Upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background from Advanced LIGO's first observing run
Date
2017
Authors
Abbott, B
Abbott, Robert
Abbott, Thomas D
Abernathy, M
Acernese, Fausto
Ackley, K
Adams, C
Adams, T
Addesso, P
Adhikari, Rana
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Volume Title
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American Physical Society
Abstract
A wide variety of astrophysical and cosmological sources are expected to contribute to a stochastic gravitational-wave background. Following the observations of GW150914 and GW151226, the rate and mass of coalescing binary black holes appear to be greater than many previous expectations. As a result, the stochastic background from unresolved compact binary coalescences is expected to be particularly loud. We perform a search for the isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background using data from Advanced LIGO's first observing run. The data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. We constrain the dimensionless energy density of gravitational waves to be Ω0<1.7×10−7 with 95% confidence, assuming a flat energy density spectrum in the most sensitive part of the LIGO band (20-86 Hz). This is a factor of ~33 times more sensitive than previous measurements. We also constrain arbitrary power-law spectra. Finally, we investigate the implications of this search for the background of binary black holes using an astrophysical model for the background.
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Source
Physical Review Letters
Type
Journal article
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Access Statement
Open Access