Deep Search for Joint Sources of Gravitational Waves and High-Energy Neutrinos with IceCube During the Third Observing Run of LIGO and Virgo

TL;DR

This study conducted a comprehensive search for joint gravitational wave and high-energy neutrino sources during LIGO and Virgo's third observing run, but found no significant detections, setting constraints on source rates and neutrino emissions.

Contribution

It is the first to include sub-threshold events in a joint search, enhancing sensitivity to faint cosmic sources of both messengers.

Findings

No significant joint sources detected.

Constraints placed on the rate densities of joint sources.

Limits on neutrino emission from gravitational-wave sources.

Abstract

The discovery of joint sources of high-energy neutrinos and gravitational waves has been a primary target for the LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, and IceCube observatories. The joint detection of high-energy neutrinos and gravitational waves would provide insight into cosmic processes, from the dynamics of compact object mergers and stellar collapses to the mechanisms driving relativistic outflows. The joint detection of multiple cosmic messengers can also elevate the significance of the common observation even when some or all of the constituent messengers are sub-threshold, i.e. not significant enough to declare their detection individually. Using data from the LIGO, Virgo, and IceCube observatories, including sub-threshold events, we searched for common sources of gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos during the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. Our search did not identify significant joint sources. We derive constraints on the rate densities of joint sources. Our results constrain the isotropic neutrino emission from gravitational-wave sources for very high values of the total energy emitted in neutrinos (> $10^{52} - 10^{54}$ erg).