Techniques for gravitational-wave detection of compact binary coalescence

In September 2015, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) came online with unprecedented sensitivity. Now with two observation runs completed, LIGO has detected gravitational waves from five binary black hole mergers and one neutron star merger. The Advanced Virgo detector also recently came online in August 2017, significantly improving the sky localization of two of these events. The identification of these signals relies on techniques that can clearly distinguish a gravitational-wave signature from transient detector noise. With the next LIGO and Virgo observation run expected to begin in the fall of 2018, more detections are expected with the potential for discovery of new types of astrophysical sources.