Observational confirmation of Hawking’s black-hole area theorem based on data from GW150914

https://journals.aps.org/prl/accepted/36074Y8aM291c462a4e264336d883136eb53c122b?s=15

Testing the black-hole area law with GW150914

Phys. Rev. Lett.

Maximiliano Isi, Will M. Farr, Matthew Giesler, Mark A. Scheel, and Saul A. Teukolsky

Accepted

26 May 2021

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

We present observational confirmation of Hawking’s black-hole area theorem based on data from GW150914, finding agreement with the prediction with () probability when we model the ringdown including (excluding) overtones of the quadrupolar mode. We obtain this result from a new time-domain analysis of the pre- and postmerger data. We also confirm that the inspiral and ringdown portions of the signal are consistent with the same remnant mass and spin, in agreement with general relativity.