EU-funded scientists have produced a set of numerically generated waveforms that should not only impact the search for gravitational waves, but also the study of merging binary black holes.
Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time created by astronomical objects, similar to surface waves generated when a stone is thrown into a body of water. While Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts the existence of these unusual waves, they have not as yet been directly detected.
Further information: The search for gravitational waves