Implementation of a new weave-based search pipeline for continuous gravitational waves from known binary systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces BinaryWeave, a new search pipeline for continuous gravitational waves from known binary systems like Sco X-1, using efficient template banks to improve detection sensitivity across a broad parameter space.

Contribution

The paper presents BinaryWeave, a novel semi-coherent search pipeline employing lattice-based template banks for detecting continuous gravitational waves from binary systems.

Findings

Pipeline achieves high sensitivity over large parameter space

Simulations show effectiveness with realistic computing budgets

Stricter orbital constraints are needed for improved sensitivity

Abstract

Scorpius X-1 (Sco X-1) has long been considered one of the most promising targets for detecting continuous gravitational waves with ground-based detectors. Observational searches for Sco X-1 have achieved substantial sensitivity improvements in recent years, to the point of starting to rule out emission at the torque-balance limit in the low-frequency range \sim 40--180 Hz. In order to further enhance the detection probability, however, there is still much ground to cover for the full range of plausible signal frequencies \sim 20--1500 Hz, as well as a wider range of uncertainties in binary orbital parameters. Motivated by this challenge, we have developed BinaryWeave, a new search pipeline for continuous waves from a neutron star in a known binary system such as Sco X-1. This pipeline employs a semi-coherent StackSlide F-statistic using efficient lattice-based metric template banks, which can cover wide ranges in frequency and unknown orbital parameters. We present a detailed timing model and extensive injection-and-recovery simulations that illustrate that the pipeline can achieve high detection sensitivities over a significant portion of the parameter space when assuming sufficiently large (but realistic) computing budgets. Our studies further underline the need for stricter constraints on the Sco X-1 orbital parameters from electromagnetic observations, in order to be able to push sensitivity below the torque-balance limit over the entire range of possible source parameters.