Merging Rates of Compact Binaries in the Universe: Gravitational Waves and Gamma-Ray Bursts

Merging rates of compact binaries (double neutron stars or black holes) are calculated based on the modern concept of binary stellar evolution. It is found that the initial laser interferometers with an rms-sensitivity of $10^{-21}$ at the frequency 100 Hz can detect 10-700 black holes and only \sim 1 neutron star coalescences in a 1-year integration time. Implications of the evolutionary effects to the cosmological origin of GRB are also discussed.