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arXiv · 2110.01879

Salient features of the optimised PyCBC IMBH search

Koustav Chandra·Archana Pai·V. Villa-Ortega·T. Dent·C. McIsaac·I. W. Harry·G. S. Cabourn Davies·K. Soni
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Abstract

Matched-filter based PyCBC searches have successfully detected $\sim \mathcal{O}(50)$ compact binary merger signals in the LIGO-Virgo data. While most PyCBC searches have been designed to detect stellar-mass binaries, we present here a new search that is optimised to detect short-duration \ac{GW} signals emitted by intermediate-mass black hole mergers. When applied to the first half of the third observation run data, the optimised search re-identified the \ac{IMBH} binary event, GW190521, with a false alarm rate of 1 in 727 yrs, significantly lower than the previous PyCBC search result of 1 in 0.94 yr. Analysis of simulated signals from \ac{IMBH} binaries with generically spinning components shows an increase in sensitivity by a factor of 1.2 to 3 over previous PyCBC searches.

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Koustav Chandra, Archana Pai, V. Villa-Ortega, T. Dent, C. McIsaac, I. W. Harry, G. S. Cabourn Davies, K. Soni. 2021-10-05. Salient features of the optimised PyCBC IMBH search. https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.01879

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