OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS
Ground-based interferometers are not perfect all-sky instruments, and it is important to account for their behavior when considering the distribution of detected events. In particular, the LIGO detectors are most sensitive to sources above North America and the Indian Ocean, and as the Earth rotates...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2017
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/109566 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6550-3045 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-9267 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-0767 |
| _version_ | 1826214964287766528 |
|---|---|
| author | Chen, Hsin-Yu Holz, Daniel E. Katsavounidis, Erotokritos Essick, Reed Clasey Vitale, Salvatore |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Chen, Hsin-Yu Holz, Daniel E. Katsavounidis, Erotokritos Essick, Reed Clasey Vitale, Salvatore |
| author_sort | Chen, Hsin-Yu |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Ground-based interferometers are not perfect all-sky instruments, and it is important to account for their behavior when considering the distribution of detected events. In particular, the LIGO detectors are most sensitive to sources above North America and the Indian Ocean, and as the Earth rotates, the sensitive regions are swept across the sky. However, because the detectors do not acquire data uniformly over time, there is a net bias on detectable sources' right ascensions. Both LIGO detectors preferentially collect data during their local night; it is more than twice as likely to be local midnight than noon when both detectors are operating. We discuss these selection effects and how they impact LIGO's observations and electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. Beyond galactic foregrounds associated with seasonal variations, we find that equatorial observatories can access over 80% of the localization probability, while mid-latitudes will access closer to 70%. Facilities located near the two LIGO sites can observe sources closer to their zenith than their analogs in the south, but the average observation will still be no closer than 44° from zenith. We also find that observatories in Africa or the South Atlantic will wait systematically longer before they can begin observing compared to the rest of the world; though, there is a preference for longitudes near the LIGOs. These effects, along with knowledge of the LIGO antenna pattern, can inform EM follow-up activities and optimization, including the possibility of directing observations even before gravitational-wave events occur. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:14:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/109566 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:14:00Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1095662022-09-29T19:03:01Z OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS Chen, Hsin-Yu Holz, Daniel E. Katsavounidis, Erotokritos Essick, Reed Clasey Vitale, Salvatore Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics LIGO (Observatory : Massachusetts Institute of Technology) MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Katsavounidis, Erotokritos Essick, Reed Clasey Vitale, Salvatore Ground-based interferometers are not perfect all-sky instruments, and it is important to account for their behavior when considering the distribution of detected events. In particular, the LIGO detectors are most sensitive to sources above North America and the Indian Ocean, and as the Earth rotates, the sensitive regions are swept across the sky. However, because the detectors do not acquire data uniformly over time, there is a net bias on detectable sources' right ascensions. Both LIGO detectors preferentially collect data during their local night; it is more than twice as likely to be local midnight than noon when both detectors are operating. We discuss these selection effects and how they impact LIGO's observations and electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. Beyond galactic foregrounds associated with seasonal variations, we find that equatorial observatories can access over 80% of the localization probability, while mid-latitudes will access closer to 70%. Facilities located near the two LIGO sites can observe sources closer to their zenith than their analogs in the south, but the average observation will still be no closer than 44° from zenith. We also find that observatories in Africa or the South Atlantic will wait systematically longer before they can begin observing compared to the rest of the world; though, there is a preference for longitudes near the LIGOs. These effects, along with knowledge of the LIGO antenna pattern, can inform EM follow-up activities and optimization, including the possibility of directing observations even before gravitational-wave events occur. National Science Foundation (U.S.) Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory 2017-06-02T19:55:56Z 2017-06-02T19:55:56Z 2017-01 2016-07 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1538-4357 0004-637X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/109566 Chen, Hsin-Yu, Reed Essick, Salvatore Vitale, Daniel E. Holz, and Erik Katsavounidis. “OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS.” The Astrophysical Journal 835, no. 1 (January 16, 2017): 31. © 2017 The American Astronomical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6550-3045 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-9267 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-0767 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/835/1/31 Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing IOP Publishing |
| spellingShingle | Chen, Hsin-Yu Holz, Daniel E. Katsavounidis, Erotokritos Essick, Reed Clasey Vitale, Salvatore OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS |
| title | OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS |
| title_full | OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS |
| title_fullStr | OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS |
| title_full_unstemmed | OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS |
| title_short | OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS |
| title_sort | observational selection effects with ground based gravitational wave detectors |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/109566 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6550-3045 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-9267 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-0767 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chenhsinyu observationalselectioneffectswithgroundbasedgravitationalwavedetectors AT holzdaniele observationalselectioneffectswithgroundbasedgravitationalwavedetectors AT katsavounidiserotokritos observationalselectioneffectswithgroundbasedgravitationalwavedetectors AT essickreedclasey observationalselectioneffectswithgroundbasedgravitationalwavedetectors AT vitalesalvatore observationalselectioneffectswithgroundbasedgravitationalwavedetectors |