K. G. Arun

Massive black-hole binary inspirals: results from the LISA parameter estimation taskforce

The LISA Parameter Estimation Taskforce was formed in September 2007 to provide the LISA Project with vetted codes, source distribution models and results related to parameter estimation. The Taskforces goal is to be able to quickly calculate the impact of any mission design changes on LISAs science capabilities, based on reasonable estimates of the distribution of astrophysical sources in the universe. This paper describes our Taskforces work on massive black-hole binaries (MBHBs). Given present uncertainties in the formation history of MBHBs, we adopt four different population models, based on (i) whether the initial black-hole seeds are small or large and (ii) whether accretion is efficient or inefficient at spinning up the holes. We compare four largely independent codes for calculating LISAs parameter-estimation capabilities. All codes are based on the Fisher-matrix approximation, but in the past they used somewhat different signal models, source parametrizations and noise curves. We show that once these differences are removed, the four codes give results in extremely close agreement with each other. Using a code that includes both spin precession and higher harmonics in the gravitational-wave signal, we carry out Monte Carlo simulations and determine the number of events that can be detected and accurately localized in our four population models.

Third post-Newtonian angular momentum flux and the secular evolution of orbital elements for inspiralling compact binaries in quasi-elliptical orbits

The angular-momentum flux from an inspiralling binary system of compact objects moving in quasi-elliptical orbits is computed at the third post-Newtonian (3PN) order using the multipolar post-Minkowskian wave generation formalism. The 3PN angular-momentum flux involves the instantaneous, tail, and tail-of-tails contributions as for the 3PN energy flux, and in addition a contribution due to nonlinear memory. We average the angular-momentum flux over the binarys orbit using the 3PN quasi-Keplerian representation of elliptical orbits. The averaged angular-momentum flux provides the final input needed for gravitational-wave phasing of binaries moving in quasi-elliptical orbits. We obtain the evolution of orbital elements under 3PN gravitational radiation reaction in the quasi-elliptic case. For small eccentricities, we give simpler limiting expressions relevant for phasing up to order e(2). This work is important for the construction of templates for quasi-eccentric binaries, and for the comparison of post-Newtonian results with the numerical relativity simulations of the plunge and merger of eccentric binaries.

All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with LIGO

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10 - 500 seconds in a frequency band of 40 - 1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. We also report upper limits on the source rate density per year per Mpc^3 for specific signal models. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves.

Inspiralling compact binaries in quasi-elliptical orbits: The Complete 3PN energy flux

The instantaneous contributions to the third post-Newtonian (3PN) gravitational wave luminosity from the inspiral phase of a binary system of compact objects moving in a quasi-elliptical orbit is computed using the multipolar post-Minkowskian wave generation formalism. The necessary inputs for this calculation include the 3PN accurate mass quadrupole moment for general orbits and the mass octupole and current quadrupole moments at 2PN. Using the recently obtained 3PN quasi-Keplerian representation of elliptical orbits, the flux is averaged over the binarys orbit. Supplementing this by the important hereditary contributions arising from tails, tails of tails, and tails-squared terms calculated in a previous paper, the complete 3PN energy flux is obtained. The final result presented in this paper would be needed for the construction of ready-to-use templates for binaries moving on noncircular orbits, a plausible class of sources not only for the space-based detectors like LISA but also for the ground-based ones.

Ready-to-use post-Newtonian gravitational waveforms for binary black holes with nonprecessing spins: An update

For black-hole binaries whose spins are (anti-) aligned with respect to the orbital angular momentum of the binary, we compute the frequency domain phasing coefficients including the quadratic-in-spin terms up to the third post-Newtonian (3PN) order, the cubic-in-spin terms at the leading order, 3.5PN, and the spin-orbit effects up to the 4PN order. In addition, we obtain the 2PN spin contributions to the amplitude of the frequency-domain gravitational waveforms for non-precessing binaries, using recently derived expressions for the time-domain polarization amplitudes of binaries with generic spins, complete at that accuracy level. These two results are updates to Arun et al. (2009) [1] for amplitude and Wade et al. (2013) [2] for phasing. They should be useful to construct banks of templates that model accurately non-precessing inspiraling binaries, for parameter estimation studies, and or constructing analytical template families that accounts for the inspiral-merger-ringdown phases of the binary.

Synergy of short gamma ray burst and gravitational wave observations: Constraining the inclination angle of the binary and possible implications for off-axis gamma ray bursts

Compact binary mergers are the strongest candidates for the progenitors of Short Gamma Ray Bursts (SGRBs). If a gravitational wave (GW) signal from the compact binary merger is observed in association with a SGRB, such a synergy can help us understand many interesting aspects of these bursts. We examine the accuracies with which a world wide network of gravitational wave interferometers would measure the inclination angle (the angle between the angular momentum axis of the binary and the observers line of sight) of the binary. We compare the projected accuracies of GW detectors to measure the inclination angle of double neutron star (DNS) and neutron star-black hole (NS-BH) binaries for different astrophysical scenarios. We find that a 5 detector network can measure the inclination angle to an accuracy of

Tail effects in the 3PN gravitational wave energy flux of compact binaries in quasi-elliptical orbits

\sim 5.1 (2.2)

Third post-Newtonian gravitational waveforms for compact binary systems in general orbits: Instantaneous terms

degrees for a DNS(NS-BH) system at 200 Mpc if the direction of the source as well as the redshift is known electromagnetically. We argue as to how an accurate estimation of the inclination angle of the binary can prove to be crucial in understanding off-axis GRBs, the dynamics and the energetics of their jets, and help the searches for (possible) orphan afterglows of the SGRBs.

Singular value decomposition in parametrized tests of post-Newtonian theory

The far-zone flux of energy contains hereditary (tail) contr ibutions that depend on the entire past history of the source. Using the multipolar post-Minkowskian wave generation formalism, we propose and implement a semi-analytical method in the frequency domain to compute these contributions from the inspiral phase of a binary system of compact objects moving in quasi-elliptical orbits up to third post-Newtonian (3PN) order. The method explicitly uses the quasi-Keplerian representation of elliptical orbits at 1PN order and exploits the doubly periodic nature of the motion to average the 3PN flu xes over the binary’s orbit. Together with the instantaneous (non-tail) contributions evaluated in a companion paper, it provides crucial inputs for the construction of ready-to-use templates for compact binaries moving on quasi-elliptic orbits, an interesting class of sources for the ground based gravitational wave detectors such as LIGO and Virgo as well as space based detectors like LISA.

2.5PN linear momentum flux from inspiralling compact binaries in quasicircular orbits and associated recoil: Nonspinning case

We compute the instantaneous contributions to the spherical harmonic modes of gravitational waveforms from compact binary systems in general orbits up to the third post-Newtonian (PN) order. We further extend these results for compact binaries in quasielliptical orbits using the 3PN quasi-Keplerian representation of the conserved dynamics of compact binaries in eccentric orbits. Using the multipolar post-Minkowskian formalism, starting from the different mass and current-type multipole moments, we compute the spin-weighted spherical harmonic decomposition of the instantaneous part of the gravitational waveform. These are terms which are functions of the retarded time and do not depend on the history of the binary evolution. Together with the hereditary part, which depends on the binarys dynamical history, these waveforms form the basis for construction of accurate templates for the detection of gravitational wave signals from binaries moving in quasielliptical orbits.