{"slug":"gravitational-waves","topic":"gravitational-waves","title":"Gravitational-Wave Astronomy: State of the Field (October 2026)","summary":"Covers ground-based compact-binary catalogues from LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA, massive binary black holes including GW231123, the multimessenger neutron-star merger GW170817, the nanohertz background seen by pulsar timing arrays, and tests of general relativity. The main takeaway: more than 200 compact-binary candidates are now catalogued, while the nanohertz background is reported at moderate significance and its source is still unidentified.","version":1,"published_at":"2026-10-30","updated_at":"2026-10-30","stats":{"words":3218,"citations":63,"claims":27,"timeline":19,"benchmarks":10,"open_problems":8,"key_papers":15,"glossary":15},"verification":{"status":"verified","method":"independent AI fact-check against cited sources (evidence pack + web checks); automated citation resolution","claims_checked":28,"issues_fixed":26,"verified_at":"2026-10-30"},"ai_assisted":true,"price":{"usd":"0.20","protocol":"x402","network":"eip155:84532","asset":"USDC"},"url":"https://space-kitty.com/dossiers/gravitational-waves","preview_url":"https://space-kitty.com/api/v1/dossiers/gravitational-waves/preview","purchase_url":"https://space-kitty.com/api/v1/dossiers/gravitational-waves","toc":[{"level":2,"text":"Executive summary","anchor":"executive-summary"},{"level":2,"text":"Background and core concepts","anchor":"background-and-core-concepts"},{"level":2,"text":"Timeline of key milestones","anchor":"timeline-of-key-milestones"},{"level":2,"text":"State of the art","anchor":"state-of-the-art"},{"level":3,"text":"Catalogues and the compact-binary population","anchor":"catalogues-and-the-compact-binary-population"},{"level":3,"text":"Heavy and unusual compact objects","anchor":"heavy-and-unusual-compact-objects"},{"level":3,"text":"Neutron-star mergers and multimessenger astronomy","anchor":"neutron-star-mergers-and-multimessenger-astronomy"},{"level":3,"text":"Pulsar timing arrays","anchor":"pulsar-timing-arrays"},{"level":3,"text":"Tests of general relativity and horizon physics","anchor":"tests-of-general-relativity-and-horizon-physics"},{"level":3,"text":"Quantitative benchmarks","anchor":"quantitative-benchmarks"},{"level":2,"text":"Open problems and active debates","anchor":"open-problems-and-active-debates"},{"level":2,"text":"Major programs and players","anchor":"major-programs-and-players"},{"level":2,"text":"Outlook: what to watch (next 12-18 months)","anchor":"outlook-what-to-watch-next-12-18-months"},{"level":2,"text":"Key papers","anchor":"key-papers"},{"level":2,"text":"Glossary","anchor":"glossary"}],"sample_claims":["GW150914 had a peak strain of about 1.0 × 10^-21, and its signal rose from roughly 35 to 250 Hz.","The GW150914 signal matched the general-relativistic waveform for the inspiral, merger and ringdown phases."],"includes":["markdown","claims","timeline","benchmarks","open_problems","key_papers","glossary","bibliography"],"citation_count":63,"how_to_buy":"GET https://space-kitty.com/api/v1/dossiers/gravitational-waves with an x402 client ($0.20, USDC on Base Sepolia (testnet))."}