Characteristics of HIV-1 Serodiscordant Couples Enrolled in a Clinical Trial of Antiretroviral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV-1 Prevention

Stable heterosexual HIV-1 serodiscordant couples in Africa have high HIV-1 transmission rates and are a critical population for evaluation of new HIV-1 prevention strategies. The Partners PrEP Study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of tenofovir and emtricitabine-tenofovir pre-exposure prophylaxis to decrease HIV-1 acquisition within heterosexual HIV-1 serodiscordant couples. We describe the trial design and characteristics of the study cohort.HIV-1 serodiscordant couples, in which the HIV-1 infected partner did not meet national guidelines for initiation of antiretroviral therapy, were enrolled at 9 research sites in Kenya and Uganda. The HIV-1 susceptible partner was randomized to daily oral tenofovir, emtricitabine-tenofovir, or matching placebo with monthly follow-up for 24-36 months.From July 2008 to November 2010, 7920 HIV-1 serodiscordant couples were screened and 4758 enrolled. For 62% (2966/4758) of enrolled couples, the HIV-1 susceptible partner was male. Median age was 33 years for HIV-1 susceptible and HIV-1 infected partners [IQR (28-40) and (26-39) respectively]. Most couples (98%) were married, with a median duration of partnership of 7.0 years (IQR 3.0-14.0) and recent knowledge of their serodiscordant status [median 0.4 years (IQR 0.1-2.0)]. During the month prior to enrollment, couples reported a median of 4 sex acts (IQR 2-8); 27% reported unprotected sex and 14% of male and 1% of female HIV-1 susceptible partners reported sex with outside partners. Among HIV-1 infected partners, the median plasma HIV-1 level was 3.94 log(10) copies/mL (IQR 3.31-4.53) and median CD4 count was 496 cells/µL (IQR 375-662); the majority (64%) had WHO stage 1 HIV-1 disease.Couples at high risk of HIV-1 transmission were rapidly recruited into the Partners PrEP Study, the largest efficacy trial of oral PrEP. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00557245)

A theoretical foundation for multi-scale regular vegetation patterns

Self-organized regular vegetation patterns are widespread and thought to mediate ecosystem functions such as productivity and robustness, but the mechanisms underlying their origin and maintenance remain disputed. Particularly controversial are landscapes of overdispersed (evenly spaced) elements, such as North American Mima mounds, Brazilian murundus, South African heuweltjies, and, famously, Namibian fairy circles. Two competing hypotheses are currently debated. On the one hand, models of scale-dependent feedbacks, whereby plants facilitate neighbours while competing with distant individuals, can reproduce various regular patterns identified in satellite imagery. Owing to deep theoretical roots and apparent generality, scale-dependent feedbacks are widely viewed as a unifying and near-universal principle of regular-pattern formation despite scant empirical evidence. On the other hand, many overdispersed vegetation patterns worldwide have been attributed to subterranean ecosystem engineers such as termites, ants, and rodents. Although potentially consistent with territorial competition, this interpretation has been challenged theoretically and empirically and (unlike scale-dependent feedbacks) lacks a unifying dynamical theory, fuelling scepticism about its plausibility and generality. Here we provide a general theoretical foundation for self-organization of social-insect colonies, validated using data from four continents, which demonstrates that intraspecific competition between territorial animals can generate the large-scale hexagonal regularity of these patterns. However, this mechanism is not mutually exclusive with scale-dependent feedbacks. Using Namib Desert fairy circles as a case study, we present field data showing that these landscapes exhibit multi-scale patterning-previously undocumented in this system-that cannot be explained by either mechanism in isolation. These multi-scale patterns and other emergent properties, such as enhanced resistance to and recovery from drought, instead arise from dynamic interactions in our theoretical framework, which couples both mechanisms. The potentially global extent of animal-induced regularity in vegetation-which can modulate other patterning processes in functionally important ways-emphasizes the need to integrate multiple mechanisms of ecological self-organization

Erratum: “Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015–2017 LIGO Data” (2019, ApJ, 879, 10)

Due to an error at the publisher, in the published article the number of pulsars presented in the paper is incorrect in multiple places throughout the text. Specifically, "222" pulsars should be "221." Additionally, the number of pulsars for which we have EM observations that fully overlap with O1 and O2 changes from "168" to "167." Elsewhere, in the machine-readable table of Table 1 and in Table 2, the row corresponding to pulsar J0952-0607 should be excised as well. Finally, in the caption for Table 2 the number of pulsars changes from "188" to "187.

Searches for gravitational waves from known pulsars at two harmonics in 2015-2017 LIGO data

International audienceWe present a search for gravitational waves from 222 pulsars with rotation frequencies ≳10 Hz. We use advanced LIGO data from its first and second observing runs spanning 2015–2017, which provides the highest-sensitivity gravitational-wave data so far obtained. In this search we target emission from both the l = m = 2 mass quadrupole mode, with a frequency at twice that of the pulsar’s rotation, and the l = 2, m = 1 mode, with a frequency at the pulsar rotation frequency. The search finds no evidence for gravitational-wave emission from any pulsar at either frequency. For the l = m = 2 mode search, we provide updated upper limits on the gravitational-wave amplitude, mass quadrupole moment, and fiducial ellipticity for 167 pulsars, and the first such limits for a further 55. For 20 young pulsars these results give limits that are below those inferred from the pulsars’ spin-down. For the Crab and Vela pulsars our results constrain gravitational-wave emission to account for less than 0.017% and 0.18% of the spin-down luminosity, respectively. For the recycled millisecond pulsar J0711−6830 our limits are only a factor of 1.3 above the spin-down limit, assuming the canonical value of 1038 kg m2 for the star’s moment of inertia, and imply a gravitational-wave-derived upper limit on the star’s ellipticity of 1.2 × 10−8. We also place new limits on the emission amplitude at the rotation frequency of the pulsars

GW190412: Observation of a Binary-Black-Hole Coalescence with Asymmetric Masses

We report the observation of gravitational waves from a binary-black-hole coalescence during the first two weeks of LIGO’s and Virgo’s third observing run. The signal was recorded on April 12, 2019 at 05∶30∶44 UTC with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 19. The binary is different from observations during the first two observing runs most notably due to its asymmetric masses: a ∼30 M_⊙ black hole merged with a ∼8 M_⊙ black hole companion. The more massive black hole rotated with a dimensionless spin magnitude between 0.22 and 0.60 (90% probability). Asymmetric systems are predicted to emit gravitational waves with stronger contributions from higher multipoles, and indeed we find strong evidence for gravitational radiation beyond the leading quadrupolar order in the observed signal. A suite of tests performed on GW190412 indicates consistency with Einstein’s general theory of relativity. While the mass ratio of this system differs from all previous detections, we show that it is consistent with the population model of stellar binary black holes inferred from the first two observing runs

GW190425 : observation of a compact binary coalescence with total mass ~ 3.4 M o

On 2019 April 25, the LIGO Livingston detector observed a compact binary coalescence with signal-to-noise ratio 12.9. The Virgo detector was also taking data that did not contribute to detection due to a low signal-to-noise ratio, but were used for subsequent parameter estimation. The 90% credible intervals for the component masses range from to if we restrict the dimensionless component spin magnitudes to be smaller than 0.05). These mass parameters are consistent with the individual binary components being neutron stars. However, both the source-frame chirp mass and the total mass of this system are significantly larger than those of any other known binary neutron star (BNS) system. The possibility that one or both binary components of the system are black holes cannot be ruled out from gravitational-wave data. We discuss possible origins of the system based on its inconsistency with the known Galactic BNS population. Under the assumption that the signal was produced by a BNS coalescence, the local rate of neutron star mergers is updated to 250-2810

Search of the early O3 LIGO data for continuous gravitational waves from the Cassiopeia A and Vela Jr. supernova remnants

partially_open1412sìWe present directed searches for continuous gravitational waves from the neutron stars in the Cassiopeia A (Cas A) and Vela Jr. supernova remnants. We carry out the searches in the LIGO detector data from the first six months of the third Advanced LIGO and Virgo observing run using the weave semicoherent method, which sums matched-filter detection-statistic values over many time segments spanning the observation period. No gravitational wave signal is detected in the search band of 20–976 Hz for assumed source ages greater than 300 years for Cas A and greater than 700 years for Vela Jr. Estimates from simulated continuous wave signals indicate we achieve the most sensitive results to date across the explored parameter space volume, probing to strain magnitudes as low as ∼6.3×10^−26 for Cas A and ∼5.6×10^−26 for Vela Jr. at frequencies near 166 Hz at 95% efficiency.openAbbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adhikari, N.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agarwal, D.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Albanesi, S.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Amato, A.; Anand, C.; Anand, S.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Andrade, T.; Andres, N.; Andrić, T.; Angelova, S. V.; Ansoldi, S.; Antelis, J. M.; Antier, S.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arène, M.; Arnaud, N.; Aronson, S. M.; Arun, K. G.; Asali, Y.; Ashton, G.; Assiduo, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aubin, F.; Austin, C.; Babak, S.; Badaracco, F.; Bader, M. K. M.; Badger, C.; Bae, S.; Baer, A. M.; Bagnasco, S.; Bai, Y.; Baird, J.; Ball, M.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Balsamo, A.; Baltus, G.; Banagiri, S.; Bankar, D.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barbieri, C.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barneo, P.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Bawaj, M.; Bayley, J. C.; Baylor, A. C.; Bazzan, M.; Bécsy, B.; Bedakihale, V. M.; Bejger, M.; Belahcene, I.; Benedetto, V.; Beniwal, D.; Bennett, T. F.; Bentley, J. D.; BenYaala, M.; Bergamin, F.; Berger, B. K.; Bernuzzi, S.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Beveridge, D.; Bhandare, R.; Bhardwaj, U.; Bhattacharjee, D.; Bhaumik, S.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Bini, S.; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Bischi, M.; Biscoveanu, S.; Bisht, A.; Biswas, B.; Bitossi, M.; Bizouard, M.-A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bobba, F.; Bode, N.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, G.; Boldrini, M.; Bonavena, L. D.; Bondu, F.; Bonilla, E.; Bonnand, R.; Booker, P.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, N.; Bose, S.; Bossilkov, V.; Boudart, V.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Bramley, A.; Branch, A.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Breschi, M.; Briant, T.; Briggs, J. H.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brockill, P.; Brooks, A. F.; Brooks, J.; Brown, D. D.; Brunett, S.; Bruno, G.; Bruntz, R.; Bryant, J.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buscicchio, R.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderón; Callaghan, J. D.; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Cameron, J.; Camp, J. B.; Canepa, M.; Canevarolo, S.; Cannavacciuolo, M.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, H.; Capote, E.; Carapella, G.; Carbognani, F.; Carlin, J. B.; Carney, M. F.; Carpinelli, M.; Carrillo, G.; Carullo, G.; Carver, T. L.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Castaldi, G.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Ceasar, M.; Cella, G.; Cerdá-Durán, P.; Cesarini, E.; Chaibi, W.; Chakravarti, K.; Subrahmanya, S. Chalathadka; Champion, E.; Chan, C.-H.; Chan, C.; Chan, C. L.; Chan, K.; Chandra, K.; Chanial, P.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chase, E. A.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chatterjee, C.; Chatterjee, Debarati; Chatterjee, Deep; Chaturvedi, M.; Chaty, S.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, J.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Chen, Z.; Cheng, H.; Cheong, C. K.; Cheung, H. Y.; Chia, H. Y.; Chiadini, F.; Chiarini, G.; Chierici, R.; Chincarini, A.; Chiofalo, M. L.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, G.; Cho, H. S.; Choudhary, R. K.; Choudhary, S.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, S.; Chung, K. W.; Ciani, G.; Ciecielag, P.; Cieślar, M.; Cifaldi, M.; Ciobanu, A. A.; Ciolfi, R.; Cipriano, F.; Cirone, A.; Clara, F.; Clark, E. N.; Clark, J. A.; Clarke, L.; Clearwater, P.; Clesse, S.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Codazzo, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Cohen, D. E.; Cohen, L.; Colleoni, M.; Collette, C. G.; Colombo, A.; Colpi, M.; Compton, C. M.; Constancio, M.; Conti, L.; Cooper, S. J.; Corban, P.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cordero-Carrión, I.; Corezzi, S.; Corley, K. R.; Cornish, N.; Corre, D.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, C. A.; Cotesta, R.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S. T.; Cousins, B.; Couvares, P.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Criswell, A. W.; Croquette, M.; Crowder, S. G.; Cudell, J. R.; Cullen, T. J.; Cumming, A.; Cummings, R.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Curyło, M.; Dabadie, P.; Canton, T. Dal; Dall’Osso, S.; Dálya, G.; Dana, A.; DaneshgaranBajastani, L. M.; D’Angelo, B.; Danilishin, S.; D’Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darsow-Fromm, C.; Dasgupta, A.; Datrier, L. E. H.; Datta, S.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Davis, D.; Davis, M. C.; Daw, E. J.; Dean, R.; DeBra, D.; Deenadayalan, M.; Degallaix, J.; De Laurentis, M.; Deléglise, S.; Del Favero, V.; De Lillo, F.; De Lillo, N.; Del Pozzo, W.; DeMarchi, L. M.; De Matteis, F.; D’Emilio, V.; Demos, N.; Dent, T.; Depasse, A.; De Pietri, R.; De Rosa, R.; De Rossi, C.; DeSalvo, R.; De Simone, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M. C.; Diaz-Ortiz, M.; Didio, N. A.; Dietrich, T.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Fronzo, C.; Di Giorgio, C.; Di Giovanni, F.; Di Giovanni, M.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Ding, B.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Renzo, F.; Divakarla, A. K.; Dmitriev, A.; Doctor, Z.; D’Onofrio, L.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Dorrington, I.; Drago, M.; Driggers, J. C.; Drori, Y.; Ducoin, J.-G.; Dupej, P.; Durante, O.; D’Urso, D.; Duverne, P.-A.; Dwyer, S. E.; Eassa, C.; Easter, P. J.; Ebersold, M.; Eckhardt, T.; Eddolls, G.; Edelman, B.; Edo, T. B.; Edy, O.; Effler, A.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Eisenmann, M.; Eisenstein, R. A.; Ejlli, A.; Engelby, E.; Errico, L.; Essick, R. C.; Estellés, H.; Estevez, D.; Etienne, Z.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T. M.; Ewing, B. E.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Farah, A. M.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Farrow, N. W.; Fauchon-Jones, E. J.; Favaro, G.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fazio, M.; Feicht, J.; Fejer, M. M.; Fenyvesi, E.; Ferguson, D. L.; Fernandez-Galiana, A.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, T. A.; Fidecaro, F.; Figura, P.; Fiori, I.; Fishbach, M.; Fisher, R. P.; Fittipaldi, R.; Fiumara, V.; Flaminio, R.; Floden, E.; Fong, H.; Font, J. A.; Fornal, B.; Forsyth, P. W. F.; Franke, A.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frederick, C.; Freed, J. P.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fronzé, G. G.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A.; Gadre, B. U.; Gair, J. R.; Gais, J.; Galaudage, S.; Gamba, R.; Ganapathy, D.; Ganguly, A.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garaventa, B.; García-Núñez, C.; García-Quirós, C.; Garufi, F.; Gateley, B.; Gaudio, S.; Gayathri, V.; Gemme, G.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gerberding, O.; Gergely, L.; Gewecke, P.; Ghonge, S.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, Shaon; Ghosh, Shrobana; Giacomazzo, B.; Giacoppo, L.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Gibson, D. R.; Gier, C.; Giesler, M.; Giri, P.; Gissi, F.; Glanzer, J.; Gleckl, A. E.; Godwin, P.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gohlke, N.; Goncharov, B.; González, G.; Gopakumar, A.; Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Gould, D. W.; Grace, B.; Grado, A.; Granata, M.; Granata, V.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Grassia, P.; Gray, C.; Gray, R.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Green, R.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Gretarsson, E. M.; Griffith, D.; Griffiths, W.; Griggs, H. L.; Grignani, G.; Grimaldi, A.; Grimm, S. J.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Gruning, P.; Guerra, D.; Guidi, Gianluca; Guimaraes, A. R.; Guixé, G.; Gulati, H. K.; Guo, H.-K.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, Anchal; Gupta, Anuradha; Gupta, P.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Guzman, F.; Haegel, L.; Halim, O.; Hall, E. D.; Hamilton, E. Z.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hannuksela, O.; Hansen, H.; Hansen, T. J.; Hanson, J.; Harder, T.; Hardwick, T.; Haris, K.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hartwig, D.; Haskell, B.; Hasskew, R. K.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Hayes, F. J.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heidt, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heinze, J.; Heinzel, J.; Heitmann, H.; Hellman, F.; Hello, P.; Helmling-Cornell, A. F.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennes, E.; Hennig, J.; Hennig, M. H.; Hernandez, A. G.; Vivanco, F. Hernandez; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hill, P.; Hines, A. S.; Hochheim, S.; Hofman, D.; Hohmann, J. N.; Holcomb, D. G.; Holland, N. A.; Hollows, I. J.; Holmes, Z. J.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hough, J.; Hourihane, S.; Howell, E. J.; Hoy, C. G.; Hoyland, D.; Hreibi, A.; Hsu, Y.; Huang, Y.; Hübner, M. T.; Huddart, A. D.; Hughey, B.; Hui, V.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huxford, R.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idzkowski, B.; Iess, A.; Ingram, C.; Isi, M.; Isleif, K.; Iyer, B. R.; JaberianHamedan, V.; Jacqmin, T.; Jadhav, S. J.; Jadhav, S. P.; James, A. L.; Jan, A. Z.; Jani, K.; Janquart, J.; Janssens, K.; Janthalur, N. N.; Jaranowski, P.; Jariwala, D.; Jaume, R.; Jenkins, A. C.; Jenner, K.; Jeunon, M.; Jia, W.; Johns, G. R.; Jones, A. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, J. D.; Jones, P.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Junker, J.; Juste, V.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kamai, B.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Kao, Y.; Kapadia, S. J.; Kapasi, D. P.; Karat, S.; Karathanasis, C.; Karki, S.; Kashyap, R.; Kasprzack, M.; Kastaun, W.; Katsanevas, S.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kéfélian, F.; Keitel, D.; Key, J. S.; Khadka, S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, S.; Khazanov, E. A.; Khetan, N.; Khursheed, M.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, C.; Kim, J. C.; Kim, K.; Kim, W. S.; Kim, Y.-M.; Kimball, C.; Kinley-Hanlon, M.; Kirchhoff, R.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Knee, A. M.; Knowles, T. D.; Knyazev, E.; Koch, P.; Koekoek, G.; Koley, S.; Kolitsidou, P.; Kolstein, M.; Komori, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Koper, N.; Korobko, M.; Kovalam, M.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnendu, N. V.; Królak, A.; Kuehn, G.; Kuei, F.; Kuijer, P.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, Rahul; Kumar, Rakesh; Kuns, K.; Kuwahara, S.; Lagabbe, P.; Laghi, D.; Lalande, E.; Lam, T. L.; Lamberts, A.; Landry, M.; Lane, B. B.; Lang, R. N.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; La Rosa, I.; Lartaux-Vollard, A.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lecoeuche, Y. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, H. W.; Lee, J.; Lee, K.; Lehmann, J.; Lemaître, A.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levesque, C.; Levin, Y.; Leviton, J. N.; Leyde, K.; Li, A. K. Y.; Li, B.; Li, J.; Li, T. G. F.; Li, X.; Linde, F.; Linker, S. D.; Linley, J. N.; Littenberg, T. B.; Liu, J.; Liu, K.; Liu, X.; Llamas, F.; Llorens-Monteagudo, M.; Lo, R. K. L.; Lockwood, A.; London, L. T.; Longo, A.; Lopez, D.; Portilla, M. Lopez; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lott, T. P.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C. O.; Lovelace, G.; Lucaccioni, J. F.; Lück, H.; Lumaca, D.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynam, J. E.; Macas, R.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; MacMillan, I. A. O.; Macquet, A.; Hernandez, I. Magaña; Magazzù, C.; Magee, R. M.; Maggiore, R.; Magnozzi, M.; Mahesh, S.; Majorana, E.; Makarem, C.; Maksimovic, I.; Maliakal, S.; Malik, A.; Man, N.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mango, J. L.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Mapelli, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Mark, Z.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markakis, C.; Markosyan, A. S.; Markowitz, A.; Maros, E.; Marquina, A.; Marsat, S.; Martelli, F.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martinez, M.; Martinez, V. A.; Martinez, V.; Martinovic, K.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, E. J.; Masalehdan, H.; Mason, K.; Massera, E.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matas, A.; Mateu-Lucena, M.; Matichard, F.; Matiushechkina, M.; Mavalvala, N.; McCann, J. J.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McClincy, P. K.; McCormick, S.; McCuller, L.; McGhee, G. I.; McGuire, S. C.; McIsaac, C.; McIver, J.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Mehmet, M.; Mehta, A. K.; Meijer, Q.; Melatos, A.; Melchor, D. A.; Mendell, G.; Menendez-Vazquez, A.; Menoni, C. S.; Mercer, R. A.; Mereni, L.; Merfeld, K.; Merilh, E. L.; Merritt, J. D.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Meylahn, F.; Mhaske, A.; Miani, A.; Miao, H.; Michaloliakos, I.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Milano, L.; Miller, A.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, B.; Millhouse, M.; Mills, J. C.; Milotti, E.; Minazzoli, O.; Minenkov, Y.; Mir, Ll. M.; Miravet-Tenés, M.; Mishra, C.; Mishra, T.; Mistry, T.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Mo, Geoffrey; Moguel, E.; Mogushi, K.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Mohite, S. R.; Molina, I.; Molina-Ruiz, M.; Mondin, M.; Montani, M.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Morawski, F.; More, A.; Moreno, C.; Moreno, G.; Morisaki, S.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mozzon, S.; Muciaccia, F.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D.; Mukherjee, Soma; Mukherjee, Subroto; Mukherjee, Suvodip; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Muñiz, E. A.; Murray, P. G.; Musenich, R.; Muusse, S.; Nadji, S. L.; Nagar, A.; Napolano, V.; Nardecchia, I.; 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Properties and Astrophysical Implications of the 150 M_⊙ Binary Black Hole Merger GW190521

The gravitational-wave signal GW190521 is consistent with a binary black hole (BBH) merger source at redshift 0.8 with unusually high component masses, 85⁺²¹₋₁₄ M_⊙ and 66⁺¹⁷₋₁₈ M_⊙, compared to previously reported events, and shows mild evidence for spin-induced orbital precession. The primary falls in the mass gap predicted by (pulsational) pair-instability supernova theory, in the approximate range 65–120 M_⊙. The probability that at least one of the black holes in GW190521 is in that range is 99.0%. The final mass of the merger 142⁺²⁸₋₁₆ M_⊙) classifies it as an intermediate-mass black hole. Under the assumption of a quasi-circular BBH coalescence, we detail the physical properties of GW190521's source binary and its post-merger remnant, including component masses and spin vectors. Three different waveform models, as well as direct comparison to numerical solutions of general relativity, yield consistent estimates of these properties. Tests of strong-field general relativity targeting the merger-ringdown stages of the coalescence indicate consistency of the observed signal with theoretical predictions. We estimate the merger rate of similar systems to be 0.13_(-0.11)^(+0.30) Gpc⁻³ yr⁻¹. We discuss the astrophysical implications of GW190521 for stellar collapse and for the possible formation of black holes in the pair-instability mass gap through various channels: via (multiple) stellar coalescences, or via hierarchical mergers of lower-mass black holes in star clusters or in active galactic nuclei. We find it to be unlikely that GW190521 is a strongly lensed signal of a lower-mass black hole binary merger. We also discuss more exotic possible sources for GW190521, including a highly eccentric black hole binary, or a primordial black hole binary