Gravitational wave detection by a spherical antenna: the angular sensitivity of resonators in the TIGA configuration and its variation with sidereal time and galactic longitude

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how spherical gravitational wave detectors with TIGA resonator configurations respond to incoming waves, considering directional sensitivity and variations over sidereal time and galactic longitude.

Contribution

It provides a method to interpret detector output data by modeling responses of quadrupole modes and resonators based on wave direction and source position.

Findings

Response patterns depend on wave direction and detector configuration.

Sidereal time and galactic longitude influence resonator responses.

Predictive model for detector responses to specific gravitational wave sources.

Abstract

Experimental projects using spherical antennas to detect gravitational waves are nowdays a concrete reality. The main purpose of this paper is to give a possible way of interpreting output data from such a system. Responses of the five fundamental quadrupole modes and of the six resonators in TIGA collocations are shown as a function of the incoming direction of the incident wave. Then, for a source lying in the galactic plane, sidereal time and galactic longitude dependence is given. Thus, once a candidate source of gravitational waves is considered, we can exactly predict the resonators' response as a function of time.