arXiv subjects

S. Antier

Publications and source records attributed to S. Antier.

177 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data

Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, {\it narrow-band} analyses methods have been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of eleven pulsars using data from Advanced LIGO's first observing run. Although we have found several initial outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal. Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of the 11 targets over the bands searched: in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried out so far.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

On the Progenitor of Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817

On 2017 August 17 the merger of two compact objects with masses consistent with two neutron stars was discovered through gravitational-wave (GW170817), gamma-ray (GRB 170817A), and optical (SSS17a/AT 2017gfo) observations. The optical source was associated with the early-type galaxy NGC 4993 at a distance of just $\sim$40 Mpc, consistent with the gravitational-wave measurement, and the merger was localized to be at a projected distance of $\sim$2 kpc away from the galaxy's center. We use this minimal set of facts and the mass posteriors of the two neutron stars to derive the first constraints on the progenitor of GW170817 at the time of the second supernova (SN). We generate simulated progenitor populations and follow the three-dimensional kinematic evolution from the binary neutron star (BNS) birth to the merger time, accounting for pre-SN galactic motion, for considerably different input distributions of the progenitor mass, pre-SN semimajor axis, and SN-kick velocity. Though not considerably tight, we find these constraints to be comparable to those for Galactic BNS progenitors. The derived constraints are very strongly influenced by the requirement of keeping the binary bound after the second SN and having the merger occur relatively close to the center of the galaxy. These constraints are insensitive to the galaxy's star formation history, provided the stellar populations are older than 1 Gyr.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

GW170608: Observation of a 19-solar-mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

On June 8, 2017 at 02:01:16.49 UTC, a gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two stellar-mass black holes was observed by the two Advanced LIGO detectors with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13. This system is the lightest black hole binary so far observed, with component masses $12^{+7}_{-2}\,M_\odot$ and $7^{+2}_{-2}\,M_\odot$ (90% credible intervals). These lie in the range of measured black hole masses in low-mass X-ray binaries, thus allowing us to compare black holes detected through gravitational waves with electromagnetic observations. The source's luminosity distance is $340^{+140}_{-140}$ Mpc, corresponding to redshift $0.07^{+0.03}_{-0.03}$. We verify that the signal waveform is consistent with the predictions of general relativity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Search for post-merger gravitational waves from the remnant of the binary neutron star merger GW170817

The first observation of a binary neutron star coalescence by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detectors offers an unprecedented opportunity to study matter under the most extreme conditions. After such a merger, a compact remnant is left over whose nature depends primarily on the masses of the inspiralling objects and on the equation of state of nuclear matter. This could be either a black hole or a neutron star (NS), with the latter being either long-lived or too massive for stability implying delayed collapse to a black hole. Here, we present a search for gravitational waves from the remnant of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 using data from Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. We search for short ($\lesssim1$ s) and intermediate-duration ($\lesssim 500$ s) signals, which includes gravitational-wave emission from a hypermassive NS or supramassive NS, respectively. We find no signal from the post-merger remnant. Our derived strain upper limits are more than an order of magnitude larger than those predicted by most models. For short signals, our best upper limit on the root-sum-square of the gravitational-wave strain emitted from 1--4 kHz is $h_{\rm rss}^{50\%}=2.1\times 10^{-22}$ Hz$^{-1/2}$ at 50% detection efficiency. For intermediate-duration signals, our best upper limit at 50% detection efficiency is $h_{\rm rss}^{50\%}=8.4\times 10^{-22}$ Hz$^{-1/2}$ for a millisecond magnetar model, and $h_{\rm rss}^{50\%}=5.9\times 10^{-22}$ Hz$^{-1/2}$ for a bar-mode model. These results indicate that post-merger emission from a similar event may be detectable when advanced detectors reach design sensitivity or with next-generation detectors.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

A gravitational-wave standard siren measurement of the Hubble constant

The detection of GW170817 in both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves heralds the age of gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy. On 17 August 2017 the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors observed GW170817, a strong signal from the merger of a binary neutron-star system. Less than 2 seconds after the merger, a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) was detected within a region of the sky consistent with the LIGO-Virgo-derived location of the gravitational-wave source. This sky region was subsequently observed by optical astronomy facilities, resulting in the identification of an optical transient signal within $\sim 10$ arcsec of the galaxy NGC 4993. These multi-messenger observations allow us to use GW170817 as a standard siren, the gravitational-wave analog of an astronomical standard candle, to measure the Hubble constant. This quantity, which represents the local expansion rate of the Universe, sets the overall scale of the Universe and is of fundamental importance to cosmology. Our measurement combines the distance to the source inferred purely from the gravitational-wave signal with the recession velocity inferred from measurements of the redshift using electromagnetic data. This approach does not require any form of cosmic "distance ladder;" the gravitational wave analysis can be used to estimate the luminosity distance out to cosmological scales directly, without the use of intermediate astronomical distance measurements. We determine the Hubble constant to be $70.0^{+12.0}_{-8.0} \, \mathrm{km} \, \mathrm{s}^{-1} \, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ (maximum a posteriori and 68% credible interval). This is consistent with existing measurements, while being completely independent of them. Additional standard-siren measurements from future gravitational-wave sources will provide precision constraints of this important cosmological parameter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

GW170814: A Three-Detector Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Coalescence

On August 14, 2017 at 10:30:43 UTC, the Advanced Virgo detector and the two Advanced LIGO detectors coherently observed a transient gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar mass black holes, with a false-alarm-rate of $\lesssim$ 1 in 27000 years. The signal was observed with a three-detector network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 18. The inferred masses of the initial black holes are $30.5_{-3.0}^{+5.7}$ Msun and $25.3_{-4.2}^{+2.8}$ Msun (at the 90% credible level). The luminosity distance of the source is $540_{-210}^{+130}~\mathrm{Mpc}$, corresponding to a redshift of $z=0.11_{-0.04}^{+0.03}$. A network of three detectors improves the sky localization of the source, reducing the area of the 90% credible region from 1160 deg$^2$ using only the two LIGO detectors to 60 deg$^2$ using all three detectors. For the first time, we can test the nature of gravitational wave polarizations from the antenna response of the LIGO-Virgo network, thus enabling a new class of phenomenological tests of gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first observing run of Advanced LIGO

During their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals and GW151226, produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems. This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves (GWs) from merging intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHBs). The combined results from two independent search techniques were used in this study: the first employs a matched-filter algorithm that uses a bank of filters covering the GW signal parameter space, while the second is a generic search for GW transients (bursts). No GWs from IMBHBs were detected, therefore, we constrain the rate of several classes of IMBHB mergers. The most stringent limit is obtained for black holes of individual mass $100\,M_\odot$, with spins aligned with the binary orbital angular momentum. For such systems, the merger rate is constrained to be less than $0.93~\mathrm{Gpc^{-3}\,yr}^{-1}$ in comoving units at the $90\%$ confidence level, an improvement of nearly 2 orders of magnitude over previous upper limits.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

All-sky Search for Periodic Gravitational Waves in the O1 LIGO Data

We report on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency band 20-475 Hz and with a frequency time derivative in the range of [-1.0, +0.1]e-8 Hz/s. Such a signal could be produced by a nearby spinning and slightly non-axisymmetric isolated neutron star in our galaxy. This search uses the data from Advanced LIGO's first observational run, O1. No periodic gravitational wave signals were observed, and upper limits were placed on their strengths. The lowest upper limits on worst-case (linearly polarized) strain amplitude h0 are 4e-25 near 170 Hz. For a circularly polarized source (most favorable orientation), the smallest upper limits obtained are 1.5e-25. These upper limits refer to all sky locations and the entire range of frequency derivative values. For a population-averaged ensemble of sky locations and stellar orientations, the lowest upper limits obtained for the strain amplitude are 2.5e-25.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

First low-frequency Einstein@Home all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves in Advanced LIGO data

We report results of a deep all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars in data from the first Advanced LIGO observing run. This search investigates the low frequency range of Advanced LIGO data, between 20 and 100 Hz, much of which was not explored in initial LIGO. The search was made possible by the computing power provided by the volunteers of the Einstein@Home project. We find no significant signal candidate and set the most stringent upper limits to date on the amplitude of gravitational wave signals from the target population, corresponding to a sensitivity depth of 48.7 [1/$\sqrt{\textrm{Hz}}$]. At the frequency of best strain sensitivity, near 100 Hz, we set 90% confidence upper limits of $1.8 \times 10^{-25}$. At the low end of our frequency range, 20 Hz, we achieve upper limits of $3.9 \times 10^{-24}$. At 55 Hz we can exclude sources with ellipticities greater than $10^{-5}$ within 100 pc of Earth with fiducial value of the principal moment of inertia of $10^{38} \textrm{kg m}^2$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the first Advanced LIGO observing run with a hidden Markov model

Results are presented from a semi-coherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the brightest low-mass X-ray binary, Scorpius X-1, using data collected during the first Advanced LIGO observing run (O1). The search combines a frequency domain matched filter (Bessel-weighted $\mathcal{F}$-statistic) with a hidden Markov model to track wandering of the neutron star spin frequency. No evidence of gravitational waves is found in the frequency range 60-650 Hz. Frequentist 95% confidence strain upper limits, $h_0^{95\%} = 4.0\times10^{-25}$, $8.3\times10^{-25}$, and $3.0\times10^{-25}$ for electromagnetically restricted source orientation, unknown polarization, and circular polarization, respectively, are reported at 106 Hz. They are $\leq 10$ times higher than the theoretical torque-balance limit at 106 Hz.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

The Deep and Transient Universe in the SVOM Era: New Challenges and Opportunities - Scientific prospects of the SVOM mission

To take advantage of the astrophysical potential of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), Chinese and French astrophysicists have engaged the SVOM mission (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor). Major advances in GRB studies resulting from the synergy between space and ground observations, the SVOM mission implements space and ground instrumentation. The scientific objectives of the mission put a special emphasis on two categories of GRBs: very distant GRBs at z$>$5 which constitute exceptional cosmological probes, and faint/soft nearby GRBs which allow probing the nature of the progenitors and the physics at work in the explosion. These goals have a major impact on the design of the mission: the on-board hard X-ray imager is sensitive down to 4 keV and computes on line image and rate triggers, and the follow-up telescopes on the ground are sensitive in the NIR. At the beginning of the next decade, SVOM will be the main provider of GRB positions and spectral parameters on very short time scale. The SVOM instruments will operate simultaneously with a wide range of powerful astronomical devices. This rare instrumental conjunction, combined with the relevance of the scientific topics connected with GRB studies, warrants a remarkable scientific return for SVOM. In addition, the SVOM instrumentation, primarily designed for GRB studies, composes a unique multi-wavelength observatory with rapid slew capability that will find multiple applications for the whole astronomy community beyond the specific objectives linked to GRBs. This report lists the scientific themes that will benefit from observations made with SVOM, whether they are specific GRB topics, or more generally all the issues that can take advantage of the multi-wavelength capabilities of SVOM.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

Simulations of GRB detections with the ECLAIRs telescope onboard the future SVOM mission

The soft gamma-ray telescope ECLAIRs with its Scientific Trigger Unit is in charge of detecting Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) on-board the future SVOM satellite. Using the "scientific software model" (SSM), we study the efficiency of both implemented trigger algorithms, the Count-Rate Trigger for time-scales below 20s and the Image Trigger for larger ones. The SMM provides a simulation of ECLAIRs with photon projection through the coded-mask onto the detection plane. We developed an input GRB database for the SSM based on GRBs light curves detected by the Fermi GBM instrument. We extrapolated the GRB spectra into the ECLAIRs band (4-120 keV) and projected them onto the detection plane, superimposed with cosmic extragalactic background photons (CXB). Several simulations were performed by varying the GRB properties (fluxes and positions in the field of view). We present first results of this study in this paper.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

Hard X-ray polarimetry with Caliste, a high performance CdTe based imaging spectrometer

Since the initial exploration of soft gamma-ray sky in the 60's, high-energy celestial sources have been mainly characterized through imaging, spectroscopy and timing analysis. Despite tremendous progress in the field, the radiation mechanisms at work in sources such as neutrons stars and black holes are still unclear. The polarization state of the radiation is an observational parameter which brings key additional information about the physical process. This is why most of the projects for the next generation of space missions covering the tens of keV to the MeV region require a polarization measurement capability. A key element enabling this capability is a detector system allowing the identification and characterization of Compton interactions as they are the main process at play. The hard X-ray imaging spectrometer module, developed in CEA with the generic name of Caliste module, is such a detector. In this paper, we present experimental results for two types of Caliste-256 modules, one based on a CdTe crystal, the other one on a CdZnTe crystal, which have been exposed to linearly polarized beams at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. These results, obtained at 200-300 keV, demonstrate their capability to give an accurate determination of the polarization parameters (polarization angle and fraction) of the incoming beam. Applying a selection to our data set, equivalent to select 90 degrees Compton scattered interactions in the detector plane, we find a modulation factor Q of 0.78. The polarization angle and fraction are derived with accuracies of approximately 1 degree and 5%. The modulation factor remains larger than 0.4 when essentially no selection is made at all on the data. These results prove that the Caliste-256 modules have performances allowing them to be excellent candidates as detectors with polarimetric capabilities, in particular for future space missions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

Fine pitch CdTe-based Hard-X-ray polarimeter performance for space science in the 70-300 keV energy range

X-rays astrophysical sources have been almost exclusively characterized through imaging, spectroscopy and timing analysis. Nevertheless, more observational parameters are needed because some radiation mechanisms present in neutrons stars or black holes are still unclear. Polarization measurements will play a key role in discrimination between different X-ray emission models. Such a capability becomes a mandatory requirement for the next generation of high-energy space proposals. We have developed a CdTe-based fine-pitch imaging spectrometer, Caliste, able to respond to these new requirements. With a 580-micron pitch and 1 keV energy resolution at 60 keV, we are able to accurately reconstruct the polarization angle and polarization fraction of an impinging flux of photons which are scattered by 90° after Compton diffusion within the crystal. Thanks to its high performance in both imaging and spectrometry, Caliste turns out to be a powerful device for high-energy polarimetry. In this paper, we present the principles and the results obtained for this kind of measurements: on one hand, we describe the simulation tool we have developed to predict the polarization performances in the 50-300 keV energy range. On the other hand, we compare simulation results with experimental data taken at ESRF ID15A (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) using a mono-energetic polarized beam tuned between 35 and 300 keV. We show that it is possible with this detector to determine with high precision the polarization parameters (direction and fraction) for different irradiation conditions. Applying a judicious energy selection to our data set, we reach a remarkable sensitivity level characterized by an optimum Quality Factor of 0.78 in the 200-300 keV range. We also evaluate the sensitivity of our device at 70 keV, where hard X-ray mirrors are already available; the measured Q factor is 0.64 at 70 keV.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

GRB 140206A: the most distant polarized Gamma-Ray Burst

The nature of the prompt gamma-ray emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) is still far from being completely elucidated. The measure of linear polarization is a powerful tool that can be used to put further constraints on the content and magnetization of the GRB relativistic outflows, as well as on the radiation processes at work. To date only a handful of polarization measurements are available for the prompt emission of GRBs. Here we present the analysis of the prompt emission of GRB 140206A, obtained with INTEGRAL/IBIS, Swift/BAT, and Fermi/GBM. Using INTEGRAL/IBIS as a Compton polarimeter we were able to constrain the linear polarization level of the second peak of this GRB as being larger than 28% at 90% c.l. We also present the GRB afterglow optical spectroscopy obtained at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG), which allowed us the measure the distance of this GRB, z=2.739. This distance value together with the polarization measure obtained with IBIS, allowed us to derive the deepest and most reliable limit to date (xi <1x10-16) on the possibility of Lorentz Invariance Violation, measured through the vacuum birefringence effect on a cosmological source.

astro-ph.HE↗