Upper limits on a stochastic gravitational-wave background using LIGO and Virgo interferometers at 600-1000 Hz

TL;DR

This paper reports the first joint search for a stochastic gravitational-wave background using LIGO and Virgo data in the 600-1000 Hz range, setting new upper limits that improve previous constraints by a factor of seven.

Contribution

It presents the first combined analysis of LIGO and Virgo data for this frequency band, establishing new upper limits on the gravitational-wave background amplitude.

Findings

95% upper limit on _{ m GW}(f) of 0.33 at 900 Hz

Limits are seven times more stringent than previous results

First joint LIGO-Virgo search in this frequency range

Abstract

A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of many incoherent sources of gravitational waves, of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. This background is a target for the current generation of ground-based detectors. In this article we present the first joint search for a stochastic background using data from the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. In a frequency band of 600-1000 Hz, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the amplitude of $\Omega_{\rm GW}(f) = \Omega_3 (f/900 \mathrm{Hz})^3$, of $\Omega_3 < 0.33$, assuming a value of the Hubble parameter of $h_{100}=0.72$. These new limits are a factor of seven better than the previous best in this frequency band.