Search for High Frequency Gravitational Wave Bursts in the First Calendar Year of LIGO's Fifth Science Run

TL;DR

This paper reports an all-sky search for high-frequency gravitational wave bursts in the 1-6 kHz range using LIGO data from its fifth science run, setting upper limits on event rates.

Contribution

First untriggered LIGO burst analysis above 3 kHz, analyzing 161.3 days of data and establishing upper limits on gravitational wave burst rates.

Findings

No gravitational wave events detected above threshold.

Upper limit of 5.4 events per year at 90% confidence.

Discussion of implications for theoretical models.

Abstract

We present an all-sky search for gravitational waves in the frequency range 1 to 6 kHz during the first calendar year of LIGO's fifth science run. This is the first untriggered LIGO burst analysis to be conducted above 3 kHz. We discuss the unique properties of interferometric data in this regime. 161.3 days of triple-coincident data were analyzed. No gravitational events above threshold were observed and a frequentist upper limit of 5.4 events per year on the rate of strong gravitational wave bursts was placed at a 90% confidence level. Implications for specific theoretical models of gravitational wave emission are also discussed.