Coherent observations of gravitational radiation with LISA and gLISA

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential for joint gravitational wave observations using the space-based LISA and gLISA missions alongside ground-based detectors, enhancing detection capabilities across a broad frequency range.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of simultaneous operation of LISA and gLISA to achieve improved sensitivity and detection of black-hole binaries across a wide frequency spectrum.

Findings

Joint sensitivity curve is 'white' from a few mHz to 1 Hz.

Enhanced SNR for coalescing black-hole binaries.

Broader frequency coverage from 0.1 mHz to kHz.

Abstract

The geosynchronous Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (gLISA) is a space-based gravitational wave (GW) mission that, for the past five years, has been under joint study at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Stanford University, the National Institute for Space Research (I.N.P.E., Brazil), and Space Systems Loral. If flown at the same time as the LISA mission, the two arrays will deliver a joint sensitivity that accounts for the best performance of both missions in their respective parts of the mHz band. This simultaneous operation will result in an optimally combined sensitivity curve that is "white" from a few mHz to 1 Hz, making the two antennas capable of detecting, with high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), coalescing black-hole binaries (BHBs) with masses in the range (10 - 100 million) solar masses. Their ability of jointly tracking, with enhanced SNR, signals similar to that observed by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO) on September 14, 2015 (the GW150914 event) will result in a larger number of observable small-mass binary black-holes and an improved precision of the parameters characterizing these sources. Together, LISA, gLISA and aLIGO will cover, with good sensitivity, a frequency band from a tenth of a mHz to a kHz frequency band.