No Arabic abstract
Einstein Telescope (ET) is a possible third generation ground-based gravitational wave observatory for which a design study is currently being carried out. A brief (and non-exhaustive) overview is given of ETs projected capabilities regarding astrophysics and cosmology through observations of inspiraling and coalescing compact binaries. In particular, ET would give us unprecedented insight into the mass function of neutron stars and black holes, the internal structure of neutron stars, the evolution of coalescence rates over cosmological timescales, and the geometry and dynamics of the Universe as a whole.
The second-generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors currently under construction are expected to make their first detections within this decade. This will firmly establish gravitational wave physics as an empirical science and will open up a new era in astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. Already with the first detections, we will be able to, among other things, establish the nature of short-hard gamma ray bursts, definitively confirm the existence of black holes, measure the Hubble constant in a completely independent way, and for the first time gain access to the genuinely strong-field dynamics of gravity. Hence it is timely to consider the longer-term future of this new field. The Einstein Telescope (ET) is a concrete conceptual proposal for a third-generation gravitational wave observatory, which will be ~10 times more sensitive in strain than the second-generation detectors. This will give access to sources at cosmological distances, with a correspondingly higher detection rate. I give an overview of the science case for ET, with a focus on what can be learned from signals emitted by coalescing compact binaries. Third-generation observatories will allow us to map the coalescence rate out to redshifts z ~ 3, determine the mass functions of neutron stars and black holes, and perform precision measurements of the neutron star equation of state. ET will enable us to study the large-scale structure and evolution of the Universe without recourse to a cosmic distance ladder. Finally, I discuss how it will allow for high-precision measurements of strong-field, dynamical gravity.
The Einstein Telescope (ET), a proposed European ground-based gravitational-wave detector of third-generation, is an evolution of second-generation detectors such as Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA which could be operating in the mid 2030s. ET will explore the universe with gravitational waves up to cosmological distances. We discuss its main scientific objectives and its potential for discoveries in astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics.
We describe the PyCBC search for gravitational waves from compact-object binary coalescences in advanced gravitational-wave detector data. The search was used in the first Advanced LIGO observing run and unambiguously identified two black hole binary mergers, GW150914 and GW151226. At its core, the PyCBC search performs a matched-filter search for binary merger signals using a bank of gravitational-wave template waveforms. We provide a complete description of the search pipeline including the steps used to mitigate the effects of noise transients in the data, identify candidate events and measure their statistical significance. The analysis is able to measure false-alarm rates as low as one per million years, required for confident detection of signals. Using data from initial LIGOs sixth science run, we show that the new analysis reduces the background noise in the search, giving a 30% increase in sensitive volume for binary neutron star systems over previous searches.
We propose a novel method to test the binary black hole (BBH) nature of compact binaries detectable by gravitational wave (GW) interferometers and hence constrain the parameter space of other exotic compact objects. The spirit of the test lies in the no-hair conjecture for black holes where all properties of a black hole are characterised by the mass and the spin of the black hole. The method relies on observationally measuring the quadrupole moments of the compact binary constituents induced due to their spins. If the compact object is a Kerr black hole (BH), its quadrupole moment is expressible solely in terms of its mass and spin. Otherwise, the quadrupole moment can depend on additional parameters (such as equation of state of the object). The higher order spin effects in phase and amplitude of a gravitational waveform, which explicitly contains the spin-induced quadrupole moments of compact objects, hence uniquely encodes the nature of the compact binary. Thus we argue that an independent measurement of the spin-induced quadrupole moment of the compact binaries from GW observations can provide a unique way to distinguish binary BH systems from binaries consisting of exotic compact objects.
We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010. We searched for signals from binaries with total mass between 2 and 25 solar masses; this includes binary neutron stars, binary black holes, and binaries consisting of a black hole and neutron star. The detectors were sensitive to systems up to 40 Mpc distant for binary neutron stars, and further for higher mass systems. No gravitational-wave signals were detected. We report upper limits on the rate of compact binary coalescence as a function of total mass, including the results from previous LIGO and Virgo observations. The cumulative 90%-confidence rate upper limits of the binary coalescence of binary neutron star, neutron star- black hole and binary black hole systems are 1.3 x 10^{-4}, 3.1 x 10^{-5} and 6.4 x 10^{-6} Mpc^{-3}yr^{-1}, respectively. These upper limits are up to a factor 1.4 lower than previously derived limits. We also report on results from a blind injection challenge.