Searching for Gravitational-Wave Bursts with LIGO

TL;DR

This paper reports on LIGO's recent gravitational-wave burst searches, including directed and untriggered methods, and introduces new analysis techniques and interpretations for astrophysical sources.

Contribution

It presents new search results, discusses the status of ongoing efforts, and introduces coherent network methods and improved interpretation frameworks.

Findings

Detection limits for gravitational-wave bursts

Implementation of coherent network analysis methods

Enhanced interpretation of search results in astrophysical contexts

Abstract

We present recent results from searches by the LIGO Science Collaboration for bursts of gravitational-wave radiation, as well as the status of other ongoing searches. These include directed searches for bursts associated with observed sources (gamma-ray bursts, soft gamma repeaters) and untriggered searches for bursts from unknown sources. We also present the status of some newer investigations, such as coherent network methods. We show methods for interpreting our search results in terms of astrophysical source distributions that improve their accessibility to the wider community.