First all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources in binary systems

Creators: Aasi, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abernathy, M. R.; Adhikari, R. X.; Anderson, R.; Anderson, S. B.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Austin, L.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barish, B. C.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Bork, R.; Brooks, A. F.; Cepeda, C.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Coyne, D. C.; Dergachev, V.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Ehrens, P.; Etzel, T.; Gushwa, K.; Gustafson, E. K.; Harms, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Hodge, K. A.; Ivanov, A.; Jacobson, M.; James, E.; Kalmus, P.; Kanner, J. B.; Kells, W.; King, P. J.; Kondrashov, V.; Korth, W. Z.; Kozak, D. B.; Lazzarini, A.; Lewis, J.; Li, T. G. F.; Libbrecht, K.; Litvine, V.; Mageswaran, M.; Mailand, K.; Maros, E.; Martynov, D.; Marx, J. N.; McIntyre, G.; Meshkov, S.; Osthelder, C.; Pedraza, M.; Phelps, M.; Price, L. R.; Privitera, S.; Quintero, E.; Raymond, V.; Reitze, D. H.; Robertson, N. A.; Rollins, J. G.; Sannibale, V.; Singer, A.; Singer, L.; Smith, M.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith-Lefebvre, N. D.; Taylor, R.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thrane, E.; Torrie, C. I.; Vass, S.; Wallace, L.; Weinstein, A. J.; Williams, R.; Yamamoto, H.; Zhang, L.; Zweizig, J.; Chen, Y.; Gossan, S.; Miao, H.; Moesta, P.; Thorne, K. S.; Vallisneri, M.; Yang, H.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

Abstract

We present the first results of an all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown spinning neutron stars in binary systems using LIGO and Virgo data. Using a specially developed analysis program, the TwoSpect algorithm, the search was carried out on data from the sixth LIGO science run and the second and third Virgo science runs. The search covers a range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 520 Hz, a range of orbital periods from 2 to ∼2,254 h and a frequency- and period-dependent range of frequency modulation depths from 0.277 to 100 mHz. This corresponds to a range of projected semimajor axes of the orbit from ∼0.6×10^(−3) ls to ∼6,500 ls assuming the orbit of the binary is circular. While no plausible candidate gravitational wave events survive the pipeline, upper limits are set on the analyzed data. The most sensitive 95% confidence upper limit obtained on gravitational wave strain is 2.3×10^(−24) at 217 Hz, assuming the source waves are circularly polarized. Although this search has been optimized for circular binary orbits, the upper limits obtained remain valid for orbital eccentricities as large as 0.9. In addition, upper limits are placed on continuous gravitational wave emission from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1 between 20 Hz and 57.25 Hz.

Additional Information

© 2014 American Physical Society. Received 9 June 2014; Published 15 September 2014. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the United States National Science Foundation for the construction and operation of the LIGO Laboratory; the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, the Max-Planck-Society, and the State of Niedersachsen/Germany for support of the construction and operation of the GEO600 detector; and the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare and the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique for the construction and operation of the Virgo detector. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support of the research by these agencies and by the Australian Research Council, the International Science Linkages program of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India, the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of Italy, the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, the Conselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovació of the Govern de les Illes Balears, the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the FOCUS Programme of Foundation for Polish Science, the Royal Society, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, OTKA of Hungary, the Lyon Institute of Origins (LIO), the National Research Foundation of Korea, Industry Canada and the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, the National Science and Engineering Research Council Canada, the Carnegie Trust, the Leverhulme Trust, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Research Corporation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This article has LIGO Document No. LIGO-P1300048.

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Published - PhysRevD.90.062010.pdf

Submitted - 1405.7904v2.pdf

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