delayRatio: A Gravitational Wave Event Physical Likelihood Estimator Based on Detection Delays and SNR Ratios

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Abstract:: The delayRatio is an efficient physical likelihood estimator which is designed to be used as part of a candidate coincident burst/inspiral gravitational wave event follow-up investigation. Given the event parameter estimation of detection delays and the SNR ratio between a pair of detectors, delayRatio returns a Boolean indicating if the parameters fall within physical ranges determined by using polarization averaged antenna patterns and assuming gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light. Since polarization effects can cause physical signals to lay outside the polarization averaged bounds, probabilities determined from Monte Carlo simulations of physically motivated signals (all sky and random polarization) are also calculated to estimate the likelihood of a polarized signal that falls outside of the polarization averaged bounds. (If the signal falls within the polarization averaged bounds, the candidate is physically possible and the probability measure is not needed.) This work has also been generalized for 3+ detectors. For these combinations, the primary likelihood condition is the physicality of detection delays while SNR ratios give secondary validation measures. Therefore, this work has easily been extended to function as a simple source location tool based solely on the detection delays and timing errors.

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LIGO Document G0900503-v1