arXiv subjects

Mairi Sakellariadou

Publications and source records attributed to Mairi Sakellariadou.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Impact of Population III stars on the astrophysical gravitational-wave background

We probe the astrophysical gravitational-wave background resulting from compact binary coalescences, focusing on Population III binary black holes. We exploit results of state-of-the-art simulations on the evolution of Population I-II and III binaries, considering a variety of initial condition and star formation rate models for the latter. The contribution from Population III binary black holes is found to be very small, with no effect on the gravitational-wave spectrum. A network of third-generation detectors will detect easier individual Population III binaries, due to their significantly higher masses, hence decreasing even further their residual contribution.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Unbiased estimation of gravitational-wave anisotropies from noisy data

One of the most exciting targets of current and future gravitational-wave observations is the angular power spectrum of the astrophysical GW background. This cumulative signal encodes information about the large-scale structure of the Universe, as well as the formation and evolution of compact binaries throughout cosmic time. However, the finite rate of compact binary mergers gives rise to temporal shot noise, which introduces a significant bias in measurements of the angular power spectrum if not explicitly accounted for. Previous work showed that this bias can be removed by cross-correlating GW sky maps constructed from different observing times. However, this work considered an idealised measurement scenario, ignoring detector specifics and in particular noise contributions. Here we extend this temporal cross-correlation method to account for these difficulties, allowing us to implement the first unbiased anisotropic search pipeline for LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA data. In doing so, we show that the existing pipeline is biased even in the absence of shot noise, due to previously neglected sub-leading contributions to the noise covariance. We apply our pipeline to mock LIGO data, and find that our improved analysis will be crucial for stochastic searches from the current observing run (O4) onwards.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Angular power spectrum of gravitational-wave transient sources as a probe of the large-scale structure

We present a new, simulation-based inference method to compute the angular power spectrum of the distribution of foreground gravitational-wave transient events. As a first application of this method, we use the binary black hole mergers observed during the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA third observation run to test the spatial distribution of these sources. We find no evidence for anisotropy in their angular distribution. We discuss further applications of this method to investigate other gravitational-wave source populations and their correlations to the cosmological large-scale structure.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

High-speed reconstruction of long-duration gravitational waves from extreme mass ratio inspirals using sparse dictionary learning

Measuring accurate long-duration gravitational waves from extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) could provide scientifically fruitful knowledge of massive black hole populations and robust tests for general relatively during the LISA mission. However, the immense computational requirements surrounding EMRI data processing and analysis makes their detection and analysis challenging. We further develop and explore a sparse dictionary learning (SDL) algorithm to expeditiously reconstruct EMRI gravitational waveforms lasting as long as 1 year. A suite of year-long EMRI systems are studied to understand the detection and accurate waveform retrieval prospects of the method. We show that full-year EMRIs can be reconstructed within 2 minutes, some with a false alarm rate less than 0.001/yr and with 1.16 day time windows with mismatch as low as 0.06. This provides an encouraging prospect to use the SDL method for long-duration GW searches like that for EMRIs in this study.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Detection Prospects of Gravitational Waves from SU(2) Axion Inflation

We study detection prospects of a gravitational-wave background (GWB) sourced by SU(2) gauge fields considering all possible observational constraints. More precisely, we consider bounds set by cosmic microwave background measurements, primordial black hole overproduction, as well as backreaction of the gauge fields on the background evolution. Gravitational-waves data from the first three observing runs of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration show no evidence for a GWB contribution from axion inflation. However, we are able to place conservative constraints on the parameters of the SU(2) inflation with current data. We investigate conditions on the inflationary potential that would lead to a detectable signal that evades astrophysical and cosmological constraints and discuss detection prospects for third generation networks.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Detectability of the gravitational-wave background produced by magnetar giant flares

We study the gravitational-wave background produced by f-mode oscillations of neutron stars triggered by magnetar giant flares. For the gravitational-wave energy, we use analytic formulae obtained via general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of strongly magnetized neutron stars. Assuming the magnetar giant flare rate is proportional to the star-formation rate, we show the gravitational-wave signal is likely undetectable by third-generation detectors such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. We calculate the minimum value of the magnetic field and the magnetar giant flare rate necessary for such a signal to be detectable, and discuss these in the context of our current understanding of magnetar flares throughout the Universe.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Analysis of a subsolar-mass compact binary candidate from the second observing run of Advanced LIGO

We perform an exhaustive follow-up analysis of a subsolar-mass (SSM) gravitational wave (GW) candidate reported by Phukon et al. from the second observing run of Advanced LIGO. This candidate has a reported signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of $8.6$ and false alarm rate of $0.41$ yr which are too low to claim a clear gravitational-wave origin. When improving on the search by using more accurate waveforms, extending the frequency range from 45 Hz down to 20 Hz, and removing a prominent blip glitch, we find that the posterior distribution of the network SNR lies mostly below the search value, with the $90\%$ confidence interval being $7.94^{+0.70}_{-1.05}$. Assuming that the origin of the signal is a compact binary coalescence (CBC), the secondary component is $m_2 = \text{$0.76^{+0.50}_{-0.14}$} M_\odot$, with $m_2 < 1 M_\odot$ at $84\%$ confidence level, suggesting an unexpectedly light neutron star or a black hole of primordial or exotic origin. The primary mass would be $m_1 = \text{$4.71^{+1.57}_{-2.18}$} M_\odot$, likely in the hypothesized lower mass gap and the luminosity distance is measured to be $D_{\rm L}=124^{+82}_{-48}$Mpc. We then probe the CBC origin hypothesis by performing the signal coherence tests, obtaining a log Bayes factor of $4.96 \pm 0.13$ for the coherent vs. incoherent hypothesis. We demonstrate the capability of performing a parameter estimation follow-up on real data for an SSM candidate with moderate SNR. The improved sensitivity of O4 and subsequent LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing runs could make it possible to observe similar signals, if present, with a higher SNR and a more precise measurement of the parameters of the binary.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Gravitational-wave event rates as a new probe for dark matter microphysics

We show that gravitational waves have the potential to unravel the microphysical properties of dark matter due to the dependence of the binary black hole merger rate on cosmic structure formation, which is itself highly dependent on the dark matter scenario. In particular, we demonstrate that suppression of small-scale structure -- such as that caused by interacting, warm, or fuzzy dark matter -- leads to a significant reduction in the rate of binary black hole mergers at redshifts $z\gtrsim5$. This shows that future gravitational-wave observations will provide a new probe of physics beyond the $Λ$CDM model.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Science with the Einstein Telescope: a comparison of different designs

The Einstein Telescope (ET), the European project for a third-generation gravitational-wave detector, has a reference configuration based on a triangular shape consisting of three nested detectors with 10 km arms, where in each arm there is a `xylophone' configuration made of an interferometer tuned toward high frequencies, and an interferometer tuned toward low frequencies and working at cryogenic temperature. Here, we examine the scientific perspectives under possible variations of this reference design. We perform a detailed evaluation of the science case for a single triangular geometry observatory, and we compare it with the results obtained for a network of two L-shaped detectors (either parallel or misaligned) located in Europe, considering different choices of arm-length for both the triangle and the 2L geometries. We also study how the science output changes in the absence of the low-frequency instrument, both for the triangle and the 2L configurations. We examine a broad class of simple `metrics' that quantify the science output, related to compact binary coalescences, multi-messenger astronomy and stochastic backgrounds, and we then examine the impact of different detector designs on a more specific set of scientific objectives.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

The mirage of luminal modified gravitational-wave propagation

Using conformal invariance of gravitational waves, we show that for a luminal modified gravity theory, the gravitational-wave propagation and luminosity distance are the same as in general relativity. The relation between the gravitational-wave and electromagnetic-wave luminosity distance gets however modified for electromagnetism minimally coupled to the Jordan frame metric. Using effective field theory we show that the modified relation obtained for luminal theories is also valid for non-luminal theories with Jordan frame matter-gravity coupling.We generalise our analysis to a time-dependent speed of gravitational waves with matter minimally coupled to either the Jordan or Einstein frame metrics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Modified Gravity and Cosmology: An Update by the CANTATA Network

General Relativity and the $Λ$CDM framework are currently the standard lore and constitute the concordance paradigm. Nevertheless, long-standing open theoretical issues, as well as possible new observational ones arising from the explosive development of cosmology the last two decades, offer the motivation and lead a large amount of research to be devoted in constructing various extensions and modifications. All extended theories and scenarios are first examined under the light of theoretical consistency, and then are applied to various geometrical backgrounds, such as the cosmological and the spherical symmetric ones. Their predictions at both the background and perturbation levels, and concerning cosmology at early, intermediate and late times, are then confronted with the huge amount of observational data that astrophysics and cosmology are able to offer recently. Theories, scenarios and models that successfully and efficiently pass the above steps are classified as viable and are candidates for the description of Nature. This work is a Review of the recent developments in the fields of gravity and cosmology, presenting the state of the art, high-lighting the open problems, and outlining the directions of future research. Its realization was performed in the framework of the COST European Action ``Cosmology and Astrophysics Network for Theoretical Advances and Training Actions''.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Detection of Early-Universe Gravitational Wave Signatures and Fundamental Physics

Detection of a gravitational-wave signal of non-astrophysical origin would be a landmark discovery, potentially providing a significant clue to some of our most basic, big-picture scientific questions about the Universe. In this white paper, we survey the leading early-Universe mechanisms that may produce a detectable signal -- including inflation, phase transitions, topological defects, as well as primordial black holes -- and highlight the connections to fundamental physics. We review the complementarity with collider searches for new physics, and multimessenger probes of the large-scale structure of the Universe.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Targeted search for the kinematic dipole of the gravitational-wave background

There is growing interest in using current and future gravitational-wave interferometers to search for anisotropies in the gravitational-wave background. One guaranteed anisotropic signal is the kinematic dipole induced by our peculiar motion with respect to the cosmic rest frame, as measured in other full-sky observables such as the cosmic microwave background. Our prior knowledge of the amplitude and direction of this dipole is not explicitly accounted for in existing searches by LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, but could provide crucial information to help disentangle the sources which contribute to the gravitational-wave background. Here we develop a targeted search pipeline which uses this prior knowledge to enable unbiased and minimum-variance inference of the dipole magnitude. Our search generalises existing methods to allow for a time-dependent signal model, which captures the annual modulation of the dipole due to the Earth's orbit. We validate our pipeline on mock data, demonstrating that neglecting this time dependence can bias the inferred dipole by as much as $\sim10\%$. We then run our analysis on the full LIGO/Virgo O1+O2+O3 dataset, obtaining upper limits on the dipole amplitude that are consistent with existing anisotropic search results.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Dictionary learning: a novel approach to detecting binary black holes in the presence of Galactic noise with LISA

The noise produced by the inspiral of millions of white dwarf binaries in the Milky Way may pose a threat to one of the main goals of the space-based LISA mission: the detection of massive black hole binary mergers. We present a novel study for reconstruction of merger waveforms in the presence of Galactic confusion noise using dictionary learning. We discuss the limitations of untangling signals from binaries with total mass from $10^2 M_{\odot}$ to $10^4 M_{\odot}$. Our method proves extremely successful for binaries with total mass greater than $\sim 3\times 10^3$ $ M_{\odot}$ up to redshift 3 in conservative scenarios, and up to redshift 7.5 in optimistic scenarios. In addition, consistently good waveform reconstruction of merger events is found if the signal-to-noise ratio is approximately 5 or greater.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Probing Early Universe Supercooled Phase Transitions with Gravitational Wave Data

We investigate the reach of the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA detectors in the search for signatures of first-order phase transitions in the early Universe. Utilising data from the first three observing runs, we derive constraints on the parameters of the underlying gravitational-wave background, focusing on transitions characterised by strong supercooling. As an application of our analysis, we determine bounds on the parameter space of two representative particle physics models. We also comment on the expected reach of third-generation detectors in probing supercooled phase transitions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Report of the Topical Group on Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics for for Snowmass 2021

Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics take two primary forms: Very high energy particles (cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gamma rays) and gravitational waves. Already today, these probes give access to fundamental physics not available by any other means, helping elucidate the underlying theory that completes the Standard Model. The last decade has witnessed a revolution of exciting discoveries such as the detection of high-energy neutrinos and gravitational waves. The scope for major developments in the next decades is dramatic, as we detail in this report.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Projection effects on the observed angular spectrum of the astrophysical stochastic gravitational wave background

The detection and characterization of the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background (SGWB) is one of the main goals of Gravitational Wave (GW) experiments. The observed SGWB will be the combination of GWs from cosmological (as predicted by many models describing the physics of the early Universe) and astrophysical origins, which will arise from the superposition of GWs from unresolved sources whose signal is too faint to be detected. Therefore, it is important to have a proper modeling of the astrophysical SGWB (ASGWB) in order to disentangle the two signals; moreover, this will provide additional information on astrophysical properties of compact objects. Applying the Cosmic Rulers formalism, we compute the observed ASGWB angular power spectrum, hence using gauge invariant quantities, accounting for all effects intervening between the source and the observer. These are the so-called projection effects, which include Kaiser, Doppler and gravitational potentials effect. Our results show that these projection effects are the most important at the largest scales, and they contribute to up to tens of percent of the angular power spectrum amplitude, with the Kaiser term being the largest at all scales. While the exact impact of these results will depend on instrumental and astrophysical details, a precise theoretical modeling of the ASGWB will necessarily need to include all these projection effects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Frontiers of Quantum Gravity: shared challenges, converging directions

Understanding the quantum nature of spacetime and gravity remains one of the most ambitious goals of theoretical physics. It promises to provide key new insights into fundamental particle theory, astrophysics, cosmology and the foundations of physics. Despite this common goal, the community of quantum gravity researchers is sometimes seen as divided into sub-communities working on different, mutually exclusive approaches. In practice however, recent years have shown the emergence of common techniques, results and physical ideas arising from different sub-communities, suggesting exciting new prospects for collaboration and interaction between traditionally distinct approaches. In this White Paper we discuss some of the common themes which have seen a growing interest from various directions, and argue that focusing on them will help the quantum gravity community as a whole towards shared objectives.

hep-th↗