Constraints and prospects on gravitational wave and neutrino emission using GW150914

TL;DR

This paper explores constraints on neutrino and gravitational wave emissions from binary black hole mergers, using LIGO observations and IceCube data, to better understand the astrophysical environment and potential neutrino counterparts.

Contribution

It introduces a combined method using non-detection and diffuse flux measurements to constrain neutrino emission from black hole mergers, applicable to future gravitational wave events.

Findings

Current bounds on neutrino emission are similar from both methods.

Combining methods can significantly constrain source populations.

Approach applicable to future neutron star merger observations.

Abstract

The recent LIGO observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger triggered several follow-up searches from both electromagnetic wave as well as neutrino observatories. Since in general, it is expected that all matter has been removed from the binary black hole environment long before the merger, no neutrino emission is expected from such mergers. Still, it remains interesting to test this hypothesis. The ratio of the energy emitted in neutrinos with respect to gravitational waves represents a useful parameter to constrain the environment of such astrophysical events. In addition to putting constraints by use of the non-detection of counterpart neutrinos, it is also possible to consider the diffuse neutrino flux measured by the IceCube observatory as the maximum contribution from an extrapolated full class of BBHs. Both methods currently lead to similar bounds on the fraction of energy that can be emitted in neutrinos. Nevertheless, combining both methods should allow to strongly constrain the source population in case of a future neutrino counterpart detection. The proposed approach can and will be applied to potential upcoming LIGO events, including binary neutron stars and black hole-neutron star mergers, for which a neutrino counterpart is expected.