SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Edward K. Porter

Publications and source records attributed to Edward K. Porter.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

DeepHMC : a deep-neural-network acclerated Hamiltonian Monte Carlo algorithm for binary neutron star parameter estimation

We present a deep neural network (DNN) accelerated Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm called DeepHMC for the inference of binary neutron star systems. The HMC is a non-random walk sampler that uses background gradient information to accelerate the convergence of the sampler. While faster converging than a random-walk sampler, in theory by a factor of the dimensionality of the problem, a known computational bottleneck for HMC algorithms is the calculation of gradients of the log-likelihood. We demonstrate that Hamiltonian trajectories based on a DNN gradients are 30 times faster than those based on the relative binning gradients, and 7000 times faster than trajectories based on a naive likelihood gradient calculation. Using the publicly available 128 second LVK data set for the binary neutron star mergers GW170817 and GW190425, we show that not only does DeepHMC produce produces highly accurate and consistent results with the LVK public data, but acquires 5000 statistically independent samples (SIS) in the $12D$ parameter space in approximately two hours on a Macbook pro for GW170817, with a cost of $<1$ second/SIS, and 2.5 days for GW190425, with a cost of $\sim25$ seconds/SIS.

gr-qc

Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: a roadmap

The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics---dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem---all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress.

gr-qc

Bayesian inference for binary neutron star inspirals using a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo Algorithm

The coalescence of binary neutron stars are one of the main sources of gravitational waves for ground-based gravitational wave detectors. As Bayesian inference for binary neutron stars is computationally expensive, more efficient and faster converging algorithms are always needed. In this work, we conduct a feasibility study using a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo algorithm (HMC). The HMC is a sampling algorithm that takes advantage of gradient information from the geometry of the parameter space to efficiently sample from the posterior distribution, allowing the algorithm to avoid the random-walk behaviour commonly associated with stochastic samplers. As well as tuning the algorithm's free parameters specifically for gravitational wave astronomy, we introduce a method for approximating the gradients of the log-likelihood that reduces the runtime for a $10^6$ trajectory run from ten weeks, using numerical derivatives along the Hamiltonian trajectories, to one day, in the case of non-spinning neutron stars. Testing our algorithm against a set of neutron star binaries using a detector network composed of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo at optimal design, we demonstrate that not only is our algorithm more efficient than a standard sampler, but a $10^6$ trajectory HMC produces an effective sample size on the order of $10^4 - 10^5$ statistically independent samples.

gr-qc

Detecting compact galactic binaries using a hybrid swarm-based algorithm

Compact binaries in our galaxy are expected to be one of the main sources of gravitational waves for the future eLISA mission. During the mission lifetime, many thousands of galactic binaries should be individually resolved. However, the identification of the sources, and the extraction of the signal parameters in a noisy environment are real challenges for data analysis. So far, stochastic searches have proven to be the most successful for this problem. In this work we present the first application of a swarm-based algorithm combining Particle Swarm Optimization and Differential Evolution. These algorithms have been shown to converge faster to global solutions on complicated likelihood surfaces than other stochastic methods. We first demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm for the case of a single binary in a 1 mHz search bandwidth. This interesting problem gave the algorithm plenty of opportunity to fail, as it can be easier to find a strong noise peak rather than the signal itself. After a successful detection of a fictitious low-frequency source, as well as the verification binary RXJ0806.3+1527, we then applied the algorithm to the detection of multiple binaries, over different search bandwidths, in the cases of low and mild source confusion. In all cases, we show that we can successfully identify the sources, and recover the true parameters within a 99\% credible interval.

gr-qc

The effect of different eLISA-like configurations on massive black hole parameter estimation

As the theme for the future L3 Cosmic Vision mission, ESA has recently chosen the `Gravitational Wave Universe'. Within this call, a mission concept called eLISA has been proposed. This observatory has a current initial configuration consisting of 4 laser links between the three satellites, which are separated by a distance of one million kilometers, constructing a single channel Michelson interferometer. However, the final configuration for the observatory will not be fixed until the end of this decade. With this in mind, we investigate the effect of different eLISA-like configurations on massive black hole detections. This work compares the results of a Bayesian inference study of 120 massive black hole binaries out to a redshift of $z\sim13$ for a $10^6$m arm-length eLISA with four and six links, as well as a $2\times10^6$m arm-length observatory with four links. We demonstrate that the original eLISA configuration should allow us to recover the luminosity distance of the source with an error of less than 10% out to a redshift of $z\sim4$, and a sky error box of $\leq10^2\,deg^2$ out to $z\sim0.1$. In contrast, both alternative configurations suggest that we should be able to conduct the same parameter recovery with errors of less than 10% in luminosity distance out to $z\sim12$ and $\leq10^2\,deg^2$ out to $z\sim0.4$. Using the information from these studies, we also infer that if we were able to construct a 2Gm, 6-link detector, the above values would shift to $z\sim20$ for luminosity distance and $z\sim0.9$ for sky error. While the final configuration will also be dependent on both technological and financial considerations, our study suggests that increasing the size of a two arm detector is a viable alternative to the inclusion of a third arm in a smaller detector. More importantly, this work further suggests no clear scientific loss between either choice.

gr-qc

Fisher vs. Bayes : A comparison of parameter estimation techniques for massive black hole binaries to high redshifts with eLISA

Massive black hole binaries are the primary source of gravitational waves (GW) for the future eLISA observatory. The detection and parameter estimation of these sources to high redshift would provide invaluable information on the formation mechanisms of seed black holes, and on the evolution of massive black holes and their host galaxies through cosmic time. The Fisher information matrix has been the standard tool for GW parameter estimation in the last two decades. However, recent studies have questioned the validity of using the Fisher matrix approach. For example, the Fisher matrix approach sometimes predicts errors of $\geq100\%$ in the estimation of parameters such as the luminosity distance and sky position. With advances in computing power, Bayesian inference is beginning to replace the Fisher matrix approximation in parameter estimation studies. In this work, we conduct a Bayesian inference analysis for 120 sources situated at redshifts of between $0.1\leq z\leq 13.2$, and compare the results with those from a Fisher matrix analysis. The Fisher matrix results suggest that for this particular selection of sources, eLISA would be unable to localize sources at redshifts of $z\lesssim6$. In contrast, Bayesian inference provides finite error estimations for all sources in the study, and shows that we can establish minimum closest distances for all sources. The study further predicts that we should be capable with eLISA, out to a redshift of at least $z\leq13$, of predicting a maximum error in the chirp mass of $\lesssim 1\%$, the reduced mass of $\lesssim20\%$, the time to coalescence of 2 hours, and to a redshift of $z\sim5$, the inclination of the source with a maximum error of $\sim60$ degrees.

gr-qc

Supermassive Black Hole Tests of General Relativity with eLISA

Motivated by the parameterized post-Einsteinian (ppE) scheme devised by Yunes and Pretorius, which introduces corrections to the post-Newtonian coefficients of the frequency domain gravitational waveform in order to emulate alternative theories of gravity, we compute analytical time domain waveforms that, after a numerical Fourier transform, aim to represent (phase corrected only) ppE waveforms. In this formalism, alternative theories manifest themselves via corrections to the phase and frequency, as predicted by General Relativity (GR), at different post-Newtonian (PN) orders. In order to present a generic test of alternative theories of gravity, we assume that the coupling constant of each alternative theory is manifestly positive, allowing corrections to the GR waveforms to be either positive or negative. By exploring the capabilities of massive black hole binary GR waveforms in the detection and parameter estimation of corrected time domain ppE signals, using the current eLISA configuration (as presented for the ESA Cosmic Vision L3 mission), we demonstrate that for corrections arising at higher than 1PN order in phase and frequency, GR waveforms are sufficient for both detecting and estimating the parameters of alternative theory signals. However, for theories introducing corrections at the 0 and 0.5 PN order, GR waveforms are not capable of covering the entire parameter space, requiring the use of non-GR waveforms for detection and parameter estimation.

gr-qc

A New Method of Accelerated Bayesian Inference for Comparable Mass Binaries in both Ground and Space-Based Gravitational Wave Astronomy

With the advance in computational resources, Bayesian inference is increasingly becoming the standard tool of practise in GW astronomy. However, algorithms such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) require a large number of iterations to guarantee convergence to the target density. Each chain demands a large number of evaluations of the likelihood function, and in the case of a Hessian MCMC, calculations of the Fisher information matrix for use as a proposal distribution. As each iteration requires the generation of at least one gravitational waveform, we very quickly reach a point of exclusion for current Bayesian algorithms, especially for low mass systems where the length of the waveforms is large and the waveform generation time is on the order of seconds. This suddenly demands a timescale of many weeks for a single MCMC. As each likelihood and Fisher information matrix calculation requires the evaluation of noise-weighted scalar products, we demonstrate that by using the linearity of integration, and the fact that more than 90% of the generation time is spent at frequencies less that one third of the maximum, we can construct composite integrals that speed up the MCMCs for comparable mass binaries by a factor of between 3.5 and 5.5, depending on the waveform length. This method is both source and detector type independent, and can be applied to any waveform that displays significant frequency evolution, such as stellar mass binaries with Advanced LIGO/Virgo, as well as supermassive black holes with eLISA

gr-qc

A Time Domain Waveform for Testing General Relativity

Gravitational-wave parameter estimation is only as good as the theory the waveform generation models are based upon. It is therefore crucial to test General Relativity (GR) once data becomes available. Many previous works, such as studies connected with the ppE framework by Yunes and Pretorius, rely on the stationary phase approximation (SPA) to model deviations from GR in the frequency domain. As Fast Fourier Transform algorithms have become considerably faster and in order to circumvent possible problems with the SPA, we test GR with corrected time domain waveforms instead of SPA waveforms. Since a considerable amount of work has been done already in the field using SPA waveforms, we establish a connection between leading-order-corrected waveforms in time and frequency domain, concentrating on phase-only corrected terms. In a Markov Chain Monte Carlo study, whose results are preliminary and will only be available later, we will assess the ability of the eLISA detector to measure deviations from GR for signals coming from supermassive black hole inspirals using these corrected waveforms.

gr-qc

The Challenges in Gravitational Wave Astronomy for Space-Based Detectors

The Gravitational Wave (GW) universe contains a wealth of sources which, with the proper treatment, will open up the universe as never before. By observing massive black hole binaries to high redshifts, we should begin to explore the formation process of seed black holes and track galactic evolution to the present day. Observations of extreme mass ratio inspirals will allow us to explore galactic centers in the local universe, as well as providing tests of General Relativity and constraining the value of Hubble's constant. The detection of compact binaries in our own galaxy may allow us to model stellar evolution in the Milky Way. Finally, the detection of cosmic (super)strings and a stochastic background would help us to constrain cosmological models. However, all of this depends on our ability to not only resolve sources and carry out parameter estimation, but also on our ability to define an optimal data analysis strategy. In this presentation, I will examine the challenges that lie ahead in GW astronomy for the ESA L3 Cosmic Vision mission, eLISA.

gr-qc

A Hamiltonian Monte Carlo method for Bayesian Inference of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

We investigate the use of a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo to map out the posterior density function for supermassive black hole binaries. While previous Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, such as Metropolis-Hastings MCMC, have been successfully employed for a number of different gravitational wave sources, these methods are essentially random walk algorithms. The Hamiltonian Monte Carlo treats the inverse likelihood surface as a "gravitational potential" and by introducing canonical positions and momenta, dynamically evolves the Markov chain by solving Hamilton's equations of motion. We present an implementation of the Hamiltonian Markov Chain that is faster, and more efficient by a factor of approximately the dimension of the parameter space, than the standard MCMC.

gr-qc

Bayesian Inference for LISA Pathfinder using Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods

We present a parameter estimation procedure based on a Bayesian framework by applying a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to the calibration of the dynamical parameters of a space based gravitational wave detector. The method is based on the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm and a two-stage annealing treatment in order to ensure an effective exploration of the parameter space at the beginning of the chain. We compare two versions of the algorithm with an application to a LISA Pathfinder data analysis problem. The two algorithms share the same heating strategy but with one moving in coordinate directions using proposals from a multivariate Gaussian distribution, while the other uses the natural logarithm of some parameters and proposes jumps in the eigen-space of the Fisher Information matrix. The algorithm proposing jumps in the eigen-space of the Fisher Information matrix demonstrates a higher acceptance rate and a slightly better convergence towards the equilibrium parameter distributions in the application to LISA Pathfinder data . For this experiment, we return parameter values that are all within $\sim1σ$ of the injected values. When we analyse the accuracy of our parameter estimation in terms of the effect they have on the force-per-unit test mass noise estimate, we find that the induced errors are three orders of magnitude less than the expected experimental uncertainty in the power spectral density.

gr-qc

Low-frequency gravitational-wave science with eLISA/NGO

We review the expected science performance of the New Gravitational-Wave Observatory (NGO, a.k.a. eLISA), a mission under study by the European Space Agency for launch in the early 2020s. eLISA will survey the low-frequency gravitational-wave sky (from 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz), detecting and characterizing a broad variety of systems and events throughout the Universe, including the coalescences of massive black holes brought together by galaxy mergers; the inspirals of stellar-mass black holes and compact stars into central galactic black holes; several millions of ultracompact binaries, both detached and mass transferring, in the Galaxy; and possibly unforeseen sources such as the relic gravitational-wave radiation from the early Universe. eLISA's high signal-to-noise measurements will provide new insight into the structure and history of the Universe, and they will test general relativity in its strong-field dynamical regime.

gr-qc

Modeling a circular equatorial test-particle in a Kerr spacetime

Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs) are one of the main gravitational wave (GW) sources for a future space detector, such as eLISA/NGO, and third generation ground-based detectors, like the Einstein Telescope. These systems present an interest both in astrophysics and fundamental physics. In order to make a high precision determination of their physical parameters, we need very accurate theoretical waveform models or templates. In the case of a circular equatorial orbit, the key stumbling block to the creation of these templates is the flux function of the GW. This function can be modeled either via very expensive numerical simulations, which then make the templates unusable for GW astronomy, or via some analytic approximation method such as a post-Newtonian approximation. This approximation is known to be asymptotically divergent and is only known up to 5.5PN order for the Schwarzschild case and to 4PN order for the Kerr case. A way to improve the convergence of the flux is to use re-summation methods. In this work we extend previous results using the Padé and Chebyshev approximations, first by taking into account the absorption of the GWs by the central black hole which was neglected in previous studies, and secondly by using the information from the Schwarzschild and absorption terms to create a Kerr flux up to 5.5PN order. We found that these two additions both improve the convergence. We also demonstrate that the best re-summation method for improving the flux model is based on a flux function which we call the "inverted Chebyshev approximation".

gr-qc

eLISA: Astrophysics and cosmology in the millihertz regime

This document introduces the exciting and fundamentally new science and astronomy that the European New Gravitational Wave Observatory (NGO) mission (derived from the previous LISA proposal) will deliver. The mission (which we will refer to by its informal name "eLISA") will survey for the first time the low-frequency gravitational wave band (about 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz), with sufficient sensitivity to detect interesting individual astrophysical sources out to z = 15. The eLISA mission will discover and study a variety of cosmic events and systems with high sensitivity: coalescences of massive black holes binaries, brought together by galaxy mergers; mergers of earlier, less-massive black holes during the epoch of hierarchical galaxy and black-hole growth; stellar-mass black holes and compact stars in orbits just skimming the horizons of massive black holes in galactic nuclei of the present era; extremely compact white dwarf binaries in our Galaxy, a rich source of information about binary evolution and about future Type Ia supernovae; and possibly most interesting of all, the uncertain and unpredicted sources, for example relics of inflation and of the symmetry-breaking epoch directly after the Big Bang. eLISA's measurements will allow detailed studies of these signals with high signal-to-noise ratio, addressing most of the key scientific questions raised by ESA's Cosmic Vision programme in the areas of astrophysics and cosmology. They will also provide stringent tests of general relativity in the strong-field dynamical regime, which cannot be probed in any other way. This document not only describes the science but also gives an overview on the mission design and orbits.

astro-ph.CO

Calculating the continued fraction coefficients of a sub-diagonal Padé approximant at arbitrary order

The inspiral of two compact objects in gravitational wave astronomy is described by a post-Newtonian expansion in powers of $(v/c)$. In most cases, it is believed that the post-Newtonian expansion is asymptotically divergent. A standard technique for accelerating the convergence of a power series is to re-sum the series by means of a rational polynomial called a Padé approximation. If we liken this approximation to a matrix, the best convergence is achieved by staying close to a diagonal Padé approximation. This broadly presents two subsets of the approximation : a super-diagonal approximation $P^M_N$ and a sub-diagonal approximation $P_M^N$, where $M = N+ε$, and $ε$ takes the values of 0 or 1. Left as rational polynomials, the coefficients in both the numerator and denominator need to be re-calculated as the order of the initial power series approximation is increased. However, the sub-diagonal Padé approximant is computationally advantageous as it can be expressed in terms of a Gauss-like continued fraction. Once in this form, each coefficient in the continued fraction is uniquely determined at each order. This means that as we increase the order of approximation of the original power series, we now have only one new additional coefficient to calculate in the continued fraction. While it is possible to provide explicit expressions for the continued fraction coefficients, they rapidly become unwieldy at high orders of approximation. It is also possible to numerically calculate the coefficients by means of ratios of Hankel determinants. However, these determinants can be ill-conditioned and lead to numerical instabilities. In this article, we present a method for calculating the continued fraction coefficients at arbitrary orders of approximation.

gr-qc

The Effect of Data Gaps on LISA Galactic Binary Parameter Estimation

In the last few years there has been an enormous effort in parameter estimation studies for different sources with the space based gravitational wave detector, LISA. While these studies have investigated sources of differing complexity, the one thing they all have in common is they assume continuous data streams. In reality, the LISA data stream will contain gaps from such possible events such as repointing of the satellite antennae, to discharging static charge build up on the satellites, to disruptions due to micro-meteor strikes. In this work we conduct a large scale Monte Carlo parameter estimation simulation for galactic binaries assuming data streams containing gaps. As the expected duration and frequency of the gaps are currently unknown, we have decided to focus on gaps of approximately one hour, occurring either once per day or once per week. We also study the case where, as well as the expected periodic gaps, we have a data drop-out of one continuous week. Our results show that for for galactic binaries, a gap of once per week introduces a bias of between 0.5% and 1% in the estimation of parameters, for the most important parameters such as the sky position, amplitude and frequency. This number rises to between 3% and 7% for the case of one gap a day, and to between 4% and 9% when we have one gap a day and a spurious gap of a week. A future study will investigate the effect of data gaps on supermassive black hole binaries and extreme mass ratio inspirals.

gr-qc

Eccentric Massive Black Hole Binaries in LISA I : The Detection Capabilities of Circular Templates

One of the major assumptions in the search for gravitational wave signatures from massive and supermassive black hole binaries with LISA, is that these systems will have circularized before entering the LISA bandwidth. Current astrophysical simulations now suggest that systems could have a non-negligible eccentricity in the LISA band, and an important level of eccentricity in the Pulsar Timing regime. In this work, we use a set of source catalogues from astrophysically motivated models of massive black hole binary formation and assume a one year LISA mission lifetime. Depending on the model in question, the initial eccentricities in the final year of the inspiral can be as high as 0.6 for high mass seeds and 0.8 for low mass seeds. We show that restricted post-Newtonian circular templates are extremely inefficient in recovering eccentric binaries, with median optimal signal to noise ratio recoveries of approximately 10% for all models considered. This coupled with extremely large errors in parameter recovery from individual Markov chain Monte Carlo's demonstrate quite clearly that even to search for binaries with initial eccentricities as low as $10^{-4}$, we will require eccentric templates for LISA data analysis.

gr-qc