157 research outputs found
Status of the joint LIGO--TAMA300 inspiral analysis
We present the status of the joint search for gravitational waves from
inspiraling neutron star binaries in the LIGO Science Run 2 and TAMA300 Data
Taking Run 8 data, which was taken from February 14 to April 14, 2003, by the
LIGO and TAMA collaborations. In this paper we discuss what has been learned
from an analysis of a subset of the data sample reserved as a ``playground''.
We determine the coincidence conditions for parameters such as the coalescence
time and chirp mass by injecting simulated Galactic binary neutron star signals
into the data stream. We select coincidence conditions so as to maximize our
efficiency of detecting simulated signals. We obtain an efficiency for our
coincident search of 78 %, and show that we are missing primarily very distant
signals for TAMA300. We perform a time slide analysis to estimate the
background due to accidental coincidence of noise triggers. We find that the
background triggers have a very different character from the triggers of
simulated signals.Comment: 10 page, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum
Gravity for the special issue of the GWDAW9 Proceedings ; Corrected typos,
minor change
Noise Line Identification in LIGO S6 and Virgo VSR2
An important goal for LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory) and Virgo is to find periodic sources of gravitational waves. The
LIGO and Virgo detectors are sensitive to a variety of noise of
non-astrophysical origin, such as instrumental artifacts and environmental
disturbances. These artifacts make it difficult to know when a signal is due to
a gravitational wave or noise. A continuous wave search algorithm, Fscan, and
the calculation of the coherence between the gravitational wave channels and
auxiliary channels has been developed to identify the source of noise lines.
The programs analyze data from the gravitational wave channels as well as
environmental sensors, searching for significant lines that appear in
coincidence (using various thresholds and frequency windows) in the
gravitational wave channel as well the environmental monitors. By this method,
the source of powerful signals at specific frequencies in the gravitational
wave channel caused by noise can be determined. Examples from LIGO's sixth
science run, S6, and Virgo' second scientific run, VSR2, are presented.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 14th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop
(Rome, Italy
Recent results on the search for continuous sources with LIGO and GEO600
An overview of the searches for continuous gravitational wave signals in LIGO
and GEO 600 performed on different recent science runs and results are
presented. This includes both searching for gravitational waves from known
pulsars as well as blind searches over a wide parameter space.Comment: TAUP2005 Proceedings to be published in Journal of Physics:
Conference Serie
Using the INSPIRAL program to search for gravitational waves from low-mass binary inspiral
The INSPIRAL program is the LIGO Scientific Collaboration's computational
engine for the search for gravitational waves from binary neutron stars and
sub-solar mass black holes. We describe how this program, which makes use of
the FINDCHIRP algorithm (discussed in a companion paper), is integrated into a
sophisticated data analysis pipeline that was used in the search for low-mass
binary inspirals in data taken during the second LIGO science run.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity for
the special issue of the GWDAW9 Proceeding
Searching for continuous gravitational wave signals using LIGO and Virgo detectors
Direct and unequivocal detection of gravitational waves represents a great
challenge of contemporary physics and astrophysics. A worldwide effort is
currently operating towards this direction, building ever sensitive detectors,
improving the modelling of gravitational wave sources and employing ever more
sophisticated and powerful data analysis techniques. In this paper we review
the current status of LIGO and Virgo ground based interferometric detectors and
some data analysis tools used in the continuous wave searches to extract the
faint gravitational signals from the interferometric noise data. Moreover we
discuss also relevant results from recent continuous wave searches.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, http://www.fisica.unisalento.it/iwra/index2.ph
Report on the first binary black hole inspiral search in LIGO data
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration is currently engaged in the first search
for binary black hole inspiral signals in real data. We are using the data from
the second LIGO science run and we focus on inspiral signals coming from binary
systems with component masses between 3 and 20 solar masses. We describe the
analysis methods used and report on preliminary estimates for the sensitivities
of the LIGO instruments during the second science run.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Added references for section 2, corrected figure
1. To appear in CQG, in a special issue on the proceedings of the 9th Annual
Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop (GWDAW), Annecy, France, Dec. 200
Searching for gravitational waves from the Crab pulsar - the problem of timing noise
Of the current known pulsars, the Crab pulsar (B0531+21) is one of the most
promising sources of gravitational waves. The relatively large timing noise of
the Crab causes its phase evolution to depart from a simple spin-down model.
This effect needs to be taken in to account when performing time domain
searches for the Crab pulsar in order to avoid severely degrading the search
efficiency. The Jodrell Bank Crab pulsar ephemeris is examined to see if it can
be used for tracking the phase evolution of any gravitational wave signal from
the pulsar, and we present a method of heterodyning the data that takes account
of the phase wander. The possibility of obtaining physical information about
the pulsar from comparisons of the electromagnetically and a gravitationally
observed timing noise is discussed. Finally, additional problems caused by
pulsar glitches are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of the 5th Amaldi Conference on
Gravitational Waves, Pisa, Italy, 6-11 July 200
Gravitational wave burst vetoes in the LIGO S2 and S3 data analyses
The LIGO detectors collected about 4 months of data in 2003-2004 during two
science runs, S2 and S3. Several environmental and auxiliary channels that
monitor the instruments' physical environment and overall interferometric
operation were analyzed in order to establish the quality of the data as well
as the presence of transients of non-astrophysical origin. This analysis
allowed better understanding of the noise character of the instruments and the
establishment of correlations between transients in these channels and the one
recording the gravitational wave strain. In this way vetoes for spurious burst
were identified. We present the methodology we followed in this analysis and
the results from the S2 and S3 veto analysis within the context of the search
for gravitational wave bursts.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity for
the special issue of the GWDAW9 Proceeding
Incorporating information from source simulations into searches for gravitational-wave bursts
The detection of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources of
gravitational waves is a realistic goal for the current generation of
interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Short duration bursts of
gravitational waves from core-collapse supernovae or mergers of binary black
holes may bring a wealth of astronomical and astrophysical information. The
weakness of the waves and the rarity of the events urges the development of
optimal methods to detect the waves. The waves from these sources are not
generally known well enough to use matched filtering however; this drives the
need to develop new ways to exploit source simulation information in both
detections and information extraction. We present an algorithmic approach to
using catalogs of gravitational-wave signals developed through numerical
simulation, or otherwise, to enhance our ability to detect these waves. As more
detailed simulations become available, it is straightforward to incorporate the
new information into the search method. This approach may also be useful when
trying to extract information from a gravitational-wave observation by allowing
direct comparison between the observation and simulations.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Proposed method for searches of gravitational waves from PKS 2155-304 and other blazar flares
We propose to search for gravitational waves from PKS 2155-304 as well as
other blazars. PKS 2155-304 emitted a long duration energetic flare in July
2006, with total isotropic equivalent energy released in TeV gamma rays of
approximately ergs. Any possible gravitational wave signals
associated with this outburst should be seen by gravitational wave detectors at
the same time as the electromagnetic signal. During this flare, the two LIGO
interferometers at Hanford and the GEO detector were in operation and
collecting data. For this search we will use the data from multiple
gravitational wave detectors. The method we use for this purpose is a coherent
network analysis algorithm and is called {\tt RIDGE}. To estimate the
sensitivity of the search, we perform numerical simulations. The sensitivity to
estimated gravitational wave energy at the source is about
ergs for a detection probability of 20%. For this search, an end-to-end
analysis pipeline has been developed, which takes into account the motion of
the source across the sky.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Contribution to 12th Gravitational Wave Data
Analysis Workshop. Submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity. Changes in
response to referee comment
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