Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published December 15, 2022 | public
Journal Article

Validating continuous gravitational-wave candidates from a semicoherent search using Doppler modulation and an effective point spread function

Abstract

Following up large numbers of candidates in continuous gravitational-wave searches presents a challenge, particularly in regard to computational power and the time required to manually scrutinize each of the candidates. It is important to design and test good follow-up procedures that are safe (i.e., minimize false dismissals) and computationally efficient across many search configurations. We investigate two follow-up procedures, or "vetoes," both of which exploit the Doppler modulation predicted in astrophysical signals. In particular, we introduce the concept of using an effective point spread function as part of our veto criteria. We take advantage of a well-established semicoherent search algorithm based on a hidden Markov model to study various search configurations and to generalize the veto criteria by considering the overall veto performance in terms of efficiency and safety. The results can serve as a guideline for follow-up studies in future continuous gravitational-wave searches using a hidden Markov model algorithm. The results also apply qualitatively to other semicoherent search algorithms.

Additional Information

We thank Evan Goetz for the helpful review and suggestions during the LIGO Publications and Presentations (P&P) review procedure. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)'s LIGO Laboratory, which is a major facility fully funded by NSF. The authors are grateful for computational resources provided by the LIGO Laboratory and supported by NSF Grants No. PHY–0757058 and No. PHY–0823459. The authors acknowledge the support of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Project No. CE170100004.

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023