Bayesian approach to the follow-up of candidate gravitational wave signals

Document #:

LIGO-P080005-x0

Document type:

P - Publications

Abstract:

Ground-based gravitational wave laser interferometers (LIGO, GEO-600, Virgo, and Tama-300) have
now reached high sensitivity and duty cycle.We present a Bayesian evidence-based approach to the search
for gravitational waves, in particular aimed at the follow-up of candidate events generated by the analysis
pipeline. We introduce and demonstrate an efficient method to compute the evidence and odds ratio
between different models, and illustrate this approach using the specific case of the gravitational wave
signal generated during the inspiral phase of binary systems, modeled at the leading quadrupole
Newtonian order, in synthetic noise. We show that the method is effective in detecting signals at the
detection threshold and it is robust against (some types of) instrumental artifacts. The computational
efficiency of this method makes it scalable to the analysis of all the triggers generated by the analysis
pipelines to search for coalescing binaries in surveys with ground-based interferometers, and to a whole
variety of signal waveforms, characterized by a larger number of parameters.

Files in Document:

• P080005-00.pdf (186.4 kB)

Other Files:

• P080005-P.pdf (841.0 kB)

Topics:

• Document Migration from the old DCC
• Public relations

Authors:

• John Veitch
• Alberto Vecchio

Notes and Changes:

Rev P080005-00-Z:
- Full document number: LIGO-P080005-00-Z
- Author(s): John Veitch; Alberto Vecchio
- Document date: 2008-01-08
- Document received date: 2008-01-08
- Document entry date: 2008-01-08

Publication Information:

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevD.78.022001