The primary and secondary masses of the binary black holes (BBH) reported by LIGO/Virgo are correlated with a narrow dispersion that appears to increase in proportion to mass. The mean binary mass ratio $1.45pm0.07$ we show is consistent with pairs d
rawn randomly from the mass distribution of black holes in our Galaxy. However, BBH masses are concentrated around $simeq 30M_odot$, whereas black holes in our Galaxy peak at $simeq 10M_odot$. This mass difference can be reconciled by gravitational lensing magnification which allows distant events to be detected with typically $zsimeq 2$, so the waveform is reduced in frequency by $1+z$, and hence the measured chirp masses appear 3 times larger than their intrinsic values. This redshift enhancement also accounts for the dispersion of primary and secondary masses, both of which should increase as $1+z$, thereby appearing to scale with mass, in agreement with the data. Thus the BBH component masses provide independent support for lensing, implying most high chirp mass events have intrinsic masses like the stellar mass black holes in our Galaxy, coalescing at $z>1$, with only two low mass BBH detections, of $simeq 10M_odot$ as expected for unlensed events in the local Universe, $zsimeq 0.1$. This lensing solution requires a rapidly declining BBH event rate below $z<1$, which together with the observed absence of BBH spin suggests most events originate within young globular clusters at $z>1$, via efficient binary capture of stellar mass black holes with randomly oriented spins.
We present motivations for and study feasibility of a small, rapid optical to IR response gamma ray burst (GRB) space observatory. By analyzing existing GRB data, we give realistic detection rates for X-ray and optical/IR instruments of modest size u
nder actual flight conditions. Given new capabilities of fast optical/IR response (about 1 s to target) and simultaneous multi-band imaging, such an observatory can have a reasonable event rate, likely leading to new science. Requiring a Swift-like orbit, duty cycle, and observing constraints, a Swift-BAT scaled down to 190 square cm of detector area would still detect and locate about 27 GRB per yr. for a trigger threshold of 6.5 sigma. About 23 percent of X-ray located GRB would be detected optically for a 10 cm diameter instrument (about 6 per yr. for the 6.5 sigma X-ray trigger).
We have searched the 1st-year WMAP W-Band CMB anisotropy map for evidence of cosmic strings. We have set a limit of $delta = 8 pi G mu / c^2 < 8.2 times 10^{-6}$ at 95% CL for statistical search for a significant number of strings in the map. We also
have set a limit using the uniform distribution of strings model in the WMAP data with $delta = 8 pi G mu / c^2 < 7.34 times 10^{-5}$ at 95% CL. And the pattern search technique we developed here set a limit $delta = 8 pi G mu / c^2 < 1.54 times 10^{-5}$ at 95% CL.
