arXiv subjects

William Benoit

Publications and source records attributed to William Benoit.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

AI-enabled gravitational-waves searches for binary neutron stars at optimal sensitivity

Gravitational Waves (GWs) represent the newest window of astronomy, furthering our understanding of compact objects like black holes and neutron stars in the Universe. The signal from two merging neutron stars is especially interesting since it brings the prospect of concordant electromagnetic and neutrino emissions. Such multi-messenger observations have a transformational impact on fundamental physics, nuclear matter, astrophysics, and gravity. It was first witnessed in 2017 with the detection of the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817. However, searching for BNS signals in real-time in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) GW detectors presents a computational challenge, as the data streaming out must be matched against $\sim$ million reference waveforms, which requires up to a thousand CPU cores. We present a different approach using neural networks to learn the presence of a signal in the data. Our algorithm, called Aframe, was deployed in the LVK's fourth observing run and was the first artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled search to detect multiple binary black holes (BBHs) live. In this work, we demonstrate that the approach extends to the lower-mass BNS regime, and is the first AI-enabled search that achieves sensitivity comparable to matched-filter pipelines at lower computational and latency costs. The challenge of the longer-duration BNS signals is addressed by heterodyning the data, following which the network architecture used for BBHs is sufficient to distinguish signal versus background. We also show that this analysis requires a single non-flagship GPU for online deployment. Furthermore, the design and adoption of inference-as-a-service tools allow rapid offline analysis using a distributed pool of GPU resources. Hence, aside from the use case of rapid online data analysis, we also establish the use of Aframe for efficient archival data analysis.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Likelihood-free inference for gravitational-wave data analysis and public alerts

Rapid and reliable detection and dissemination of source parameter estimation data products from gravitational-wave events, especially sky localization, is critical for maximizing the potential of multi-messenger astronomy. Machine learning based detection and parameter estimation algorithms are emerging as production ready alternatives to traditional approaches. Here, we report validation studies of AMPLFI, a likelihood-free inference solution to low-latency parameter estimation of binary black holes. We use simulated signals added into data from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's (LVK's) third observing run (O3) to compare sky localization performance with BAYESTAR, the algorithm currently in production for rapid sky localization of candidates from matched-filter pipelines. We demonstrate sky localization performance, measured by searched area and volume, to be equivalent with BAYESTAR. We show accurate reconstruction of source parameters with uncertainties for use distributing low-latency coarse-grained chirp mass information. In addition, we analyze several candidate events reported by the LVK in the third gravitational-wave transient catalog (GWTC-3) and show consistency with the LVK's analysis. Altogether, we demonstrate AMPLFI's ability to produce data products for low-latency public alerts.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

A machine learning-enabled search for binary black hole mergers in LIGO-Virgo-KAGRAs third observing run

We conduct a search for stellar-mass binary black hole mergers in gravitational-wave data collected by the LIGO detectors during the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) third observing run (O3). Our search uses a machine learning (ML) based method, Aframe, an alternative to traditional matched filtering search techniques. The O3 observing run has been analyzed by the LVK collaboration, producing GWTC-3, the most recent catalog installment which has been made publicly available in 2021. Various groups outside the LVK have re-analyzed O3 data using both traditional and ML-based approaches. Here, we identify 38 candidates with probability of astrophysical origin ($p_\mathrm{astro}$) greater than 0.5, which were previously reported in GWTC-3. This is comparable to the number of candidates reported by individual matched-filter searches. In addition, we compare Aframe candidates with catalogs from research groups outside of the LVK, identifying three candidates with $p_\mathrm{astro} > 0.5$. No previously un-reported candidates are identified by Aframe. This work demonstrates that Aframe, and ML based searches more generally, are useful companions to matched filtering pipelines.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

A Neural Network-Based Search for Unmodeled Transients in LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's Third Observing Run

This paper presents the results of a Neural Network (NN)-based search for short-duration gravitational-wave transients in data from the third observing run of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA. The search targets unmodeled transients with durations of milliseconds to a few seconds in the 30-1500 Hz frequency band, without assumptions about the incoming signal direction, polarization, or morphology. Using the Gravitational Wave Anomalous Knowledge (GWAK) method, three compact binary coalescences (CBCs) identified by existing pipelines are successfully detected, along with a range of detector glitches. The algorithm constructs a low-dimensional embedded space to capture the physical features of signals, enabling the detection of CBCs, detector glitches, and unmodeled transients. This study demonstrates GWAK's ability to enhance gravitational-wave searches beyond the limits of existing pipelines, laying the groundwork for future detection strategies.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Rapid Likelihood Free Inference of Compact Binary Coalescences using Accelerated Hardware

We report a gravitational-wave parameter estimation algorithm, AMPLFI, based on likelihood-free inference using normalizing flows. The focus of AMPLFI is to perform real-time parameter estimation for candidates detected by machine-learning based compact binary coalescence search, Aframe. We present details of our algorithm and optimizations done related to data-loading and pre-processing on accelerated hardware. We train our model using binary black-hole (BBH) simulations on real LIGO-Virgo detector noise. Our model has $\sim 6$ million trainable parameters with training times $\lesssim 24$ hours. Based on online deployment on a mock data stream of LIGO-Virgo data, Aframe + AMPLFI is able to pick up BBH candidates and infer parameters for real-time alerts from data acquisition with a net latency of $\sim 6$s.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

A machine-learning pipeline for real-time detection of gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences

The promise of multi-messenger astronomy relies on the rapid detection of gravitational waves at very low latencies ($\mathcal{O}$(1\,s)) in order to maximize the amount of time available for follow-up observations. In recent years, neural-networks have demonstrated robust non-linear modeling capabilities and millisecond-scale inference at a comparatively small computational footprint, making them an attractive family of algorithms in this context. However, integration of these algorithms into the gravitational-wave astrophysics research ecosystem has proven non-trivial. Here, we present the first fully machine learning-based pipeline for the detection of gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences (CBCs) running in low-latency. We demonstrate this pipeline to have a fraction of the latency of traditional matched filtering search pipelines while achieving state-of-the-art sensitivity to higher-mass stellar binary black holes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

GWAK: Gravitational-Wave Anomalous Knowledge with Recurrent Autoencoders

Matched-filtering detection techniques for gravitational-wave (GW) signals in ground-based interferometers rely on having well-modeled templates of the GW emission. Such techniques have been traditionally used in searches for compact binary coalescences (CBCs), and have been employed in all known GW detections so far. However, interesting science cases aside from compact mergers do not yet have accurate enough modeling to make matched filtering possible, including core-collapse supernovae and sources where stochasticity may be involved. Therefore the development of techniques to identify sources of these types is of significant interest. In this paper, we present a method of anomaly detection based on deep recurrent autoencoders to enhance the search region to unmodeled transients. We use a semi-supervised strategy that we name Gravitational Wave Anomalous Knowledge (GWAK). While the semi-supervised nature of the problem comes with a cost in terms of accuracy as compared to supervised techniques, there is a qualitative advantage in generalizing experimental sensitivity beyond pre-computed signal templates. We construct a low-dimensional embedded space using the GWAK method, capturing the physical signatures of distinct signals on each axis of the space. By introducing signal priors that capture some of the salient features of GW signals, we allow for the recovery of sensitivity even when an unmodeled anomaly is encountered. We show that regions of the GWAK space can identify CBCs, detector glitches and also a variety of unmodeled astrophysical sources.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Demonstration of Machine Learning-assisted real-time noise regression in gravitational wave detectors

Real-time noise regression algorithms are crucial for maximizing the science outcomes of the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA gravitational-wave detectors. This includes improvements in the detectability, source localization and pre-merger detectability of signals thereby enabling rapid multi-messenger follow-up. In this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of \textit{DeepClean}, a convolutional neural network architecture that uses witness sensors to estimate and subtract non-linear and non-stationary noise from gravitational-wave strain data. Our study uses LIGO data from the third observing run with injected compact binary signals. As a demonstration, we use \textit{DeepClean} to subtract the noise at 60 Hz due to the power mains and their sidebands arising from non-linear coupling with other instrumental noise sources. Our parameter estimation study on the injected signals shows that \textit{DeepClean} does not do any harm to the underlying astrophysical signals in the data while it can enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of potential signals. We show that \textit{DeepClean} can be used for low-latency noise regression to produce cleaned output data at latencies $\sim 1-2$\, s. We also discuss various considerations that may be made while training \textit{DeepClean} for low latency applications.

gr-qc↗