Bayesian inference for compact binary coalescences with bilby: validation and application to the first LIGO–Virgo gravitational-wave transient catalogue

Romero-Shaw, I. M. et al. (2020) Bayesian inference for compact binary coalescences with bilby: validation and application to the first LIGO–Virgo gravitational-wave transient catalogue. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 499(3), pp. 3295-3319. (doi: 10.1093/mnras/staa2850)

Abstract

Gravitational waves provide a unique tool for observational astronomy. While the first LIGO–Virgo catalogue of gravitational-wave transients (GWTC-1) contains 11 signals from black hole and neutron star binaries, the number of observations is increasing rapidly as detector sensitivity improves. To extract information from the observed signals, it is imperative to have fast, flexible, and scalable inference techniques. In a previous paper, we introduced bilby: a modular and user-friendly Bayesian inference library adapted to address the needs of gravitational-wave inference. In this work, we demonstrate that bilby produces reliable results for simulated gravitational-wave signals from compact binary mergers, and verify that it accurately reproduces results reported for the 11 GWTC-1 signals. Additionally, we provide configuration and output files for all analyses to allow for easy reproduction, modification, and future use. This work establishes that bilby is primed and ready to analyse the rapidly growing population of compact binary coalescence gravitational-wave signals.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Berry, Dr Christopher and Williams, Dr Daniel and Williams, Michael and De Lillo, Nicola and Veitch, Dr John and Pitkin, Dr Matthew
• Authors: Romero-Shaw, I. M., Talbot, C., Biscoveanu, S., D’Emilio, V., Ashton, G., Berry, C. P. L., Coughlin, S., Galaudage, S., Hoy, C., Hübner, M., Phukon, K. S., Pitkin, M., Rizzo, M., Sarin, N., Smith, R., Stevenson, S., Vajpeyi, A., Arène, M., Athar, K., Banagiri, S., Bose, N., Carney, M., Chatziioannou, K., Clark, J. A., Colleoni, M., Cotesta, R., Edelman, B., Estellés, H., García-Quirós, C., Ghosh, A., Green, R., Haster, C.-J., Husa, S., Keitel, D., Kim, A. X., Hernandez-Vivanco, F., Magaña Hernandez, I., Karathanasis, C., Lasky, P. D., De Lillo, N., Lower, M. E., Macleod, D., Mateu-Lucena, M., Miller, A., Millhouse, M., Morisaki, S., Oh, S. H., Ossokine, S., Payne, E., Powell, J., Pratten, G., Pürrer, M., Ramos-Buades, A., Raymond, V., Thrane, E., Veitch, J., Williams, D., Williams, M., and Xiao, L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Research Centre: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
• Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0035-8711
• ISSN (Online): 1365-2966
• Published Online: 21 September 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 499: 3295-3319
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy