Comparison of methods for the detection of gravitational waves from unknown neutron stars

Walsh, S. et al. (2016) Comparison of methods for the detection of gravitational waves from unknown neutron stars. Physical Review D, 94(12), 124010. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.94.124010)

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Abstract

Rapidly rotating neutron stars are promising sources of continuous gravitational wave radiation for the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. The majority of neutron stars in our galaxy have not been identified with electromagnetic observations. All-sky searches for isolated neutron stars offer the potential to detect gravitational waves from these unidentified sources. The parameter space of these blind all-sky searches, which also cover a large range of frequencies and frequency derivatives, presents a significant computational challenge. Different methods have been designed to perform these searches within acceptable computational limits. Here we describe the first benchmark in a project to compare the search methods currently available for the detection of unknown isolated neutron stars. The five methods compared here are individually referred to as the PowerFlux, sky Hough, frequency Hough, Einstein@Home, and time domain F -statistic methods. We employ a mock data challenge to compare the ability of each search method to recover signals simulated assuming a standard signal model. We find similar performance among the four quick-look search methods, while the more computationally intensive search method, Einstein@Home, achieves up to a factor of two higher sensitivity. We find that the absence of a second derivative frequency in the search parameter space does not degrade search sensitivity for signals with physically plausible second derivative frequencies. We also report on the parameter estimation accuracy of each search method, and the stability of the sensitivity in frequency and frequency derivative and in the presence of detector noise.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Pitkin, Dr Matthew
Authors: Walsh, S., Pitkin, M., Oliver, M., D’Antonio, S., Dergachev, V., Królak, A., Astone, P., Bejger, M., Di Giovanni, M., Dorosh, O., Frasca, S., Leaci, P., Mastrogiovanni, S., Miller, A., Palomba, C., Papa, M.A., Piccinni, O.J., Riles, K., Sauter, O., and Sintes, A.M.
Subjects:Q Science > QB Astronomy
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Journal Name:Physical Review D
Publisher:American Physical Society
ISSN:1550-7998
ISSN (Online):1550-2368
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 American Physical Society
First Published:First published in Physical Review D 94(12): 124010
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
624341Investigations in Gravitational Radiation / Particle Astrophysics Capital equipmentSheila RowanScience & Technologies Facilities Council (STFC)ST/L000946/1S&E P&A - PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY