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arXiv · 2101.10915

PyFstat: a Python package for continuous gravitational-wave data analysis

David Keitel·Rodrigo Tenorio·Gregory Ashton·Reinhard Prix
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Abstract

Gravitational waves in the sensitivity band of ground-based detectors can be emitted by a number of astrophysical sources, including not only binary coalescences, but also individual spinning neutron stars. The most promising signals from such sources, although not yet detected, are long-lasting, quasi-monochromatic Continuous Waves (CWs). The PyFstat package provides tools to perform a range of CW data-analysis tasks. It revolves around the F-statistic, a matched-filter detection statistic for CW signals that has been one of the standard methods for LIGO-Virgo CW searches for two decades. PyFstat is built on top of established routines in LALSuite but through its more modern Python interface it enables a flexible approach to designing new search strategies. Hence, it serves a dual function of (i) making LALSuite CW functionality more easily accessible through a Python interface, thus facilitating the new user experience and, for developers, the exploratory implementation of novel methods; and (ii) providing a set of production-ready search classes for use cases not yet covered by LALSuite itself, most notably for MCMC-based followup of promising candidates from wide-parameter-space searches.

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David Keitel, Rodrigo Tenorio, Gregory Ashton, Reinhard Prix. 2021-01-26. PyFstat: a Python package for continuous gravitational-wave data analysis. https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.03000

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