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Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Advanced LIGO's First Observing Run
B P Abbott1, R Abbott1, T D Abbott2
1LIGO, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|April 8, 2017
Summary
Scientists searched for a cosmic gravitational-wave background using Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO) data. No signal was detected, setting new limits on the background
Area of Science:
- Astrophysics and Cosmology
- Gravitational-wave Astronomy
Background:
- Astrophysical and cosmological sources are predicted to create a stochastic gravitational-wave background.
- Recent observations suggest a higher rate and mass of coalescing binary black holes, potentially increasing the expected background loudness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To search for the isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background using data from the first observing run of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO).
- To constrain the energy density of gravitational waves and investigate implications for astrophysical models of binary black hole backgrounds.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory's (aLIGO) first observing run.
- Performing a search for the isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background.
- Constraining dimensionless energy density for flat and arbitrary power-law spectra.
Main Results:
- No evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal was found in the analyzed data.
- The dimensionless energy density of gravitational waves is constrained to be Ω₀ < 1.7 × 10⁻⁷ (95% confidence) for a flat spectrum in the 20-86 Hz LIGO band.
- This result represents a significant improvement in sensitivity, being approximately 33 times more sensitive than previous measurements.
Conclusions:
- The first aLIGO observing run did not detect a stochastic gravitational-wave background.
- New, stringent upper limits have been placed on the gravitational-wave energy density.
- The findings provide crucial data for refining astrophysical models of compact binary coalescences.
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