Recent observational and theoretical work increase the confidence that short-duration gamma-ray bursts are created by the coalescence of compact objects , like neutron stars and/or black holes .
From the observation of short-duration gamma-ray bursts with know distances it is possible to infer their rate in the local universe , and draw conclusions for the rate of compact binary coalescences .
Although the sample of such events with reliable redshift measurements is very small , we try to model the distribution with a luminosity function and a rate function .
The analysis performed with a sample of 15 short gamma-ray bursts yields a range for the merger rate of 75 to 660 Gpc ^ { -3 } yr ^ { -1 } , with a median rate of 180 Gpc ^ { -3 } yr ^ { -1 } .
This result is in general agreement with similar investigations using gamma-ray burst observations .
Furthermore , we estimate the number of coincident observations of gravitational wave signals with short gamma-ray bursts in the advanced detector era .
Assuming each short gamma-ray burst is created by a double neutron star merger , the expected rate of coincident observations is 0.1 to 1.1 per year , when assuming each short gamma-ray burst is created by a merger of a neutron star and a black hole , this rate becomes 0.4 to 4.0 per year .