# Gravitational-Wave Astronomy: State of the Field (October 2026)

Research dossier · v1 · updated 2026-10-30 · 3,218 words · 63 sources · 27 claims · verification: verified

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.

## Contents

- Executive summary
- Background and core concepts
- Timeline of key milestones
- State of the art
  - Catalogues and the compact-binary population
  - Heavy and unusual compact objects
  - Neutron-star mergers and multimessenger astronomy
  - Pulsar timing arrays
  - Tests of general relativity and horizon physics
  - Quantitative benchmarks
- Open problems and active debates
- Major programs and players
- Outlook: what to watch (next 12-18 months)
- Key papers
- Glossary

## Sample findings

- 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.

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