8 research outputs found
Analyzing Binary Black hole Spacetimes
With the first ever detection of gravitational waves from merging black-hole binaries by LIGO (Laser Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory), a new era of gravitational wave astronomy was started. With its increased sensitivity, LIGO will see many more black-hole binaries in the future. To detect the gravitational waves and elucidate the properties of their sources, one needs theoretical waveform templates. These, in turn, require solving Einstein field equations, at least approximately. Approximate techniques like post-Newtonian theory and black-hole perturbation theory can produce waveforms that are accurate for certain phases of binaries evolution. Numerical relativity, on the other hand, can in principle produce accurate waveforms models for the full binary evolution. However, such simulations are computationally very expensive for the slow inspiral phase. To overcome this issue, we hybridized numerical relativity obtained by solving the Einstein field equations during the late-inspiral, plunge, and ringdown phase and post-Newtonian waveforms for the early-inspiral phase. Here we focus on hybridizing waveforms for precessing black-hole binaries. In this work we also developed a new tool to test the accuracy limits of approximate a binary black-hole spacetimes constructed using analytical approximate techniques. Our method is based on direct comparison to a numerically generated solution to the Einstein field equations
Binary vision: The merging black hole binary mass distribution via iterative density estimation
Binary black hole (BBH) systems detected via gravitational-wave (GW) emission
are a recently opened astrophysical frontier with many unknowns and
uncertainties. Accurate reconstruction of the binary distribution with as few
assumptions as possible is desirable for inference on formation channels and
environments. Most population analyses have, though, assumed a power law in
binary mass ratio , and/or assumed a universal distribution regardless
of primary mass. Kernel density estimation (KDE)-based methods allow us to
dispense with such assumptions and directly estimate the joint binary mass
distribution. We deploy a self-consistent iterative method to estimate this
full BBH mass distribution, finding local maxima in primary mass consistent
with previous investigations and a secondary mass distribution with a partly
independent structure, inconsistent with both power laws and with a constant
function of . We find a weaker preference for near-equal mass binaries than
in most previous investigations; instead, the secondary mass has its own
"spectral lines" at slightly lower values than the primary, and we observe an
anti-correlation between primary and secondary masses around the ~
peak.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure
Virgo Detector Characterization and Data Quality during the O3 run
The Advanced Virgo detector has contributed with its data to the rapid growth
of the number of detected gravitational-wave signals in the past few years,
alongside the two LIGO instruments. First, during the last month of the
Observation Run 2 (O2) in August 2017 (with, most notably, the compact binary
mergers GW170814 and GW170817) and then during the full Observation Run 3 (O3):
an 11 months data taking period, between April 2019 and March 2020, that led to
the addition of about 80 events to the catalog of transient gravitational-wave
sources maintained by LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA. These discoveries and the manifold
exploitation of the detected waveforms require an accurate characterization of
the quality of the data, such as continuous study and monitoring of the
detector noise. These activities, collectively named {\em detector
characterization} or {\em DetChar}, span the whole workflow of the Virgo data,
from the instrument front-end to the final analysis. They are described in
details in the following article, with a focus on the associated tools, the
results achieved by the Virgo DetChar group during the O3 run and the main
prospects for future data-taking periods with an improved detector.Comment: 86 pages, 33 figures. This paper has been divided into two articles
which supercede it and have been posted to arXiv on October 2022. Please use
these new preprints as references: arXiv:2210.15634 (tools and methods) and
arXiv:2210.15633 (results from the O3 run
Virgo Detector Characterization and Data Quality: results from the O3 run
The Advanced Virgo detector has contributed with its data to the rapid growth
of the number of detected gravitational-wave (GW) signals in the past few
years, alongside the two Advanced LIGO instruments. First during the last month
of the Observation Run 2 (O2) in August 2017 (with, most notably, the compact
binary mergers GW170814 and GW170817), and then during the full Observation Run
3 (O3): an 11-months data taking period, between April 2019 and March 2020,
that led to the addition of about 80 events to the catalog of transient GW
sources maintained by LIGO, Virgo and now KAGRA. These discoveries and the
manifold exploitation of the detected waveforms require an accurate
characterization of the quality of the data, such as continuous study and
monitoring of the detector noise sources. These activities, collectively named
{\em detector characterization and data quality} or {\em DetChar}, span the
whole workflow of the Virgo data, from the instrument front-end hardware to the
final analyses. They are described in details in the following article, with a
focus on the results achieved by the Virgo DetChar group during the O3 run.
Concurrently, a companion article describes the tools that have been used by
the Virgo DetChar group to perform this work.Comment: 57 pages, 18 figures. To be submitted to Class. and Quantum Grav.
This is the "Results" part of preprint arXiv:2205.01555 [gr-qc] which has
been split into two companion articles: one about the tools and methods, the
other about the analyses of the O3 Virgo dat
Virgo Detector Characterization and Data Quality: tools
Detector characterization and data quality studies -- collectively referred
to as {\em DetChar} activities in this article -- are paramount to the
scientific exploitation of the joint dataset collected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA
global network of ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. They take
place during each phase of the operation of the instruments (upgrade, tuning
and optimization, data taking), are required at all steps of the dataflow (from
data acquisition to the final list of GW events) and operate at various
latencies (from near real-time to vet the public alerts to offline analyses).
This work requires a wide set of tools which have been developed over the years
to fulfill the requirements of the various DetChar studies: data access and
bookkeeping; global monitoring of the instruments and of the different steps of
the data processing; studies of the global properties of the noise at the
detector outputs; identification and follow-up of noise peculiar features
(whether they be transient or continuously present in the data); quick
processing of the public alerts. The present article reviews all the tools used
by the Virgo DetChar group during the third LIGO-Virgo Observation Run (O3,
from April 2019 to March 2020), mainly to analyse the Virgo data acquired at
EGO. Concurrently, a companion article focuses on the results achieved by the
DetChar group during the O3 run using these tools.Comment: 44 pages, 16 figures. To be submitted to Class. and Quantum Grav.
This is the "Tools" part of preprint arXiv:2205.01555 [gr-qc] which has been
split into two companion articles: one about the tools and methods, the other
about the analyses of the O3 Virgo dat
General-relativistic precession in a black-hole binary
The general-relativistic phenomenon of spin-induced orbital precession has not yet been observed in strong-field gravity. Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes (BBHs) are prime candidates, as we expect the astrophysical binary population to contain precessing binaries1,2. Imprints of precession have been investigated in several signals3,4,5, but no definitive identification of orbital precession has been reported in any of the 84 BBH observations so far5,6,7 by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors8,9. Here we report the measurement of strong-field precession in the LIGOâVirgoâKagra gravitational-wave signal GW200129. The binaryâs orbit precesses at a rate ten orders of magnitude faster than previous weak-field measurements from binary pulsars10,11,12,13. We also find that the primary black hole is probably highly spinning. According to current binary population estimates, a GW200129-like signal is extremely unlikely, and therefore presents a direct challenge to many current binary-formation models
Search for intermediate-mass black hole binaries in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo
International audienceIntermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range 100â105âMâ, between black holes (BHs) that formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most energetic gravitational-wave sources accessible by the terrestrial detector network. Searches of the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo did not yield any significant IMBH binary signals. In the third observing run (O3), the increased network sensitivity enabled the detection of GW190521, a signal consistent with a binary merger of mass âŒ150âMâ providing direct evidence of IMBH formation. Here, we report on a dedicated search of O3 data for further IMBH binary mergers, combining both modeled (matched filter) and model-independent search methods. We find some marginal candidates, but none are sufficiently significant to indicate detection of further IMBH mergers. We quantify the sensitivity of the individual search methods and of the combined search using a suite of IMBH binary signals obtained via numerical relativity, including the effects of spins misaligned with the binary orbital axis, and present the resulting upper limits on astrophysical merger rates. Our most stringent limit is for equal mass and aligned spin BH binary of total mass 200âMâ and effective aligned spin 0.8 at 0.056 Gpcâ3 yrâ1 (90% confidence), a factor of 3.5 more constraining than previous LIGO-Virgo limits. We also update the estimated rate of mergers similar to GW190521 to 0.08 Gpcâ3 yrâ1.Key words: gravitational waves / stars: black holes / black hole physicsCorresponding author: W. Del Pozzo, e-mail: [email protected]â Deceased, August 2020