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Prospects for Detecting Gravitational Waves at 5 Hz with Ground-Based Detectors.
Hang Yu1, Denis Martynov1, Salvatore Vitale1
1LIGO, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|April 26, 2018
Summary
The proposed LIGO-LF upgrade enhances gravitational wave detector sensitivity below 30 Hz, enabling earlier universe black hole merger detection and improved astrophysical source characterization.
Area of Science:
- Gravitational wave astronomy
- Astrophysics
- Detector physics
Background:
- Advanced LIGO (aLIGO) currently has limited sensitivity in the low-frequency band (5-30 Hz).
- Technical noises restrict current detector performance in this crucial frequency range.
Purpose of the Study:
- Propose the LIGO-Low Frequency (LIGO-LF) upgrade to enhance sensitivity in the 5-30 Hz band.
- Explore the astrophysical implications and applications of this proposed upgrade.
Main Methods:
- Investigate technical noises limiting detector sensitivity.
- Utilize emerging technologies like interferometrically sensed seismometers and balanced-homodyne readout.
- Model the astrophysical reach and parameter estimation capabilities of the upgraded detector.
Main Results:
- LIGO-LF can approach fundamental quantum and thermal noise limits down to 5 Hz.
- Increased detection rates for merging stellar-mass black holes (18x) out to redshift z≃6.
- Improved constraints on chirp mass, total mass, and effective spin for binary mergers.
- Enhanced localization precision for binary neutron star mergers.
- Increased sensitivity to phenomena like neutron star r-mode instabilities and gravitational memory.
Conclusions:
- LIGO-LF represents a significant advancement in low-frequency gravitational wave detection.
- The technologies developed for LIGO-LF are applicable to future gravitational wave observatories.
- The upgrade promises a substantial increase in the discovery potential for a wide range of astrophysical events.
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