Towards a generic test of the strong field dynamics of general relativity using compact binary coalescence: further investigations

Li, T.G.F., Del Pozzo, W., Vitale, S., Van Den Broeeck, C., Agathos, M., Veitch, J. , Grover, K., Sidery, T., Sturani, R. and Vecchio, A. (2012) Towards a generic test of the strong field dynamics of general relativity using compact binary coalescence: further investigations. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 363, 012028. (doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/363/1/012028)

Abstract

In this paper we elaborate on earlier work by the same authors in which a novel Bayesian inference framework for testing the strong-field dynamics of General Relativity using coalescing compact binaries was proposed. Unlike methods that were used previously, our technique addresses the question whether one or more 'testing coefficients' (e.g. in the phase) parameterizing deviations from GR are non-zero, rather than all of them differing from zero at the same time. The framework is well-adapted to a scenario where most sources have low signal-to-noise ratio, and information from multiple sources as seen in multiple detectors can readily be combined. In our previous work, we conjectured that this framework can detect generic deviations from GR that can in principle not be accomodated by our model waveforms, on condition that the change in phase near frequencies where the detectors are the most sensitive is comparable to that induced by simple shifts in the lower-order phase coefficients of more than a few percent (~ 5 radians at 150 Hz). To further support this claim, we perform additional numerical experiments in Gaussian and stationary noise according to the expected Advanced LIGO/Virgo noise curves, and coherently injecting signals into the network whose phasing differs structurally from the predictions of GR, but with the magnitude of the deviation still being small. We find that even then, a violation of GR can be established with good confidence.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: TGFL, WDP, SV, CVDB and MA are supported by the research programme of the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), which is partially supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). JV’s research was funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK, grant ST/J000345/1. KG, TS and AV are supported by Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK, grant ST/H002006/1. The work of RS is supported by the EGO Consortium through the VESF fellowship EGO-DIR-41-2010.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Veitch, Dr John
• Authors: Li, T.G.F., Del Pozzo, W., Vitale, S., Van Den Broeeck, C., Agathos, M., Veitch, J., Grover, K., Sidery, T., Sturani, R., and Vecchio, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Journal of Physics: Conference Series
• Published Online: 01 June 2012