Introduction to Continuous Gravitational Wave Searches & Charge to Workshop

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LIGO-G1100457-v3
19 Dec 2011, 14:58

Abstract:: The LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration carry out joint searches in LIGO and Virgo data for periodic continuous gravitational waves. These analyses range from targeted searches for known pulsars, for which precise ephemerides from radio or X-ray observations are used in matched filters, to all-sky searches for unknown neutron stars, including stars in binary systems. Between these extremes lie directed searches for known stars of unknown spin frequency or for new unknown sources at specific locations, such as near the galactic center or in globular clusters. Most of these searches are computationally bound, requiring tradeoffs in sensitivity to achieve large parameter space coverage. As the collaborations prepare a new round of both deeper and wider searches in data collected to date, we seek guidance from electromagnetic astronomers on the strategic steps to take toward what we hope will be detection.
Meanwhile, electromagnetic pulsar astronomy in binary systems has yielded strong indirect evidence for emission of gravitational waves, along with other, increasingly stringent tests of General Relativity. Moreover, the coming decade may see the direct detection of gravitational radiation via its effect on pulsar timing measurements. This workshop will examine the prospects for discovery and the challenges

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LIGO Document G1100457-v1