scholarly journals Implications of the search for optical counterparts during the second part of the Advanced LIGO’s and Advanced Virgo’s third observing run: lessons learned for future follow-up observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (1) ◽  
pp. 1181-1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W Coughlin ◽  
Tim Dietrich ◽  
Sarah Antier ◽  
Mouza Almualla ◽  
Shreya Anand ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Joint multimessenger observations with gravitational waves and electromagnetic (EM) data offer new insights into the astrophysical studies of compact objects. The third Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observing run began on 2019 April 1; during the 11 months of observation, there have been 14 compact binary systems candidates for which at least one component is potentially a neutron star. Although intensive follow-up campaigns involving tens of ground and space-based observatories searched for counterparts, no EM counterpart has been detected. Following on a previous study of the first six months of the campaign, we present in this paper the next five months of the campaign from 2019 October to 2020 March. We highlight two neutron star–black hole candidates (S191205ah and S200105ae), two binary neutron star candidates (S191213g and S200213t), and a binary merger with a possible neutron star and a ‘MassGap’ component, S200115j. Assuming that the gravitational-wave (GW) candidates are of astrophysical origin and their location was covered by optical telescopes, we derive possible constraints on the matter ejected during the events based on the non-detection of counterparts. We find that the follow-up observations during the second half of the third observing run did not meet the necessary sensitivity to constrain the source properties of the potential GW candidate. Consequently, we suggest that different strategies have to be used to allow a better usage of the available telescope time. We examine different choices for follow-up surveys to optimize sky localization coverage versus observational depth to understand the likelihood of counterpart detection.

2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (1) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Alexander H. Nitz ◽  
Collin D. Capano ◽  
Sumit Kumar ◽  
Yi-Fan Wang ◽  
Shilpa Kastha ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the third open gravitational-wave catalog (3-OGC) of compact-binary coalescences, based on the analysis of the public LIGO and Virgo data from 2015 through 2019 (O1, O2, O3a). Our updated catalog includes a population of 57 observations, including 4 binary black hole mergers that had not been previously reported. This consists of 55 binary black hole mergers and the 2 binary neutron star mergers, GW170817 and GW190425. We find no additional significant binary neutron star or neutron star–black hole merger events. The most confident new detection is the binary black hole merger GW190925_232845, which was observed by the LIGO–Hanford and Virgo observatories with  astro > 0.99 ; its primary and secondary component masses are 20.2 − 2.5 + 3.9 M ⊙ and 15.6 − 2.6 + 2.1 M ⊙ , respectively. We estimate the parameters of all binary black hole events using an up-to-date waveform model that includes both subdominant harmonics and precession effects. To enable deep follow up as our understanding of the underlying populations evolves, we make available our comprehensive catalog of events, including the subthreshold population of candidates, and the posterior samples of our source parameter estimates.


Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 362 (6411) ◽  
pp. 201-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. De ◽  
M. M. Kasliwal ◽  
E. O. Ofek ◽  
T. J. Moriya ◽  
J. Burke ◽  
...  

Compact neutron star binary systems are produced from binary massive stars through stellar evolution involving up to two supernova explosions. The final stages in the formation of these systems have not been directly observed. We report the discovery of iPTF 14gqr (SN 2014ft), a type Ic supernova with a fast-evolving light curve indicating an extremely low ejecta mass (≈0.2 solar masses) and low kinetic energy (≈2 × 1050ergs). Early photometry and spectroscopy reveal evidence of shock cooling of an extended helium-rich envelope, likely ejected in an intense pre-explosion mass-loss episode of the progenitor. Taken together, we interpret iPTF 14gqr as evidence for ultra-stripped supernovae that form neutron stars in compact binary systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. P. Abbott ◽  
◽  
R. Abbott ◽  
T. D. Abbott ◽  
S. Abraham ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present our current best estimate of the plausible observing scenarios for the Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA gravitational-wave detectors over the next several years, with the intention of providing information to facilitate planning for multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves. We estimate the sensitivity of the network to transient gravitational-wave signals for the third (O3), fourth (O4) and fifth observing (O5) runs, including the planned upgrades of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. We study the capability of the network to determine the sky location of the source for gravitational-wave signals from the inspiral of binary systems of compact objects, that is binary neutron star, neutron star–black hole, and binary black hole systems. The ability to localize the sources is given as a sky-area probability, luminosity distance, and comoving volume. The median sky localization area (90% credible region) is expected to be a few hundreds of square degrees for all types of binary systems during O3 with the Advanced LIGO and Virgo (HLV) network. The median sky localization area will improve to a few tens of square degrees during O4 with the Advanced LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA (HLVK) network. During O3, the median localization volume (90% credible region) is expected to be on the order of $$10^{5}, 10^{6}, 10^{7}\mathrm {\ Mpc}^3$$ 10 5 , 10 6 , 10 7 Mpc 3 for binary neutron star, neutron star–black hole, and binary black hole systems, respectively. The localization volume in O4 is expected to be about a factor two smaller than in O3. We predict a detection count of $$1^{+12}_{-1}$$ 1 - 1 + 12 ($$10^{+52}_{-10}$$ 10 - 10 + 52 ) for binary neutron star mergers, of $$0^{+19}_{-0}$$ 0 - 0 + 19 ($$1^{+91}_{-1}$$ 1 - 1 + 91 ) for neutron star–black hole mergers, and $$17^{+22}_{-11}$$ 17 - 11 + 22 ($$79^{+89}_{-44}$$ 79 - 44 + 89 ) for binary black hole mergers in a one-calendar-year observing run of the HLV network during O3 (HLVK network during O4). We evaluate sensitivity and localization expectations for unmodeled signal searches, including the search for intermediate mass black hole binary mergers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 492 (1) ◽  
pp. 863-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W Coughlin ◽  
Tim Dietrich ◽  
Sarah Antier ◽  
Mattia Bulla ◽  
Francois Foucart ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT GW170817 showed that neutron star mergers not only emit gravitational waves but also can release electromagnetic signatures in multiple wavelengths. Within the first half of the third observing run of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, there have been a number of gravitational wave candidates of compact binary systems for which at least one component is potentially a neutron star. In this article, we look at the candidates S190425z, S190426c, S190510g, S190901ap, and S190910h, predicted to have potentially a non-zero remnant mass, in more detail. All these triggers have been followed up with extensive campaigns by the astronomical community doing electromagnetic searches for their optical counterparts; however, according to the released classification, there is a high probability that some of these events might not be of extraterrestrial origin. Assuming that the triggers are caused by a compact binary coalescence and that the individual source locations have been covered during the EM follow-up campaigns, we employ three different kilonova models and apply them to derive possible constraints on the matter ejection consistent with the publicly available gravitational-wave trigger information and the lack of a kilonova detection. These upper bounds on the ejecta mass can be related to limits on the maximum mass of the binary neutron star candidate S190425z and to constraints on the mass-ratio, spin, and NS compactness for the potential black hole–neutron star candidate S190426c. Our results show that deeper electromagnetic observations for future gravitational wave events near the horizon limit of the advanced detectors are essential.


2019 ◽  
Vol 492 (3) ◽  
pp. 3904-3927 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Antier ◽  
S Agayeva ◽  
V Aivazyan ◽  
S Alishov ◽  
E Arbouch ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present the Global Rapid Advanced Network Devoted to the Multi-messenger Addicts (GRANDMA). The network consists of 21 telescopes with both photometric and spectroscopic facilities. They are connected together thanks to a dedicated infrastructure. The network aims at coordinating the observations of large sky position estimates of transient events to enhance their follow-up and reduce the delay between the initial detection and optical confirmation. The GRANDMA programme mainly focuses on follow-up of gravitational-wave alerts to find and characterize the electromagnetic counterpart during the third observational campaign of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. But it allows for follow-up of any transient alerts involving neutrinos or gamma-ray bursts, even those with poor spatial localization. We present the different facilities, tools, and methods we developed for this network and show its efficiency using observations of LIGO/Virgo S190425z, a binary neutron star merger candidate. We furthermore report on all GRANDMA follow-up observations performed during the first six months of the LIGO–Virgo observational campaign, and we derive constraints on the kilonova properties assuming that the events’ locations were imaged by our telescopes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Dietrich ◽  
Tanja Hinderer ◽  
Anuradha Samajdar

AbstractGravitational waves emitted from the coalescence of neutron star binaries open a new window to probe matter and fundamental physics in unexplored, extreme regimes. To extract information about the supranuclear matter inside neutron stars and the properties of the compact binary systems, robust theoretical prescriptions are required. We give an overview about general features of the dynamics and the gravitational wave signal during the binary neutron star coalescence. We briefly describe existing analytical and numerical approaches to investigate the highly dynamical, strong-field region during the merger. We review existing waveform approximants and discuss properties and possible advantages and shortcomings of individual waveform models, and their application for real gravitational-wave data analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. 01008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong-Gen Cai ◽  
Tao Yang

The gravitational waves from compact binary systems are viewed as a standard siren to probe the evolution of the universe. This paper summarizes the potential and ability to use the gravitational waves to constrain the cosmological parameters and the dark sector interaction in the Gaussian process methodology. After briefly introducing the method to reconstruct the dark sector interaction by the Gaussian process, the concept of standard sirens and the analysis of reconstructing the dark sector interaction with LISA are outlined. Furthermore, we estimate the constraint ability of the gravitational waves on cosmological parameters with ET. The numerical methods we use are Gaussian process and the Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo. Finally, we also forecast the improvements of the abilities to constrain the cosmological parameters with ET and LISA combined with the Planck.


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