Short Gamma Ray Bursts (SGRB) are believed to originate from the merger of
two compact objects. If this scenario is correct, SGRB will be accompanied by
the emission of strong gravitational waves, detectable by current or planned GW
detectors, such as LIGO and Virgo. No detection of a gravitational wave has
been made up to date. In this paper I will use a set of SGRB with observed
redshifts to fit a model describing the cumulative number of SGRB as a function
of redshift, to determine the rate of such merger events in the nearby
universe. These estimations will be used to make probability statements about
detecting a gravitational wave associated with a short gamma ray burst during
the latest science run of LIGO/Virgo. Chance estimations for the enhanced and
advanced detectors will also be made, and a comparison between the rates
deduced from this work will be compared to the existing literature.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure
