Bayesian parameter estimation for targeted anisotropic gravitational-wave background [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2208.14421


Extended sources of the stochastic gravitational backgrounds have been conventionally searched on the spherical harmonics bases. The analysis during the previous observing runs by the ground-based gravitational wave detectors, such LIGO and Virgo, have yielded the constraints on the angular power spectrum $C_\ell$, yet it lacks the capability of estimating model parameters. In this paper, we introduce an alternative Bayesian formalism to search for such stochastic signals with a particular distribution of anisotropies on the sky. This approach provides a Bayesian posterior of model parameters and also enables selection tests among different signal models. While the conventional analysis fixes the highest angular scale \textit{a priori}, here we show a more systematic and quantitative way to determine the cut-off scale based on a Bayes factor, which depends on the amplitude and the angular scale of observed signals. Also, we analyze the third observing runs of LIGO and Virgo for the population of milli-second pulsars and obtain the 95 % constrains of the signal amplitude, $\epsilon < 2.7\times 10^{-8}$.

Read this paper on arXiv…

L. Tsukada, S. Jaraba, D. Agarwal, et. al.
Wed, 31 Aug 22
85/86

Comments: 16 pages, 16 figures