A search using GEO600 for gravitational waves coincident with fast radio bursts from SGR 1935+2154

TL;DR

This study searched for gravitational waves coincident with fast radio bursts from SGR 1935+2154 using GEO600 data, setting upper limits on GW emission and finding no significant signals.

Contribution

It provides the first upper limits on gravitational wave emission associated with FRBs from SGR 1935+2154 using GEO600 data, including both short and long-duration searches.

Findings

No significant GW signals detected.

Established upper limits on GW energy at various frequencies.

Constrained the GW-to-radio energy ratio to be ≤10^{14}-10^{16}.

Abstract

The magnetar SGR 1935+2154 is the only known Galactic source of fast radio bursts (FRBs). FRBs from SGR 1935+2154 were first detected by CHIME/FRB and STARE2 in 2020 April, after the conclusion of the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaborations' O3 observing run. Here we analyze four periods of gravitational wave (GW) data from the GEO600 detector coincident with four periods of FRB activity detected by CHIME/FRB, as well as X-ray glitches and X-ray bursts detected by NICER and NuSTAR close to the time of one of the FRBs. We do not detect any significant GW emission from any of the events. Instead, using a short-duration GW search (for bursts $\leq$ 1 s) we derive 50\% (90\%) upper limits of $10^{48}$ ($10^{49}$) erg for GWs at 300 Hz and $10^{49}$ ($10^{50}$) erg at 2 kHz, and constrain the GW-to-radio energy ratio to $\leq 10^{14} - 10^{16}$. We also derive upper limits from a long-duration search for bursts with durations between 1 and 10 s. These represent the strictest upper limits on concurrent GW emission from FRBs.