The Analysis of Large Order Bessel Functions in Gravitational Wave Signals from Pulsars

In this work, we present the analytic treatment of the large order Bessel functions that arise in the Fourier Transform (FT) of the Gravitational Wave (GW) signal from a pulsar. We outline several strategies which employ asymptotic expansions in evaluation of such Bessel functions which also happen to have large argument. Large order Bessel functions also arise in the Peters-Mathews model of binary inspiralling stars emitting GW and several problems in potential scattering theory. Other applications also arise in a variety of problems in Applied Mathematics as well as in the Natural Sciences and present a challenge for High Performance Computing(HPC).Comment: 8 pages, Uses IEEE style files: Ieee.cls, Ieee.clo and floatsty.sty. Accepted for publication in High Performance Computing Symposium, May 15-18 (HPCS 2005) Guelph, Ontario, Canad

Implementation of the frequency-modulated sideband search method for gravitational waves from low mass X-ray binaries

We describe the practical implementation of the sideband search, a search for periodic gravitational waves from neutron stars in binary systems. The orbital motion of the source in its binary system causes frequency-modulation in the combination of matched filters known as the $\mathcal{F}$-statistic. The sideband search is based on the incoherent summation of these frequency-modulated $\mathcal{F}$-statistic sidebands. It provides a new detection statistic for sources in binary systems, called the $\mathcal{C}$-statistic. The search is well suited to low-mass X-ray binaries, the brightest of which, called Sco X-1, is an ideal target candidate. For sources like Sco X-1, with well constrained orbital parameters, a slight variation on the search is possible. The extra orbital information can be used to approximately demodulate the data from the binary orbital motion in the coherent stage, before incoherently summing the now reduced number of sidebands. We investigate this approach and show that it improves the sensitivity of the standard Sco X-1 directed sideband search. Prior information on the neutron star inclination and gravitational wave polarization can also be used to improve upper limit sensitivity. We estimate the sensitivity of a Sco X-1 directed sideband search on 10 days of LIGO data and show that it can beat previous upper limits in current LIGO data, with a possibility of constraining theoretical upper limits using future advanced instruments.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Data analysis of continuous gravitational wave: All sky search and study of templates

We have studied the problem of all sky search in reference to continuous gravitational wave particularly for such sources whose wave-form are known in advance. We have made an analysis of the number of templates required for matched filter analysis as applicable to these sources. We have employed the concept of {\it fitting factor} {\it (FF)}; treating the source location as the parameters of the signal manifold and have studied the matching of the signal with templates corresponding to different source locations. We have investigated the variation of FF with source location and have noticed a symmetry in template parameters, $\theta_T$ and $\phi_T$. It has been found that the two different template values in source location, each in $\theta_T$ and $\phi_T$, have same {\it FF}. We have also computed the number of templates required assuming the noise power spectral density $S_n(f)$ to be flat. It is observed that higher {\it FF} requires exponentially increasing large number of templates.Comment: Accepted in MNRAS, 14 pages, 5 figure

Data analysis of continuous gravitational wave: Fourier transform-II

In this paper we obtain the Fourier Transform of a continuous gravitational wave. We have analysed the data set for (i) one year observation time and (ii) arbitrary observation time, for arbitrary location of detector and source taking into account the effects arising due to rotational as well as orbital motion of the earth. As an application of the transform we considered spin down and N-component signal analysis.Comment: Accepted in MNRAS, 14 pages, 4 figure

Hidden Markov model tracking of continuous gravitational waves from a neutron star with wandering spin

Gravitational wave searches for continuous-wave signals from neutron stars are especially challenging when the star's spin frequency is unknown a priori from electromagnetic observations and wanders stochastically under the action of internal (e.g. superfluid or magnetospheric) or external (e.g. accretion) torques. It is shown that frequency tracking by hidden Markov model (HMM) methods can be combined with existing maximum likelihood coherent matched filters like the F-statistic to surmount some of the challenges raised by spin wandering. Specifically it is found that, for an isolated, biaxial rotor whose spin frequency walks randomly, HMM tracking of the F-statistic output from coherent segments with duration T_drift = 10d over a total observation time of T_obs = 1yr can detect signals with wave strains h0 > 2e-26 at a noise level characteristic of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO). For a biaxial rotor with randomly walking spin in a binary orbit, whose orbital period and semi-major axis are known approximately from electromagnetic observations, HMM tracking of the Bessel-weighted F-statistic output can detect signals with h0 > 8e-26. An efficient, recursive, HMM solver based on the Viterbi algorithm is demonstrated, which requires ~10^3 CPU-hours for a typical, broadband (0.5-kHz) search for the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1, including generation of the relevant F-statistic input. In a "realistic" observational scenario, Viterbi tracking successfully detects 41 out of 50 synthetic signals without spin wandering in Stage I of the Scorpius X-1 Mock Data Challenge convened by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration down to a wave strain of h0 = 1.1e-25, recovering the frequency with a root-mean-square accuracy of <= 4.3e-3 Hz

A method for narrow-band searches of continuous gravitational wave signals

Targeted searches of continuous waves from spinning neutron stars normally assume that the frequency of the gravitational wave signal is at a given known ratio with respect to the rotational frequency of the source, e.g. twice for an asymmetric neutron star rotating around a principal axis of inertia. In fact this assumption may well be invalid if, for instance, the gravitational wave signal is due to a solid core rotating at a slightly different rate with respect to the star crust. In this paper we present a method for {\it narrow-band} searches of continuous gravitational wave signals from known pulsars in the data of interferometric detectors. This method assumes source position is known to high accuracy, while a small frequency and spin-down range around the electromagnetic-inferred values is explored. Barycentric and spin-down corrections are done with an efficient time-domain procedure. Sensitivity and computational efficiency estimates are given and results of tests done using simulated data are also discussed.Comment: 13 pages; 6 figures; accepted in PR

Probing for massive stochastic gravitational-wave background with a detector network

In a general metric theory of gravitation in four dimensions, six polarizations of a gravitational wave are allowed: two scalar and two vector modes, in addition to two tensor modes in general relativity. Such additional polarization modes appear due to additional degrees of freedom in modified gravity theories. Also graviton mass, which could be different in each polarization, is another characteristic of modification of gravity. Thus, testing the existence of additional polarization modes and graviton mass can be a model-independent test of gravity theories. Here we extend the previous framework of correlation analysis of a gravitational-wave background to the massive case and show that a ground-based detector network can probe for massive stochastic gravitational waves with its mass around ~10^{-14} eV. We also show that more than three detectors can cleanly separate the mixture of polarization modes in detector outputs and determine the graviton mass.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Observability of Dark Matter Substructure with Pulsar Timing Correlations

Dark matter substructure on small scales is currently weakly constrained, and its study may shed light on the nature of the dark matter. In this work we study the gravitational effects of dark matter substructure on measured pulsar phases in pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). Due to the stability of pulse phases observed over several years, dark matter substructure around the Earth-pulsar system can imprint discernible signatures in gravitational Doppler and Shapiro delays. We compute pulsar phase correlations induced by general dark matter substructure, and project constraints for a few models such as monochromatic primordial black holes (PBHs), and Cold Dark Matter (CDM)-like NFW subhalos. This work extends our previous analysis, which focused on static or single transiting events, to a stochastic analysis of multiple transiting events. We find that stochastic correlations, in a PTA similar to the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), are uniquely powerful to constrain subhalos as light as $\sim 10^{-13}~M_\odot$, with concentrations as low as that predicted by standard CDM.Comment: 45 pages, 12 figure