LISA Science Results in the Presence of Data Disturbances

TL;DR

This paper examines how data disturbances affect LISA's ability to detect signals, focusing on identifying and fitting monochromatic signals amidst these disturbances and assessing their impact on scientific outcomes.

Contribution

It introduces methods for identifying and fitting signals in disturbed data and analyzes the limitations imposed by data disturbances on LISA's science results.

Findings

Data disturbances appear as additive quadratic functions in the data.

Effective identification and fitting methods can mitigate disturbance effects.

Science result limitations depend on the frequency of data disturbances.

Abstract

Each spacecraft in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna houses a proof mass which follows a geodesic through spacetime. Disturbances which change the proof mass position, momentum, and/or acceleration will appear in the LISA data stream as additive quadratic functions. These data disturbances inhibit signal extraction and must be removed. In this paper we discuss the identification and fitting of monochromatic signals in the data set in the presence of data disturbances. We also present a preliminary analysis of the extent of science result limitations with respect to the frequency of data disturbances.