Upper limits on the gravitational mass loss of the Galaxy and the LIGO burst searches

TL;DR

This paper explores how upper limits on the Galaxy's mass loss, derived from astronomical observations, can inform gravitational-wave burst searches, potentially enabling indirect detection through galactic dynamics with improved astronomical data.

Contribution

It introduces new upper limits on gravitational-wave burst event rates based on Galactic mass loss constraints, surpassing previous LIGO limits for sub-millisecond bursts.

Findings

Limits are stronger than LIGO's for certain burst durations.

Detection of burst rates near these limits could imply indirect gravitational wave detection.

Future astronomical observations could enhance the sensitivity of such indirect detections.

Abstract

We discuss the relevance, for the search of gravitational-wave bursts, of upper limits on the total mass loss of the Galaxy which come from various astronomical observations. For sub-millisecond bursts we obtain limits on the event rate, as a function of the GW amplitude, which are stronger than the corresponding upper limits set by LIGO in the S2 run. A detection of a burst rate saturating these limits, with the sensitivities of present and near-future runs, would imply that, with some improvement on the accuracy of astronomical observations of the Galaxy, as foreseen with the GAIA mission, it might be possible to detect gravitational waves indirectly from their effect on galactic dynamics.