1,268 research outputs found
Data analysis strategies for the detection of gravitational waves in non-Gaussian noise
In order to analyze data produced by the kilometer-scale gravitational wave
detectors that will begin operation early next century, one needs to develop
robust statistical tools capable of extracting weak signals from the detector
noise. This noise will likely have non-stationary and non-Gaussian components.
To facilitate the construction of robust detection techniques, I present a
simple two-component noise model that consists of a background of Gaussian
noise as well as stochastic noise bursts. The optimal detection statistic
obtained for such a noise model incorporates a natural veto which suppresses
spurious events that would be caused by the noise bursts. When two detectors
are present, I show that the optimal statistic for the non-Gaussian noise model
can be approximated by a simple coincidence detection strategy. For simulated
detector noise containing noise bursts, I compare the operating characteristics
of (i) a locally optimal detection statistic (which has nearly-optimal behavior
for small signal amplitudes) for the non-Gaussian noise model, (ii) a standard
coincidence-style detection strategy, and (iii) the optimal statistic for
Gaussian noise.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 4 figure
Estimation of parameters of gravitational waves from coalescing binaries
In this paper we deal with the measurement of the parameters of the
gravitational wave signal emitted by a coalescing binary signal.
We present the results of Monte Carlo simulations carried out for the case of
the initial LIGO, incorporating the first post-Newtonian corrections into the
waveform. Using the parameters so determined, we estimate the direction to the
source. We stress the use of the time-of-coalescence rather than the
time-of-arrival of the signal to determine the direction of the source. We show
that this can considerably reduce the errors in the determination of the
direction of the source.Comment: 5 pages, REVTEX, 2 figures (bundled via uufiles command along with
this paper) submitted to Praman
Speed Meter As a Quantum Nondemolition Measuring Device for Force
Quantum noise is an important issue for advanced LIGO. Although it is in
principle possible to beat the Standard Quantum Limit (SQL), no practical
recipe has been found yet. This paper dicusses quantum noise in the context of
speedmeter-a devise monitoring the speed of the testmass. The scheme proposed
to overcome SQL in this case might be more practical than the methods based on
monitoring position of the testmass.Comment: 7 pages of RevTex, 1 postscript figur
Sensitivity curves for spaceborne gravitational wave interferometers
To determine whether particular sources of gravitational radiation will be
detectable by a specific gravitational wave detector, it is necessary to know
the sensitivity limits of the instrument. These instrumental sensitivities are
often depicted (after averaging over source position and polarization) by
graphing the minimal values of the gravitational wave amplitude detectable by
the instrument versus the frequency of the gravitational wave. This paper
describes in detail how to compute such a sensitivity curve given a set of
specifications for a spaceborne laser interferometer gravitational wave
observatory. Minor errors in the prior literature are corrected, and the first
(mostly) analytic calculation of the gravitational wave transfer function is
presented. Example sensitivity curve calculations are presented for the
proposed LISA interferometer. We find that previous treatments of LISA have
underestimated its sensitivity by a factor of .Comment: 27 pages + 5 figures, REVTeX, accepted for publication in Phys Rev D;
Update reflects referees comments, figure 3 clarified, figure 5 corrected for
LISA baselin
Angular momentum effects in Michelson-Morley type experiments
The effect of the angular momentum density of a gravitational source on the
times of flight of light rays in an interferometer is analyzed. The calculation
is made imagining that the interferometer is at the equator of the gravity
source and, as long as possible, the metric, provided it is stationary and
axisymmetric, is not approximated. Finally, in order to evaluate the size of
the effect in the case of the Earth a weak field approximation is introduced.
For laboratory scales and non-geodesic paths the correction turns out to be
comparable with the sensitivity expected in gravitational waves interferometric
detectors, whereas it drops under the threshold of detectability when using
free (geodesic) light rays.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX; more about the detection technique, references
added; accepted for publication in GR
Gravitational Waves from coalescing binaries: Estimation of parameters
The paper presents a statistical model which reproduces the results of Monte
Carlo simulations to estimate the parameters of the gravitational wave signal
from a coalesing binary system. The model however is quite general and would be
useful in other parameter estimation problems.Comment: LaTeX with RevTeX macros, 4 figure
Data analysis of gravitational-wave signals from spinning neutron stars. II. Accuracy of estimation of parameters
We examine the accuracy of estimation of parameters of the gravitational-wave
signals from spinning neutron stars that can be achieved from observations by
Earth-based laser interferometers. We consider a model of the signal consisting
of two narrowband components and including both phase and amplitude modulation.
We calculate approximate values of the rms errors of the parameter estimators
using the Fisher information matrix. We carry out extensive Monte Carlo
simulations and obtain cumulative distribution functions of rms errors of
astrophysically interesting parameters: amplitude of the signal, wobble angle,
position of the source in the sky, frequency, and spindown coefficients. We
consider both all-sky searches and directed searches. We also examine the
possibility of determination of neutron star proper motion. We perform
simulations for all laser-interferometric detectors that are currently under
construction and for several possible lengths of the observation time and sizes
of the parameter space. We find that observations of continuous
gravitational-wave signals from neutron stars by laser-interferometric
detectors will provide a very accurate information about their astrophysical
properties. We derive several simplified models of the signal that can be used
in the theoretical investigations of the data analysis schemes independently of
the physical mechanisms generating the gravitational-wave signal.Comment: LaTeX, 34 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Approximate Analytical Solutions to the Initial Data Problem of Black Hole Binary Systems
We present approximate analytical solutions to the Hamiltonian and momentum
constraint equations, corresponding to systems composed of two black holes with
arbitrary linear and angular momentum. The analytical nature of these initial
data solutions makes them easier to implement in numerical evolutions than the
traditional numerical approach of solving the elliptic equations derived from
the Einstein constraints. Although in general the problem of setting up initial
conditions for black hole binary simulations is complicated by the presence of
singularities, we show that the methods presented in this work provide initial
data with and norms of violation of the constraint equations
falling below those of the truncation error (residual error due to
discretization) present in finite difference codes for the range of grid
resolutions currently used. Thus, these data sets are suitable for use in
evolution codes. Detailed results are presented for the case of a head-on
collision of two equal-mass M black holes with specific angular momentum 0.5M
at an initial separation of 10M. A straightforward superposition method yields
data adequate for resolutions of , and an "attenuated" superposition
yields data usable to resolutions at least as fine as . In addition, the
attenuated approximate data may be more tractable in a full (computational)
exact solution to the initial value problem.Comment: 6 pages, 5 postscript figures. Minor changes and some points
clarified. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Cooling of a mirror by radiation pressure
We describe an experiment in which a mirror is cooled by the radiation
pressure of light. A high-finesse optical cavity with a mirror coated on a
mechanical resonator is used as an optomechanical sensor of the Brownian motion
of the mirror. A feedback mechanism controls this motion via the radiation
pressure of a laser beam reflected on the mirror. We have observed either a
cooling or a heating of the mirror, depending on the gain of the feedback loop.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, RevTe
Computational Resources to Filter Gravitational Wave Data with P-approximant Templates
The prior knowledge of the gravitational waveform from compact binary systems
makes matched filtering an attractive detection strategy. This detection method
involves the filtering of the detector output with a set of theoretical
waveforms or templates. One of the most important factors in this strategy is
knowing how many templates are needed in order to reduce the loss of possible
signals. In this study we calculate the number of templates and computational
power needed for a one-step search for gravitational waves from inspiralling
binary systems. We build on previous works by firstly expanding the
post-Newtonian waveforms to 2.5-PN order and secondly, for the first time,
calculating the number of templates needed when using P-approximant waveforms.
The analysis is carried out for the four main first-generation interferometers,
LIGO, GEO600, VIRGO and TAMA. As well as template number, we also calculate the
computational cost of generating banks of templates for filtering GW data. We
carry out the calculations for two initial conditions. In the first case we
assume a minimum individual mass of and in the second, we assume
a minimum individual mass of . We find that, in general, we need
more P-approximant templates to carry out a search than if we use standard PN
templates. This increase varies according to the order of PN-approximation, but
can be as high as a factor of 3 and is explained by the smaller span of the
P-approximant templates as we go to higher masses. The promising outcome is
that for 2-PN templates the increase is small and is outweighed by the known
robustness of the 2-PN P-approximant templates.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Class.Quant.Gra
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