83 research outputs found
Vetoes for Inspiral Triggers in LIGO Data
Presented is a summary of studies by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration's
Inspiral Analysis Group on the development of possible vetoes to be used in
evaluation of data from the first two LIGO science data runs. Numerous
environmental monitor signals and interferometer control channels have been
analyzed in order to characterize the interferometers' performance. The results
of studies on selected data segments are provided in this paper. The vetoes
used in the compact binary inspiral analyses of LIGO's S1 and S2 science data
runs are presented and discussed.Comment: Submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity for the GWDAW-8
proceeding
GR 20 Parallel Session A3: Modified Gravity
This is the contribution representing Parallel Session A3, on Modified
Gravity, in the Proceedings of the GR 20 Conference (July 2013, Warszawa,
Poland). It consists of three invited chapters, selected by the Session Chair
(P.H.) to represent the broad spectrum of topics discussed in the Session,
which ranged from theoretical and phenomenological, to experimental,
observational and numerical aspects of gravity. The three chapters are
"Einstein-Aether Theory: Thermodynamics of Universal Horizons" by Arif Mohd,
"The Curious Case of Conformal Anomalies in Horava-Lifshitz Gravity" by Charles
M. Melby-Thompson, and "Detectability of Scalar Gravitational-Wave Bursts with
LIGO and Virgo" by Peter Shawhan.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Planned search for LIGO-GBM coincidence in the first advanced LIGO data run
In the fall of 2015 the first scientific observing run (O1) of the advanced
LIGO detectors will be conducted. Based on the recent commissioning progress at
the LIGO Hanford and Livingston sites, the gravitational wave detector range
for a neutron star binary inspiral is expected to be of order 60 Mpc. We
describe here our planning for an O1 search for coincidence between a LIGO
gravitational wave detection and a gamma-ray signal from the Fermi Gamma-ray
Burst Monitor. Such a coincidence would constitute measurement of an
electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave signal, with significant
corresponding scientific benefits, including revealing the central engine
powering the gamma-ray burst, enhanced confidence in the event as a genuine
astrophysical detection, and a determination of the relative speed of the
photon and graviton.Comment: Submitted to Moriond Gravitation Conference Proceedings 201
A hierarchical method for vetoing noise transients in gravitational-wave detectors
Non-Gaussian noise transients in interferometric gravitational-wave detectors
increase the background in searches for short-duration and un-modelled signals.
We describe a method for vetoing noise transients by ranking the statistical
relationship between triggers in auxiliary channels that have negligible
sensitivity to gravitational waves and putative gravitational-wave triggers in
the detector output. The novelty of the algorithm lies in its hierarchical
approach, which leads to a minimal set of veto conditions with high performance
and low deadtime. After a given channel has been selected it is used to veto
triggers from the detector output, then the algorithm selects a new channel
that performs well on the remaining triggers and the process is repeated. This
method has been demonstrated to reduce the background in searches for transient
gravitational waves by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations.Comment: 13 page
A New Waveform Consistency Test for Gravitational Wave Inspiral Searches
Searches for binary inspiral signals in data collected by interferometric
gravitational wave detectors utilize matched filtering techniques. Although
matched filtering is optimal in the case of stationary Gaussian noise, data
from real detectors often contains "glitches" and episodes of excess noise
which cause filter outputs to ring strongly. We review the standard \chi^2
statistic which is used to test whether the filter output has appropriate
contributions from several different frequency bands. We then propose a new
type of waveform consistency test which is based on the time history of the
filter output. We apply one such test to the data from the first LIGO science
run and show that it cleanly distinguishes between true inspiral waveforms and
large-amplitude false signals which managed to pass the standard \chi^2 test.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity for
the proceedings of the Eighth Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop
(GWDAW-8
Multi-messenger astronomy of gravitational-wave sources with flexible wide-area radio transient surveys
We explore opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy using gravitational
waves (GWs) and prompt, transient low-frequency radio emission to study highly
energetic astrophysical events. We review the literature on possible sources of
correlated emission of gravitational waves and radio transients, highlighting
proposed mechanisms that lead to a short-duration, high-flux radio pulse
originating from the merger of two neutron stars or from a superconducting
cosmic string cusp. We discuss the detection prospects for each of these
mechanisms by low-frequency dipole array instruments such as LWA1, LOFAR and
MWA. We find that a broad range of models may be tested by searching for radio
pulses that, when de-dispersed, are temporally and spatially coincident with a
LIGO/Virgo GW trigger within a \usim 30 second time window and \usim 200
\mendash 500 \punits{deg}^{2} sky region. We consider various possible
observing strategies and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Uniquely,
for low-frequency radio arrays, dispersion can delay the radio pulse until
after low-latency GW data analysis has identified and reported an event
candidate, enabling a \emph{prompt} radio signal to be captured by a
deliberately targeted beam. If neutron star mergers do have detectable prompt
radio emissions, a coincident search with the GW detector network and
low-frequency radio arrays could increase the LIGO/Virgo effective search
volume by up to a factor of \usim 2. For some models, we also map the
parameter space that may be constrained by non-detections.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figure
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