Ground Based Gravitational Wave Astronomy in the Asian Region
Vaishali Adya, Matthew Bailes, Carl Blair, David Blair, Johannes Eichholz, Joris van Heijningen, Eric Howell, Li Ju, Paul Lasky, Andrew Melatos, David Ottaway, Chunnong Zhao
The current gravitational wave detectors have identified a surprising population of heavy stellar mass black holes, and an even larger population of coalescing neutron stars. The first observations have led to many dramatic discoveries and the confirmation of general relativity in very strong gravitational fields. The future of gravitational wave astronomy looks bright, especially if additional detectors with greater sensitivity, broader bandwidth, and better global coverage can be implemented. The first discoveries add impetus to gravitational wave detectors designed to detect in the nHz, mHz and kHz frequency bands. This paper reviews the century-long struggle that led to the recent discoveries, and reports on designs and possibilities for future detectors. The benefits of future detectors in the Asian region are discussed, including analysis of the benefits of a detector located in Australia.
A Euro-Asian network of four gravitational-wave (GW) interferometers is considered, taking into account the plan to create such a detector in Novosibirsk. The efficiency of the network is assessed by typical numerical criteria, which also depend on the characteristics of the received signal. In this work, we calculate the optimal orientation of the Novosibirsk detector for the problem of detecting GW radiation accompanying the collapse of the progenitor star with an initial angular momentum. The specificity of the scenario is the presence of the so-called. bar stage deformation, for which the …
In this paper, we estimate efficiency of a conceivable Euro-Asian network of gravitational wave (GW) interferometers that might be realized having in mind a plan of construction of third generation interferometer in Novosibirsk region. Subsequently, some network would be composed, including four GW detectors. Among them there are the already active interferometers VIRGO (Italy) and KAGRA (Japan), Indian interferometer under construction - LIGO India and the interferometer in Siberia mentioned above. The quality of network in question is considered on the base of typical numerical criteria of e…
Efficient parameter estimation is critical for Gravitational-Wave astronomy. In the case of compact binary coalescence, the high dimensional parameter space demands efficient sampling techniques - such as Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). A number of degeneracies effectively reduce the dimensionality of the parameter space and, when known, can render sampling algorithms more efficient with problem-specific improvements. We present in this paper an analytical description of a degeneracy involving the extrinsic parameters of a compact binary coalescence gravitational-wave signal, when data from a…
This white paper describes the research and development needed over the next decade to realize "Cosmic Explorer," the U.S. node of a future third-generation detector network that will be capable of observing and characterizing compact gravitational-wave sources to cosmological redshifts.
Understanding the properties of transient gravitational waves and their sources is of broad interest in physics and astronomy. Bayesian inference is the standard framework for astro-physical measurement in transient gravitational-wave astronomy. Usually, stochastic sampling algorithms are used to estimate posterior probability distributions over the parameter spaces of models describing experimental data. The most physically accurate models typically come with a large computational overhead which can render data analysis extremely time consuming, or possibly even prohibitive. In some cases hig…
Accelerated Time-domain Analysis for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research（国际理论科学中心 - 塔塔基础研究所）；Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics（大学间天文学与天体物理学中心）；Institute for Gravitation & the Cosmos, Department of Physics, Penn State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学物理学院引力与宇宙研究中心）
Realizing a gravitational wave (GW) astronomy in next years is a great challenge for the scientific community. By giving a significant amount of new information, GWs will be a cornerstone for a better understanding of gravitational physics. In this paper we re-discuss that the GW astronomy will permit to solve a captivating issue of gravitation. In fact, it will be the definitive test for Einstein's general relativity (GR), or, alternatively, a strong endorsement for extended theories of gravity (ETG).
Now that LIGO and Virgo have begun to detect gravitational wave events with regularity, the field of gravitational wave astronomy is beginning to realise its promise. Binary black holes and, very recently, binary neutron stars have been observed, and we are already learning much from them. The future, with improved sensitivity, more detectors, and detectors like LISA in different frequency bands, has even more promise to open a completely hidden side of the Universe to our exploration.
Bayesian inference is a powerful tool in gravitational-wave astronomy. It enables us to deduce the properties of merging compact-object binaries and to determine how these mergers are distributed as a population according to mass, spin, and redshift. As key results are increasingly derived using Bayesian inference, there is increasing scrutiny on Bayesian methods. In this review, we discuss the phenomenon of \textit{model misspecification}, in which results obtained with Bayesian inference are misleading because of deficiencies in the assumed model(s). Such deficiencies can impede our inferenc…
We report on the construction of a deep convolutional neural network that can reproduce the sensitivity of a matched-filtering search for binary black hole gravitational-wave signals. The standard method for the detection of well modeled transient gravitational-wave signals is matched filtering. However, the computational cost of such searches in low latency will grow dramatically as the low frequency sensitivity of gravitational-wave detectors improves. Convolutional neural networks provide a highly computationally efficient method for signal identification in which the majority of calculatio…
An enigmatic prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity is gravitational waves. With the observed decay in the orbit of the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar agreeing within a fraction of a percent with the theoretically computed decay from Einstein's theory, the existence of gravitational waves was firmly established. Currently there is a worldwide effort to detect gravitational waves with interferometric gravitational wave observatories or detectors and several such detectors have been built or being built. The initial detectors have reached their design sensitivities and now the effort …
The Gravitational Wave (GW) universe contains a wealth of sources which, with the proper treatment, will open up the universe as never before. By observing massive black hole binaries to high redshifts, we should begin to explore the formation process of seed black holes and track galactic evolution to the present day. Observations of extreme mass ratio inspirals will allow us to explore galactic centers in the local universe, as well as providing tests of General Relativity and constraining the value of Hubble's constant. The detection of compact binaries in our own galaxy may allow us to mod…
Gravitational waves are radiative solutions of space-time dynamics predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. A world-wide array of large-scale and highly sensitive interferometric detectors constantly scrutinizes the geometry of the local space-time with the hope to detect deviations that would signal an impinging gravitational wave from a remote astrophysical source. Finding the rare and weak signature of gravitational waves buried in non-stationary and non-Gaussian instrument noise is a particularly challenging problem. We will give an overview of the data-analysis techniques and…
We describe the plans for gravitational-wave observations and astrophysics that will be carried out by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) in the next decade using data from the LIGO Observatories in the US, and sister facilities abroad in Europe, Japan and India. We provide an overview of gravitational wave signal types that we are targeting, and the role of gravitational waves in time-domain multi-messenger astronomy. We briefly summarize what we can infer from the properties of detected signals, including astrophysical event rates and populations, tests of gravitational-wave properties,…
The first direct detection of gravitational waves emitted from a pair of merging black holes in 2015 has been heralded as one of most significant scientific breakthroughs in physics and astronomy of the 21st century. Motivated by the tremendous scientific opportunities now opened by gravitational-wave observatories and recognizing that to fully exploit the new field will require new observatories that may take 15 to 20 years from conception until operations begin, the Gravitational Wave International Committee (GWIC) convened a subcommittee to examine the path to build and operate a network of…
Gravitational wave science is on the verge of direct observation of the waves predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and opening the exciting new field of gravitational wave astronomy. In the coming decades, ultra-sensitive arrays of ground-based instruments and complementary spaced-based instruments will observe the gravitational wave sky, inevitably discovering entirely unexpected phenomena while providing new insight into many of the most profound astrophysical phenomena known. in July 2007 the Gravitational Wave International Committee (GWIC) initiated the development of a st…
Part of a review paper entitled "Gravitational wave astronomy: the current status.", appeared in " Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy 58.12 (2015): 1-41.
Bayesian parameter estimation is fast becoming the language of gravitational-wave astronomy. It is the method by which gravitational-wave data is used to infer the sources' astrophysical properties. We introduce a user-friendly Bayesian inference library for gravitational-wave astronomy, Bilby. This python code provides expert-level parameter estimation infrastructure with straightforward syntax and tools that facilitate use by beginners. It allows users to perform accurate and reliable gravitational-wave parameter estimation on both real, freely-available data from LIGO/Virgo, and simulated d…
Due to their computational limitations, searches for continuous gravitational waves (GW) are significantly more sensitive when informed by observational photon astronomy and theoretical astrophysics. Indirect upper limits on GW emission inferred from photon astronomy indicate which objects are more interesting for GW searches, and also set sensitivity milestones which GW searches need to beat to be considered GW astronomy. How GW results are interpreted depends on previous indirect limits and the theory of astrophysical GW emission mechanisms. I describe the interplay between these issues for …
Contemporary astronomy is undergoing a revolution, perhaps even more important than that which took place with the advent of radioastronomy in the 1960s, and then the opening of the sky to observations in the other electromagnetic wavelengths. The gravitational wave detectors of the LIGO/Virgo collaboration have observed since 2015 the signals emitted during the collision and merger of binary systems of massive black holes at a large astronomical distance. This major discovery opens the way to the new astronomy of gravitational waves, drastically different from the traditional astronomy based …
Multimessenger astronomy incorporating gravitational radiation is a new and exciting field that will potentially provide significant results and exciting challenges in the near future. With advanced interferometric gravitational wave detectors (LCGT, LIGO, Virgo) we will have the opportunity to investigate sources of gravitational waves that are also expected to be observable through other messengers, such as electromagnetic (gamma-rays, x-rays, optical, radio) and/or neutrino emission. The LIGO-Virgo interferometer network has already been used for multimessenger searches for gravitational ra…
The first decade of the new millenium should see the first direct detections of gravitational waves. This will be a milestone for fundamental physics and it will open the new observational science of gravitational wave astronomy. But gravitational waves already play an important role in the modeling of astrophysical systems. I review here the present state of gravitational radiation theory in relativity and astrophysics, and I then look at the development of detector sensitivity over the next decade, both on the ground (such as LIGO) and in space (LISA). I review the sources of gravitational w…
As several large scale interferometers are beginning to take data at sensitivities where astrophysical sources are predicted, the direct detection of gravitational waves may well be imminent. This would open the gravitational-wave window to our Universe, and should lead to a much improved understanding of the most violent processes imaginable; the formation of black holes and neutron stars following core collapse supernovae and the merger of compact objects at the end of binary inspiral.
Gravitational-wave detectors with sensitivities sufficient to measure the radiation from astrophysical sources are rapidly coming into existence. By the end of this decade, there will exist several ground-based instruments in North America, Europe, and Japan, and the joint American-European space-based antenna LISA should be either approaching orbit or in final commissioning in preparation for launch. The goal of these instruments will be to open the field of gravitational-wave astronomy: using gravitational radiation as an observational window on astrophysics and the universe. In this article…
I will review the most recent and interesting results from gravitational wave detection experiments, concentrating on recent results from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC). I will outline the methodologies utilized in the searches, explain what can be said in the case of a null result, what quantities may be constrained. I will compare these results with prior expectations and discuss their significance. As I go along I will outline the prospects for future improvements.
In gravitational-wave data analysis, we regularly work with a host of non-trivial prior probabilities on compact binary masses, redshifts, and spins. We must regularly manipulate these priors, computing the implied priors on a transformed basis of parameters or reweighting posterior samples from one prior to another. Here, I detail some common manipulations, presenting a table of Jacobians with which to transform priors between mass parametrizations, describing the conversion between source- and detector-frame priors, and deriving analytic expressions for priors on the "effective spin" paramet…
The past four years have seen a scientific revolution through the birth of a new field: gravitational-wave astronomy. The first detection of gravitational waves---recognised by the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics---provided unprecedented tests of general relativity while unveiling a previously unknown class of massive black holes, thirty times more massive than the Sun. The subsequent detection of gravitational waves from a merging binary neutron star confirmed the hypothesised connection between binary neutron stars and short gamma-ray bursts while providing an independent measurement of the expa…
The potential realization of a gravitational wave (GW) astronomy in next years is a great challenge for the scientific community. By giving a significant amount of new information, GWs will be a cornerstone for a better understanding of the universe and of the gravitational physics. In this paper the author shows that the GW astronomy will permit to solve a captivating issue of gravitation as it will be the definitive test for the famous "Einstein frame versus Jordan frame" controversy. In fact, we show that the motion of the test masses, i.e. the beam splitter and the mirror in the case of an…
The basic constituent of interferometric gravitational wave detectors -- the test mass to test mass interferometric link -- behaves as a differential dynamometer measuring effective differential forces, comprising an integrated measure of gravity curvature, inertial effects, as well as non-gravitational spurious forces. This last contribution is going to be characterised by the LISA Pathfinder mission, a technology precursor of future space-borne detectors like eLISA. Changing the perspective from displacement to acceleration can benefit the data analysis of LISA Pathfinder and future detector…
It has been recently claimed [arXiv:1102.3434] that quantum gravity models where the number of dimensions reduces at the ultraviolet exhibit a potentially observable cutoff in the primordial gravitational wave spectrum, and that this is a "generic" and "robust" test for such models, since "(2+1)-dimensional spacetimes have no gravitational degrees of freedom". We argue that such a claim is misleading.
Gravitational wave detectors capable of making astronomical observations could begin to operate within the next year, and over the next 10 years they will extend their reach out to cosmological distances, culminating in the space mission LISA. A prime target of these observatories will be binary systems, especially those whose orbits shrink measurably during an observation period. These systems are standard candles, and they offer independent ways of measuring cosmological parameters. LISA in particular could identify the epoch at which star formation began and, working with telescopes making …
We review the main results obtained in the literature on quasi-normal modes of compact stars and black holes, in the light of recent exciting developments of gravitational wave detectors. Quasi-normal modes are a fundamental feature of the gravitational signal emitted by compact objects in many astrophysical processes; we will show that their eigenfrequencies encode interesting information on the nature and on the inner structure of the emitting source and we will discuss whether we are ready for a gravitational wave asteroseismology.
We discuss the future of gravitational theories in the framework of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy after the recent GW detections (the events GW150914, GW151226, GW170104, GW170814, GW170817 and GW170608). In particular, a calculation of the frequency and angular dependent response function that a GW detector would see if massive modes from f(R) theories or scalar tensor gravity (STG) were present, allowing for sources incident from any direction on the sky, is shown. In addition, through separate theoretical results which do not involve the recent GW detections, we show that f(R) theories …
We carry out astrophysical inference for compact binary merger events in LIGO-Virgo's first gravitational-wave transient catalog (GWTC-1) using a physically motivated calibration model. We demonstrate that importance sampling can be used to reduce the cost of what would otherwise be a computationally challenging analysis. We show that including the physical estimate for the calibration error distribution has negligible impact on the inference of parameters for the events in GWTC-1. Studying a simulated signal with matched filter signal-to-noise ratio $\text{SNR}=200$, we project that a calibra…
Since 2015 the gravitational-wave observations of LIGO and Virgo have transformed our understanding of compact-object binaries. In the years to come, ground-based gravitational-wave observatories such as LIGO, Virgo, and their successors will increase in sensitivity, discovering thousands of stellar-mass binaries. In the 2030s, the space-based LISA will provide gravitational-wave observations of massive black holes binaries. Between the $\sim 10$-$10^3~\mathrm{Hz}$ band of ground-based observatories and the $\sim10^{-4}$-$10^{-1}~\mathrm{Hz}$ band of LISA lies the uncharted decihertz gravitati…
The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detectors have just completed their first science run, following many years of planning, research, and development. LIGO is a member of what will be a worldwide network of gravitational-wave observatories, with other members in Europe, Japan, and -- hopefully -- Australia. Plans are rapidly maturing for a low frequency, space-based gravitational-wave observatory: LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, to be launched around 2011. The goal of these instruments is to inaugurate the field of {\it gravitational-wave astronomy}: u…
In order to extract information about the properties of compact binaries, we must estimate the noise power spectral density of gravitational-wave data, which depends on the properties of the gravitational-wave detector. In practice, it is not possible to know this perfectly, only to estimate it from the data. Multiple estimation methods are commonly used and each has a corresponding statistical uncertainty. However, this uncertainty is widely ignored when measuring the physical parameters describing compact binary coalescences, and the appropriate likelihoods which account for the uncertainty …
Perfect porcupines are specially-configured networks of gravitational wave detectors, in the limit that the individual detectors and the distances between them are short relative to the gravitational wavelengths of interest. They have beautiful properties which make them ideal gravitational wave telescopes. I present the most important cases explicitly. For a network of one-arm detectors (like "AGIS" \cite{Dimopoulos_et_al}), the minimal perfect porcupine has 6 detectors, oriented along the 6 diameters of a regular icosahedron. For a network of two-arm detectors (like the equal-arm Michelson i…
This is a review article on the primordial black holes (PBHs), with particular focus on the massive ones ($\gtrsim 10^{15}{\rm g}$) which have not evaporated by the present epoch by the Hawking radiation. By the detections of gravitational waves by LIGO, we have gained a completely novel tool to observationally search for PBHs complementary to the electromagnetic waves. Based on the perspective that gravitational-wave astronomy will make a significant progress in the next decades, a purpose of this article is to give a comprehensive review covering a wide range of topics on PBHs. After discuss…
A space-based interferometer operating in the previously unexplored mHz gravitational band has tremendous discovery potential. If history is any guide, the opening of a new spectral band will lead to the discovery of entirely new sources and phenomena. The mHz band is ideally suited to exploring beyond standard model processes in the early universe, and with the sensitivities that can be reached with current technologies, the discovery space for exotic astrophysical systems is vast.
The emergent area of gravitational wave astronomy promises to provide revolutionary discoveries in the areas of astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. One of the most exciting possibilities is to use gravitational-wave observations to test alternative theories of gravity. In this contribution we describe how to use observations of extreme-mass-ratio inspirals by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna to test a particular class of theories: Chern-Simons modified gravity.
It is well known that Einstein's General Relativity (GR) achieved a great success and overcame lots of experimental tests. On the other hand, GR also showed some shortcomings and flaws which today advise theorists to ask if it is the definitive theory of gravity. In this review we show that, if advanced projects on the detection of Gravitational Waves (GWs) will improve their sensitivity, allowing to perform a GWs astronomy, understanding if Einstein's GR is the correct and definitive theory of gravity will be possible. For this goal, accurate angular and frequency dependent response functions…
This chapter provides an overview of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy, providing background material that underpins the other, more specialized chapters in this handbook. It starts with a brief historical review of the development of GW astronomy, from Einstein's prediction of GWs in 1916 to the first direct detection in 2015. It presents the theory of linearized perturbations about Minkowski spacetime of Einstein's equations, and shows how gauge transformations reduce the problem to the standard wave equation with two degrees of freedom, or polarizations, $h_+,h_\times$. We derive the quadru…
The field of transient astronomy has seen a revolution with the first gravitational-wave detections and the arrival of multi-messenger observations they enabled. Transformed by the first detection of binary black hole and binary neutron star mergers, computational demands in gravitational-wave astronomy are expected to grow by at least a factor of two over the next five years as the global network of kilometer-scale interferometers are brought to design sensitivity. With the increase in detector sensitivity, real-time delivery of gravitational-wave alerts will become increasingly important as …
Joint gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) observations, as a key research direction in multi-messenger astronomy, will provide deep insight into the astrophysics of a vast range of astronomical phenomena. Uncertainties in the source sky location estimate from gravitational wave observations mean follow-up observatories must scan large portions of the sky for a potential companion signal. A general frame of joint GW-EM observations is presented by a multi-messenger observational triangle. Using a Bayesian approach to multi-messenger astronomy, we investigate the use of galaxy catal…
This contribution is divided in two parts. The first part provides a text-book level introduction to gravitational radiation. The key concepts required for a discussion of gravitational-wave physics are introduced. In particular, the quadrupole formula is applied to the anticipated ``bread-and-butter'' source for detectors like LIGO, GEO600, EGO and TAMA300: inspiralling compact binaries. The second part provides a brief review of high frequency gravitational waves. In the frequency range above (say) 100Hz, gravitational collapse, rotational instabilities and oscillations of the remnant compac…
With the discovery of the black hole binary (BBH) coalescence GW150914 the era of gravitational-wave (GW) astronomy has started. It has recently been shown that BBH with masses comparable to or higher than GW150914 would be visible in the eLISA band a few years before they finally merge in the band of ground-based detectors. This would allow for pre-merger electromagnetic alerts, dramatically increasing the chances of a joint detection, if BBH are indeed luminous in the electromagnetic band. In this paper we explore a quite different aspect of multi-band GW astronomy, and verify if, and to wha…
Bayesian inference is the workhorse of gravitational-wave astronomy, for example, determining the mass and spins of merging black holes, revealing the neutron star equation of state, and unveiling the population properties of compact binaries. The science enabled by these inferences comes with a computational cost that can limit the questions we are able to answer. This cost is expected to grow. As detectors improve, the detection rate will go up, allowing less time to analyze each event. Improvement in low-frequency sensitivity will yield longer signals, increasing the number of computations …
The detections of gravitational waves (GW) by LIGO/Virgo collaborations provide various possibilities to physics and astronomy. We are quite sure that GW observations will develop a lot both in precision and in number owing to the continuous works for the improvement of detectors, including the expectation to the newly joined detector, KAGRA, and the planned detector, LIGO-India. In this occasion, we review the fundamental outcomes and prospects of gravitational wave physics and astronomy. We survey the development focusing on representative sources of gravitational waves: binary black holes, …
We present a general framework for incorporating astrophysical information into Bayesian parameter estimation techniques used by gravitational wave data analysis to facilitate multi-messenger astronomy. Since the progenitors of transient gravitational wave events, such as compact binary coalescences, are likely to be associated with a host galaxy, improvements to the source sky location estimates through the use of host galaxy information are explored. To demonstrate how host galaxy properties can be included, we simulate a population of compact binary coalescences and show that for ~8.5% of s…
The first direct observation of gravitational waves' action upon matter has recently been reported by the BICEP2 experiment. Advanced ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are being installed. They will soon be commissioned, and then begin searches for high-frequency gravitational waves at a sensitivity level that is widely expected to reach events involving compact objects like stellar mass black holes and neutron stars. Pulsar timing arrays continue to improve the bounds on gravitational waves at nanohertz frequencies, and may detect a signal on roughly the same timescale as ground-based…
