Observational Limit on Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars in the Galaxy

B. Allen; J. K. Blackburn; P. R. Brady; J. D. E Creighton; T. Creighton; S. Droz; A. D. Gillespie; S. A. Hughes; S. Kawamura; T. T. Lyons; J. E. Mason; B. J. Owen; F. J. Raab; M. W. Regehr; B. S. Sathyaprakash; R. L. Savage, Jr; S. Whitcomb; A. G. Wiseman

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.1498

Observational Limit on Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars in the Galaxy

B. Allen, J. K. Blackburn, P. R. Brady, J. D. E Creighton, T. Creighton, S. Droz, A. D. Gillespie, S. A. Hughes, S. Kawamura, T. T. Lyons, J. E. Mason, B. J. Owen, F. J. Raab, M. W. Regehr, B. S. Sathyaprakash, R. L. Savage, Jr., S. Whitcomb, and A. G. Wiseman

Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 1498 – Published 23 August 1999

Abstract

Using optimal matched filtering, we search 25 hours of data from the LIGO 40-m prototype laser interferometric gravitational-wave detector for gravitational-wave chirps emitted by coalescing binary systems within our Galaxy. This is the first test of this filtering technique on real interferometric data. An upper limit on the rate $R$ of neutron star binary inspirals in our Galaxy is obtained: with $90 %$ confidence, $R < 0.5 h^{- 1}$ . Similar experiments with LIGO interferometers will provide constraints on the population of tight binary neutron star systems in the Universe.

Received 31 March 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.1498

Authors & Affiliations

B. Allen¹, J. K. Blackburn², P. R. Brady³, J. D. E Creighton^1,4, T. Creighton⁴, S. Droz⁵, A. D. Gillespie², S. A. Hughes⁴, S. Kawamura², T. T. Lyons², J. E. Mason², B. J. Owen⁴, F. J. Raab², M. W. Regehr², B. S. Sathyaprakash⁶, R. L. Savage, Jr.², S. Whitcomb², and A. G. Wiseman¹

¹Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
²LIGO Project, MS 18-34, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
³Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
⁴Theoretical Astrophysics 130-33, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
⁵Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
⁶Department of Physics and Astronomy, UWCC, Post Box 913, Cardiff CF2 3YB, Wales