First all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources in binary systems

Aasi, J. and Abbott, B. P. and Abbott, R. and Abbott, T. and Abernathy, M. R. and Accadia, T. and Acernese, F. and Ackley, K. and Adams, C. and Adams, T. and Addesso, P. and Adhikari, R. X. and Affeldt, C. and Agathos, M. and Aggarwal, N. and Aguiar, O. D. and Ain, A. and Ajith, P. and Alemic, A. and Allen, B. and Allocca, A. and Amariutei, D. and Andersen, M. and Anderson, R. and Anderson, S. B. and Anderson, W. G. and Arai, K. and Araya, M. C. and Arceneaux, C. and Areeda, J. and Debreczeni, Gergely and Endrőczi, Gábor and Frei, Zsolt and Gondán, László and Nagy-Egri, Máté Ferenc and Rácz, István and Raffai, Péter and Vasúth, Mátyás Zsolt (2014) First all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources in binary systems. PHYSICAL REVIEW D, 90 (6). ISSN 2470-0010

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Abstract

We present the first results of an all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown spinning neutron stars in binary systems using LIGO and Virgo data. Using a specially developed analysis program, the TwoSpect algorithm, the search was carried out on data from the sixth LIGO science run and the second and third Virgo science runs. The search covers a range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 520 Hz, a range of orbital periods from 2 to similar to 2,254 h and a frequency-and period-dependent range of frequency modulation depths from 0.277 to 100 mHz. This corresponds to a range of projected semimajor axes of the orbit from similar to 0.6 x 10(-3) ls to similar to 6,500 ls assuming the orbit of the binary is circular. While no plausible candidate gravitational wave events survive the pipeline, upper limits are set on the analyzed data. The most sensitive 95% confidence upper limit obtained on gravitational wave strain is 2.3 x 10(-24) at 217 Hz, assuming the source waves are circularly polarized. Although this search has been optimized for circular binary orbits, the upper limits obtained remain valid for orbital eccentricities as large as 0.9. In addition, upper limits are placed on continuous gravitational wave emission from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1 between 20 Hz and 57.25 Hz.

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