the
constraints on deviations from the GR post-Newtonian coefficients by factors of 1.2 to 2.6. Finally, we find overall
consistency of the remnants with GR using both time- and frequency-domain methods. For GW240621_195059,
postmerger data are consistent with the dominant quadrupolar (ℓ= |m|= 2) mode of a Kerr black hole and
its first overtone, with spurious high-frequency content preventing a spectroscopic constraint of GR. In the
frequency-domain ringdown analysis, the GR prediction lies in the tails of the combined results, possibly due to
the limited catalog size. However, the combined results indicate improved consistency with GR over GWTC-4.0,
owing to the contribution of GW250114 with a network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 76.9. Overall, we
find no evidence for physics beyond GR.
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