Enhancing confidence in the detection of gravitational waves from compact binaries using signal coherence

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Bayesian coherence-based method to improve gravitational wave detection from compact binaries, especially for weak signals, by better distinguishing them from noise across detector networks.

Contribution

It presents a novel Bayesian approach that enhances detection confidence by leveraging signal coherence, applicable even below traditional detection thresholds.

Findings

Method effectively rejects noise transients

Improves sensitivity to weak signals

Demonstrated on real and simulated data

Abstract

We show that gravitational-wave signals from compact binary mergers may be better distinguished from instrumental noise transients by using Bayesian models that look for signal coherence across a detector network. This can be achieved even when the signal power is below the usual threshold for detection. This method could reject the vast majority of noise transients, and therefore increase sensitivity to weak gravitational waves. We demonstrate this using simulated signals, as well as data for GW150914 and LVT151012. Finally, we explore ways of incorporating our method into existing Advanced LIGO and Virgo searches to make them significantly more powerful.