Tuning Advanced LIGO to kilohertz signals from neutron-star collisions

Abstract

Gravitational waves produced at kilohertz frequencies in the aftermath of a neutron star collision can shed light on the behavior of matter at extreme temperatures and densities that are inaccessible to laboratory experiments. Gravitational-wave interferometers are limited by quantum noise at these frequencies but can be tuned via their optical configuration to maximize the probability of post-merger signal detection. We compare two such tuning strategies to turn Advanced LIGO into a post-merger-focused instrument: first, a wideband tuning that enhances the instrument's signal-to-noise ratio 40--80\% broadly above \SI{1}{\kHz} relative to the baseline, with a modest sensitivity penalty at lower frequencies; second, a "detuned" configuration that provides even more enhancement than the wideband tuning, but over only a narrow frequency band and at the expense of substantially worse quantum noise performance elsewhere. With an optimistic accounting for instrument loss and uncertainty in post-merger parameters, the detuned instrument has a ${\lesssim}40\%$ sensitivity improvement compared to the wideband instrument.