Gravitational-wave searches in the era of Advanced LIGO and Virgo

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current state of gravitational-wave detectors and data analysis methods used by major observatories, highlighting recent advances and the different classes of gravitational waves targeted by these techniques.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of the detector technologies and data analysis algorithms employed in gravitational-wave astronomy across multiple observatories.

Findings

Overview of detector capabilities and sensitivities

Description of data analysis methods for different gravitational wave sources

Summary of recent progress in gravitational-wave searches

Abstract

The field of gravitational-wave astronomy has been opened up by gravitational-wave observations made with interferometric detectors. This review surveys the current state-of-the-art in gravitational-wave detectors and data analysis methods currently used by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in the United States and the Virgo Observatory in Italy. These analysis methods will also be used in the recently completed KAGRA Observatory in Japan. Data analysis algorithms are developed to target one of four classes of gravitational waves. Short duration, transient sources include compact binary coalescences, and burst sources originating from poorly modelled or unanticipated sources. Long duration sources include sources which emit continuous signals of consistent frequency, and many unresolved sources forming a stochastic background. A description of potential sources and the search for gravitational waves from each of these classes are detailed.