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Gw170608: Observation Of A 19 Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Dec 2017

Gw170608: Observation Of A 19 Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On 2017 June 8 at 02:01:16.49 UTC, a gravitational-wave (GW) signal from the merger of two stellar-mass blackholes was observed by the two Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detectors with anetwork signal-to-noise ratio of 13. This system is the lightest black hole binary so far observed, with componentmasses of 12+7-2M⊙7+2-2 (90% credible intervals). These lie in the range of measured black hole masses inlow-mass X-ray binaries, thus allowing us to compare black holes detected through GWs with electromagneticobservations. The source's luminosity distance is 340+140-140corresponding to redshift -0.07+0.03003. We verify thatthe signal waveform is consistent with the predictions of general relativity.


First Low-Frequency Einstein@Home All-Sky Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves In Advanced Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Dec 2017

First Low-Frequency Einstein@Home All-Sky Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves In Advanced Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We report results of a deep all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars in data from the first Advanced LIGO observing run. This search investigates the low frequency range of Advanced LIGO data, between 20 and 100 Hz, much of which was not explored in initial LIGO. The search was made possible by the computing power provided by the volunteers of the Einstein@Home project. We find no significant signal candidate and set the most stringent upper limits to date on the amplitude of gravitational wave signals from the target population, corresponding to a sensitivity depth of 48.7 …


First Narrow-Band Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars In Advanced Detector Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Dec 2017

First Narrow-Band Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars In Advanced Detector Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars …


Search For Post-Merger Gravitational Waves From The Remnant Of The Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Dec 2017

Search For Post-Merger Gravitational Waves From The Remnant Of The Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The first observation of a binary neutron star (NS) coalescence by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave (GW) detectors offers an unprecedented opportunity to study matter under the most extreme conditions. After such a merger, a compact remnant is left over whose nature depends primarily on the masses of the inspiraling objects and on the equation of state of nuclear matter. This could be either a black hole (BH) or an NS, with the latter being either long-lived or too massive for stability implying delayed collapse to a BH. Here, we present a search for GWs from the remnant …


Estimating The Contribution Of Dynamical Ejecta In The Kilonova Associated With Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Dec 2017

Estimating The Contribution Of Dynamical Ejecta In The Kilonova Associated With Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The source of the gravitational-wave (GW) signal GW170817, very likely a binary neutron star merger, was also observed electromagnetically, providing the first multi-messenger observations of this type. The two-week-long electromagnetic (EM) counterpart had a signature indicative of an r-process-induced optical transient known as a kilonova. This Letter examines how the mass of the dynamical ejecta can be estimated without a direct electromagnetic observation of the kilonova, using GW measurements and a phenomenological model calibrated to numerical simulations of mergers with dynamical ejecta. Specifically, we apply the model to the binary masses inferred from the GW measurements, and use the resulting …


On The Progenitor Of Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Dec 2017

On The Progenitor Of Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On 2017 August 17 the merger of two compact objects with masses consistent with two neutron stars was discovered through gravitational-wave (GW170817), gamma-ray (GRB 170817A), and optical (SSS17a/AT 2017gfo) observations. The optical source was associated with the early-type galaxy NGC 4993 at a distance of just ∼40 Mpc, consistent with the gravitational-wave measurement, and the merger was localized to be at a projected distance of ∼2 kpc away from the galaxy's center. We use this minimal set of facts and the mass posteriors of the two neutron stars to derive the first constraints on the progenitor of GW170817 at the …


Search For High-Energy Neutrinos From Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817 With Antares, Icecube, And The Pierre Auger Observatory, A. Albert, M. André, M. Anghinolfi, M. Ardid, J. J. Aubert, J. Aublin, T. Avgitas, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Dec 2017

Search For High-Energy Neutrinos From Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817 With Antares, Icecube, And The Pierre Auger Observatory, A. Albert, M. André, M. Anghinolfi, M. Ardid, J. J. Aubert, J. Aublin, T. Avgitas, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observatories recently discovered gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral. A short gamma-ray burst (GRB) that followed the merger of this binary was also recorded by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (Fermi-GBM), and the Anti-Coincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), indicating particle acceleration by the source. The precise location of the event was determined by optical detections of emission following the merger. We searched for high-energy neutrinos from the merger in the GeV-EeV energy range using the Antares, IceCube, and Pierre Auger Observatories. No neutrinos directionally coincident …


Gravitational Waves And Gamma-Rays From A Binary Neutron Star Merger: Gw170817 And Grb 170817a, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Oct 2017

Gravitational Waves And Gamma-Rays From A Binary Neutron Star Merger: Gw170817 And Grb 170817a, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On 2017 August 17, the gravitational-wave event GW170817 was observed by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, and the gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 170817A was observed independently by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, and the Anti-Coincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. The probability of the near-simultaneous temporal and spatial observation of GRB 170817A and GW170817 occurring by chance is 5.0 × 10-8. We therefore confirm binary neutron star mergers as a progenitor of short GRBs. The association of GW170817 and GRB 170817A provides new insight into fundamental physics and the origin of short GRBs. We …


Gw170817: Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Neutron Star Inspiral, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Oct 2017

Gw170817: Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Neutron Star Inspiral, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On August 17, 2017 at 12-41:04 UTC the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detectors made their first observation of a binary neutron star inspiral. The signal, GW170817, was detected with a combined signal-to-noise ratio of 32.4 and a false-alarm-rate estimate of less than one per 8.0×104 years. We infer the component masses of the binary to be between 0.86 and 2.26 M, in agreement with masses of known neutron stars. Restricting the component spins to the range inferred in binary neutron stars, we find the component masses to be in the range 1.17-1.60 M, with the total mass of …


Gw170814: A Three-Detector Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin Oct 2017

Gw170814: A Three-Detector Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On August 14, 2017 at 10 30:43 UTC, the Advanced Virgo detector and the two Advanced LIGO detectors coherently observed a transient gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar mass black holes, with a false-alarm rate of 1 in 27 000 years. The signal was observed with a three-detector network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 18. The inferred masses of the initial black holes are 30.5-3.0+5.7M and 25.3-4.2+2.8M (at the 90% credible level). The luminosity distance of the source is 540-210+130 Mpc, corresponding to a redshift of z=0.11-0.04+0.03. A network of three detectors improves the sky localization of the …


Upper Limits On Gravitational Waves From Scorpius X-1 From A Model-Based Cross-Correlation Search In Advanced Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Sep 2017

Upper Limits On Gravitational Waves From Scorpius X-1 From A Model-Based Cross-Correlation Search In Advanced Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present the results of a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using data from the first Advanced LIGO observing run. The search method uses details of the modeled, parametrized continuous signal to combine coherently data separated by less than a specified coherence time, which can be adjusted to trade off sensitivity against computational cost. A search was conducted over the frequency range 25-2000 Hz, spanning the current observationally constrained range of binary orbital parameters. No significant detection candidates were found, and frequency-dependent upper limits were set using a combination of sensitivity estimates …


All-Sky Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In The O1 Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Sep 2017

All-Sky Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In The O1 Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We report on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency band 20-475 Hz and with a frequency time derivative in the range of [-1.0,+0.1]×10-8 Hz/s. Such a signal could be produced by a nearby spinning and slightly nonaxisymmetric isolated neutron star in our galaxy. This search uses the data from Advanced LIGO's first observational run, O1. No periodic gravitational wave signals were observed, and upper limits were placed on their strengths. The lowest upper limits on worst-case (linearly polarized) strain amplitude h0 are ∼4×10-25 near 170 Hz. For a circularly polarized source (most favorable orientation), the smallest …


Search For Intermediate Mass Black Hole Binaries In The First Observing Run Of Advanced Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, H. Almoubayyed, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Jul 2017

Search For Intermediate Mass Black Hole Binaries In The First Observing Run Of Advanced Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, H. Almoubayyed, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

During their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems. This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves (GWs) from merging intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHBs). The combined results from two independent search techniques were used in this study: the first employs a matched-filter algorithm that uses a bank of filters covering the GW signal parameter space, while the second is a generic search for GW transients (bursts). No GWs from IMBHBs were detected; therefore, we constrain …


Search For Gravitational Waves From Scorpius X-1 In The First Advanced Ligo Observing Run With A Hidden Markov Model, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, H. Almoubayyed, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Jun 2017

Search For Gravitational Waves From Scorpius X-1 In The First Advanced Ligo Observing Run With A Hidden Markov Model, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, H. Almoubayyed, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Results are presented from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the brightest low-mass X-ray binary, Scorpius X-1, using data collected during the first Advanced LIGO observing run. The search combines a frequency domain matched filter (Bessel-weighted F-statistic) with a hidden Markov model to track wandering of the neutron star spin frequency. No evidence of gravitational waves is found in the frequency range 60-650 Hz. Frequentist 95% confidence strain upper limits, h095%=4.0×10-25, 8.3×10-25, and 3.0×10-25 for electromagnetically restricted source orientation, unknown polarization, and circular polarization, respectively, are reported at 106 Hz. They are ≤10 times higher than the theoretical …


Gw170104: Observation Of A 50-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence At Redshift 0.2, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Jun 2017

Gw170104: Observation Of A 50-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence At Redshift 0.2, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Afrough, B. Agarwal, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Antier, S. Appert, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We describe the observation of GW170104, a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of a pair of stellar-mass black holes. The signal was measured on January 4, 2017 at 10 11:58.6 UTC by the twin advanced detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory during their second observing run, with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a false alarm rate less than 1 in 70 000 years. The inferred component black hole masses are 31.2-6.0+8.4M' and 19.4-5.9+5.3M (at the 90% credible level). The black hole spins are best constrained through measurement of the effective inspiral spin parameter, a mass-weighted combination …


Search For Gravitational Waves Associated With Gamma-Ray Bursts During The First Advanced Ligo Observing Run And Implications For The Origin Of Grb 150906b, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Jun 2017

Search For Gravitational Waves Associated With Gamma-Ray Bursts During The First Advanced Ligo Observing Run And Implications For The Origin Of Grb 150906b, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present the results of the search for gravitational waves (GWs) associated with γ-ray bursts detected during the first observing run of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). We find no evidence of a GW signal for any of the 41 γ-ray bursts for which LIGO data are available with sufficient duration. For all γ-ray bursts, we place lower bounds on the distance to the source using the optimistic assumption that GWs with an energy of were emitted within the-Hz band, and we find a median 90% confidence limit of 71 Mpc at 150 Hz. For the subset of …


Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves From Neutron Stars In Globular Cluster Ngc 6544, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Apr 2017

Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves From Neutron Stars In Globular Cluster Ngc 6544, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We describe a directed search for continuous gravitational waves in data from the sixth initial LIGO science run. The target was the nearby globular cluster NGC 6544 at a distance of ≈2.7 kpc. The search covered a broad band of frequencies along with first and second frequency derivatives for a fixed sky position. The search coherently integrated data from the two LIGO interferometers over a time span of 9.2 days using the matched-filtering F-statistic. We found no gravitational-wave signals and set 95% confidence upper limits as stringent as 6.0×10-25 on intrinsic strain and 8.5×10-6 on fiducial ellipticity. These values beat …


Effects Of Waveform Model Systematics On The Interpretation Of Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Apr 2017

Effects Of Waveform Model Systematics On The Interpretation Of Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Parameter estimates of GW150914 were obtained using Bayesian inference, based on three semi-analytic waveform models for binary black hole coalescences. These waveform models differ from each other in their treatment of black hole spins, and all three models make some simplifying assumptions, notably to neglect sub-dominant waveform harmonic modes and orbital eccentricity. Furthermore, while the models are calibrated to agree with waveforms obtained by full numerical solutions of Einstein's equations, any such calibration is accurate only to some non-zero tolerance and is limited by the accuracy of the underlying phenomenology, availability, quality, and parameter-space coverage of numerical simulations. This paper …


First Search For Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars With Advanced Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Apr 2017

First Search For Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars With Advanced Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present the result of searches for gravitational waves from 200 pulsars using data from the first observing run of the Advanced LIGO detectors. We find no significant evidence for a gravitational-wave signal from any of these pulsars, but we are able to set the most constraining upper limits yet on their gravitational-wave amplitudes and ellipticities. For eight of these pulsars, our upper limits give bounds that are improvements over the indirect spin-down limit values. For another 32, we are within a factor of 10 of the spin-down limit, and it is likely that some of these will be reachable …


Calibration Of The Advanced Ligo Detectors For The Discovery Of The Binary Black-Hole Merger Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, K. Ackley, C. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, Marc Favata, Rodica Martin Mar 2017

Calibration Of The Advanced Ligo Detectors For The Discovery Of The Binary Black-Hole Merger Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, K. Ackley, C. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, Marc Favata, Rodica Martin

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In Advanced LIGO, detection and astrophysical source parameter estimation of the binary black hole merger GW150914 requires a calibrated estimate of the gravitational-wave strain sensed by the detectors. Producing an estimate from each detector's differential arm length control loop readout signals requires applying time domain filters, which are designed from a frequency domain model of the detector's gravitational-wave response. The gravitational-wave response model is determined by the detector's opto-mechanical response and the properties of its feedback control system. The measurements used to validate the model and characterize its uncertainty are derived primarily from a dedicated photon radiation pressure actuator, with …


All-Sky Search For Short Gravitational-Wave Bursts In The First Advanced Ligo Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Appert, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Feb 2017

All-Sky Search For Short Gravitational-Wave Bursts In The First Advanced Ligo Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. Appert, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present the results from an all-sky search for short-duration gravitational waves in the data of the first run of the Advanced LIGO detectors between September 2015 and January 2016. The search algorithms use minimal assumptions on the signal morphology, so they are sensitive to a wide range of sources emitting gravitational waves. The analyses target transient signals with duration ranging from milliseconds to seconds over the frequency band of 32 to 4096 Hz. The first observed gravitational-wave event, GW150914, has been detected with high confidence in this search; the other known gravitational-wave event, GW151226, falls below the search's sensitivity. …


Exploring The Sensitivity Of Next Generation Gravitational Wave Detectors, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, K. Ackley, C. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, Marc Favata Jan 2017

Exploring The Sensitivity Of Next Generation Gravitational Wave Detectors, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, K. Ackley, C. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, Marc Favata

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The second-generation of gravitational-wave detectors are just starting operation, and have already yielding their first detections. Research is now concentrated on how to maximize the scientific potential of gravitational-wave astronomy. To support this effort, we present here design targets for a new generation of detectors, which will be capable of observing compact binary sources with high signal-to-noise ratio throughout the Universe.


The Basic Physics Of The Binary Black Hole Merger Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh Jan 2017

The Basic Physics Of The Binary Black Hole Merger Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The first direct gravitational-wave detection was made by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory on September 14, 2015. The GW150914 signal was strong enough to be apparent, without using any waveform model, in the filtered detector strain data. Here, features of the signal visible in the data are analyzed using concepts from Newtonian physics and general relativity, accessible to anyone with a general physics background. The simple analysis presented here is consistent with the fully general-relativistic analyses published elsewhere, in showing that the signal was produced by the inspiral and subsequent merger of two black holes. The black holes …