Michele's wiki/blog

Authors: Matthew R. Adams, Neil J. Cornish

Date: 5 Feb 2010

Abstract: The detection of a stochastic background of gravitational waves could significantly impact our understanding of the physical processes that shaped the early Universe. The challenge lies in separating the cosmological signal from other stochastic processes such as instrument noise and astrophysical foregrounds. One approach is to build two or more detectors and cross correlate their output, thereby enhancing the common gravitational wave signal relative to the uncorrelated instrument noise. When only one detector is available, as will likely be the case with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), alternative analysis techniques must be developed. Here we show that models of the noise and signal transfer functions can be used to tease apart the gravitational and instrument noise contributions. We discuss the role of gravitational wave insensitive "null channels" formed from particular combinations of the time delay interferometry, and derive a new combination that maintains this insensitivity for unequal arm length detectors. We show that, in the absence of astrophysical foregrounds, LISA could detect signals with energy densities as low as $\Omega_{\rm gw} = 6 \times 10ˆ{-13}$ with just one month of data. We describe an end-to-end Bayesian analysis pipeline that is able to search for, characterize and assign confidence levels for the detection of a stochastic gravitational wave background, and demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach using simulated data from the third round of Mock LISA Data Challenges.

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Authors: The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration

Date: 4 Feb 2010

Abstract: We present results from an all-sky search for unmodeled gravitational-wave bursts in the data collected by the LIGO, GEO 600 and Virgo detectors between November 2006 and October 2007. The search is performed by three different analysis algorithms over the frequency band 50-6000,Hz. Data are analyzed for times with at least two of the four LIGO-Virgo detectors in coincident operation, with a total live time of 266 days. No events produced by the search algorithms survive the selection cuts. We set a frequentist upper limit on the rate of gravitational-wave bursts impinging on our network of detectors. When combined with the previous LIGO search of the data collected between November 2005 and November 2006, the upper limit on the rate of detectable gravitational-wave bursts in the 64-2048 Hz band is 2.0 events per year at 90% confidence. We also present event rate versus strength exclusion plots for several types of plausible burst waveforms. The sensitivity of the combined search is expressed in terms of the root-sum-squared strain amplitude for a variety of simulated waveforms and lies in the range 6x10-22 1/sqrt(Hz) to 2x10-20 1/sqrt(Hz. This is the first untriggered burst search to use data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors together, and the most sensitive untriggered burst search performed so far.

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Authors: Slava G. Turyshev, Viktor T. Toth

Date: 20 Jan 2010

Abstract: Radio-metric Doppler tracking data received from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft from heliocentric distances of 20-70 AU has consistently indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, blue-shifted frequency drift uniformly changing with a rate of ~6 x 10ˆ{-9} Hz/s. Ultimately, the drift was interpreted as a constant sunward deceleration of each particular spacecraft at the level of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10ˆ{-10} m/sˆ2. This apparent violation of the Newton's gravitational inverse-square law has become known as the Pioneer anomaly; the nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the physical properties of the discovered effect and the conditions that led to its detection and characterization. We review various mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and discuss the current state of efforts to determine its nature. A comprehensive new investigation of the anomalous behavior of the two Pioneers has begun recently. The new efforts rely on the much-extended set of radio-metric Doppler data for both spacecraft in conjunction with the newly available complete record of their telemetry files and a large archive of original project documentation. As the new study is yet to report its findings, this review provides the necessary background for the new results to appear in the near future. In particular, we provide a significant amount of information on the design, operations and behavior of the two Pioneers during their entire missions, including descriptions of various data formats and techniques used for their navigation and radio-science data analysis. As most of this information was recovered relatively recently, it was not used in the previous studies of the Pioneer anomaly, but it is critical for the new investigation.

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Authors: Kosmas Lazaridis, Norbert Wex, Axel Jessner, Michael Kramer, J. Anton Zensus, Ben W. Stappers, Gemma H. Janssen, Mark B. Purver, Andrew G. Lyne, Christine A. Jordan, Gregory Desvignes, Ismael Cognard, Gilles Theureau

Date: 26 Jan 2010

Abstract: We report on the high precision timing analysis of the pulsar-white dwarf binary PSR J1012+5307. Using 15 years of multi-telescope data from the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) network, a significant measurement of the variation of the orbital period is obtained. Using this ideal strong-field gravity laboratory we derive theory independent limits for both the dipole radiation and the variation of the gravitational constant.

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Authors: N. Wex, M. Kramer

Date: 26 Jan 2010

Abstract: Presently the double pulsar allows for the measurement of six post-Keplerian parameters. In addition, its double-line nature gives access to the projected semi-major axes of both orbits. We use this wealth of information to pose some very general restrictions on a wide class of conservative and semi-conservative theories of gravity.

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Authors: S. V. Dhurandhar, K. Rajesh Nayak, J-Y. Vinet

Date: 27 Jan 2010

Abstract: In order to attain the requisite sensitivity for LISA - a joint space mission of the ESA and NASA- the laser frequency noise must be suppressed below the secondary noises such as the optical path noise, acceleration noise etc. By combining six appropriately time-delayed data streams containing fractional Doppler shifts - a technique called time delay interferometry (TDI) - the laser frequency noise may be adequately suppressed. We consider the general model of LISA where the armlengths vary with time, so that second generation TDI are relevant. However, we must envisage the possibility, that not all the optical links of LISA will be operating at all times, and therefore, we here consider the case of LISA operating with two arms only. As shown earlier in the literature, obtaining even approximate solutions of TDI to the general problem is very difficult. Since here only four optical links are relevant, the algebraic problem simplifies considerably. We are then able to exhibit a large number of solutions (from mathematical point of view an infinite number) and further present an algorithm to generate these solutions.

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Authors: Carlos F. Sopuerta (ICE, CSIC-IEEC), Nicolas Yunes (Princeton)

Date: 27 Jan 2010

Abstract: The inspiral of stellar compact objects into massive black holes, usually known as extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), is one of the most important sources of gravitational-waves for the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Intermediate-mass-ratio inspirals (IMRIs are also of interest to advance ground-based gravitational-wave observatories. We discuss here how modifications to the gravitational interaction can affect the signals emitted by these systems and their detectability by LISA. We concentrate in particular on Chern-Simons modified gravity, a theory that emerges in different quantum gravitational approaches.

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Authors: Massimo Cerdonio, Fabrizio De Marchi, Roberto De Pietri, Philippe Jetzer, Francesco Marzari, Giulio Mazzolo, Antonello Ortolan, Mauro Sereno

Date: 2 Feb 2010

Abstract: The analysis of non-radiative sources of static or time-dependent gravitational fields in the Solar System is crucial to accurately estimate the free-fall orbits of the LISA space mission. In particular, we take into account the gravitational effects of Interplanetary Dust (ID) on the spacecraft trajectories. The perturbing gravitational field has been calculated for some ID density distributions that fit the observed zodiacal light. Then we integrated the Gauss planetary equations to get the deviations from the LISA keplerian orbits around the Sun. This analysis can be eventually extended to Local Dark Matter (LDM), as gravitational fields are expected to be similar for ID and LDM distributions. Under some strong assumptions on the displacement noise at very low frequency, the Doppler data collected during the whole LISA mission could provide upper limits on ID and LDM densities.

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Authors: Luc Blanchet, Steven Detweiler, Alexandre Le Tiec, Bernard F. Whiting

Date: 3 Feb 2010

Abstract: We continue a previous work on the comparison between the post-Newtonian (PN) approximation and the gravitational self-force (SF) analysis of circular orbits in a Schwarzschild background. We show that the numerical SF data contain physical information corresponding to extremely high PN approximations. We find that knowing analytically determined appropriate PN parameters helps tremendously in allowing the numerical data to be used to obtain higher order PN coefficients. Using standard PN theory we compute analytically the leading 4PN and the next-to-leading 5PN logarithmic terms in the conservative part of the dynamics of a compact binary system. The numerical perturbative SF results support well the analytic PN calculations through first order in the mass ratio, and are used to accurately measure the 4PN and 5PN non-logarithmic coefficients in a particular gauge invariant observable. Furthermore we are able to give estimates of higher order contributions up to the 7PN level. In our best fit we also confirm with high precision the value of the 3PN coefficient. This interplay between PN and SF efforts is important for the synthesis of template waveforms of extreme mass ratio inspirals to be analysed by the space-based gravitational wave instrument LISA. Our work will also have an impact on efforts that combine numerical results in a quantitative analytical framework so as to generate complete inspiral waveforms for the ground-based detection of gravitational waves by instruments such as LIGO and Virgo.

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Authors: Masahiro Kawasaki, Koichi Miyamoto, Kazunori Nakayama

Date: 3 Feb 2010

Abstract: Gravitational waves emitted by kinks on infinite strings are investigated using detailed estimations of the kink distribution on infinite strings. We find that gravitational waves from kinks can be detected by future pulsar timing experiments such as SKA for an appropriate value of the the string tension, if the typical size of string loops is much smaller than the horizon at their formation. Moreover, the gravitational wave spectrum depends on the thermal history of the Universe and hence it can be used as a probe into the early evolution of the Universe.

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Authors: Adrian Melissinos, Ashok Das

Date: 3 Feb 2010

Abstract: Laser interferometer detectors are now widely used in an attempt to detect gravitational waves (gw). The interaction of the gw with the light circulating in the interferometer is usually explained in terms of the motion of the "free" mirrors that form the interferometer arms. It is however instructive to show that the same result can be obtained by simply calculating the propagation of an electromagnetic plane wave between "free mirrors" in the curved space-time induced by the gw. One finds that the plane wave acquires frequency modulation sidebands at the gw frequency, as would be expected from the absorption and emission of gravitons from and to the gw. Such sidebands are completely equivalent to the time-dependent phase shift imposed on the plane wave, that follows from the conventional calculation.

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Authors: Ian Hinder

Date: 28 Jan 2010

Abstract: Since the breakthroughs in 2005 which have led to long term stable solutions of the binary black hole problem in numerical relativity, much progress has been made. I present here a short summary of the state of the field, including the capabilities of numerical relativity codes, recent physical results obtained from simulations, and improvements to the methods used to evolve and analyse binary black hole spacetimes.

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Authors: J.L. Jaramillo, E. Gourgoulhon

Date: 29 Jan 2010

Abstract: We present an introduction to mass and angular momentum in General Relativity. After briefly reviewing energy-momentum for matter fields, first in the flat Minkowski case (Special Relativity) and then in curved spacetimes with or without symmetries, we focus on the discussion of energy-momentum for the gravitational field. We illustrate the difficulties rooted in the Equivalence Principle for defining a local energy-momentum density for the gravitational field. This leads to the understanding of gravitational energy-momentum and angular momentum as non-local observables that make sense, at best, for extended domains of spacetime. After introducing Komar quantities associated with spacetime symmetries, it is shown how total energy-momentum can be unambiguously defined for isolated systems, providing fundamental tests for the internal consistency of General Relativity as well as setting the conceptual basis for the understanding of energy loss by gravitational radiation. Finally, several attempts to formulate quasi-local notions of mass and angular momentum associated with extended but finite spacetime domains are presented, together with some illustrations of the relations between total and quasi-local quantities in the particular context of black hole spacetimes. This article is not intended to be a rigorous and exhaustive review of the subject, but rather an invitation to the topic for non-experts. In this sense we follow essentially the expositions in Szabados 2004, Gourgoulhon 2007, Poisson 2004 and Wald 84, and refer the reader interested in further developments to the existing literature, in particular to the excellent and comprehensive review by Szabados (2004).

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Authors: Antoine Petiteau, Yu Shang, Stanislav Babak, Farhan Feroz

Date: 29 Jan 2010

Abstract: Coalescing massive Black Hole binaries are the strongest and probably the most important gravitational wave sources in the LISA band. The spin and orbital precessions bring complexity in the waveform and make the likelihood surface richer in structure as compared to the non-spinning case. We introduce an extended multimodal genetic algorithm which utilizes the properties of the signal and the detector response function to analyze the data from the third round of mock LISA data challenge (MLDC 3.2). The performance of this method is comparable, if not better, to already existing algorithms. We have found all five sources present in MLDC 3.2 and recovered the coalescence time, chirp mass, mass ratio and sky location with reasonable accuracy. As for the orbital angular momentum and two spins of the Black Holes, we have found a large number of widely separated modes in the parameter space with similar maximum likelihood values.

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Authors: Giovanni Corvino, Luciano Rezzolla, Sebastiano Bernuzzi, Roberto De Pietri, Bruno Giacomazzo

Date: 28 Jan 2010

Abstract: We present new results on instabilities in rapidly and differentially rotating neutron stars. We model the stars in full general relativity and describe the stellar matter adopting a cold realistic equation of state based on the unified SLy prescription. We provide evidence that rapidly and differentially rotating stars that are below the expected threshold for the dynamical bar-mode instability, beta_c = T/|W| ~ 0.25, do nevertheless develop a shear instability on a dynamical timescale and for a wide range of values of beta. This class of instability, which has so far been found only for small values of beta and with very small growth rates, is therefore more generic than previously found and potentially more effective in producing strong sources of gravitational waves. Overall, our findings support the phenomenological predictions made by Watts, Andersson and Jones on the nature of the low-T/|W|.

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Authors: F. Feroz (Cambridge), M.P. Hobson (Cambridge), R. Trotta (Imperial)

Date: 5 Jan 2010

Abstract: In arXiv:0911.2150, Rutger van Haasteren seeks to criticize the nested sampling algorithm for Bayesian data analysis in general and its MultiNest implementation in particular. He introduces a new method for evidence evaluation based on the idea of Voronoi tessellation and requiring samples from the posterior distribution obtained through MCMC based methods. He compares its accuracy and efficiency with MultiNest, concluding that it outperforms MultiNest in several cases. This comparison is completely unfair since the proposed method can not perform the complete Bayesian data analysis including posterior exploration and evidence evaluation on its own while MultiNest allows one to perform Bayesian data analysis end to end. Furthermore, their criticism of nested sampling (and in turn MultiNest) is based on a few conceptual misunderstandings of the algorithm. Here we seek to set the record straight.

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Authors: M.Cattani

Date: 14 Jan 2010

Abstract: Using the Einstein gravitation theory we show how to obtain the basic equations which predict the gravitational waves. This paper was written to graduate and post-graduate students of Physics. We deduce the equations didactically following the simplest way maintaining, however, the necessary mathematical rigor.

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Authors: A. Sesana, A. Vecchio

Date: 18 Jan 2010

Abstract: Massive black holes are key ingredients of the assembly and evolution of cosmic structures. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) currently provide the only means to observe gravitational radiation from massive black hole binary systems with masses >10ˆ7 solar masses. The whole cosmic population produces a signal consisting of two components: (i) a stochastic background resulting from the incoherent superposition of radiation from the all the sources, and (ii) a handful of individually resolvable signals that raise above the background level and are produced by sources sufficiently close and/or massive. Considering a wide range of massive black hole binary assembly scenarios, we investigate both the level and shape of the background and the statistics of resolvable sources. We predict a characteristic background amplitude in the interval h_c(f = 10ˆ-8 Hz)~5*10ˆ-16 - 5*10ˆ-15, within the detection range of the complete Parkes PTA. We also quantify the capability of PTAs of measuring the parameters of individual sources, focusing on monochromatic signals produced by binaries in circular orbit. We investigate how the results depend on the number and distribution of pulsars in the array, by computing the variance-covariance matrix of the parameter measurements. For plausible Square Kilometre Array (SKA) observations (100 pulsars uniformly distributed in the sky), and assuming a coherent signal-to-noise ratio of 10, the sky position of massive black hole binaries can be located within a ~40degˆ2 error box, opening promising prospects for detecting a putative electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational wave emission. The planned SKA, can plausibly observe these unique systems, although the number of detections is likely to be small. (Abridged)

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Authors: Chris Van Den Broeck, M. Trias, B.S. Sathyaprakash, A.M. Sintes

Date: 18 Jan 2010

Abstract: The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna's (LISA's) observation of supermassive binary black holes (SMBBH) could provide a new tool for precision cosmography. Inclusion of sub-dominant signal harmonics in the inspiral signal allows for high-accuracy sky localization, dramatically improving the chances of finding the host galaxy and obtaining its redshift. Combined with the measurement of the luminosity distance, this could allow us to significantly constrain the dark energy equation-of-state parameter $w$ even with a single SMBBH merger at $z \lesssim 1$. Such an event can potentially have component masses from a wide range ($10ˆ5 - 10ˆ8 \Ms$) over which parameter accuracies vary considerably. We perform an in-depth study in order to understand (i) what fraction of possible SMBBH mergers allow for sky localization, depending on the parameters of the source, and (ii) how accurately $w$ can be measured when the host galaxy can be identified. We also investigate how accuracies on all parameters improve when a knowledge of the sky position can be folded into the estimation of errors. We find that $w$ can be measured to within a few percent in most cases, if the only error in measuring the luminosity distance is due to LISA's instrumental noise and the confusion background from Galactic binaries. However, weak lensing-induced errors will severely degrade the accuracy with which $w$ can be obtained, emphasizing that methods to mitigate weak lensing effects would be required to take advantage of LISA's full potential.

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