Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.120.201102

Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

109 Scopus citations

Abstract

The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58×10-8, Ω0V<6.35×10-8, and Ω0S<1.08×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz.

Original language	English
Article number	201102
Journal	Physical Review Letters
Volume	120
Issue number	20
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.120.201102
State	Published - 18 May 2018
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Physical Society.

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) for the construction and operation of the LIGO Laboratory and Advanced LIGO as well as the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of the United Kingdom, the Max-Planck-Society (MPS), and the State of Niedersachsen, Germany for support of the construction of Advanced LIGO and construction and operation of the GEO600 detector. Additional support for Advanced LIGO was provided by the Australian Research Council. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, for the construction and operation of the Virgo detector and the creation and support of the EGO consortium. The authors also gratefully acknowledge research support from these agencies as well as by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India, the Department of Science and Technology, India, the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, India, the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación, the Vicepresidència i Conselleria d’Innovació, Recerca i Turisme and the Conselleria d’Educació i Universitat del Govern de les Illes Balears, the Conselleria d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana, the National Science Centre of Poland, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Russian Science Foundation, the European Commission, the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), the Royal Society, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), the Lyon Institute of Origins (LIO), the Paris Île-de-France Region, the National Research, Development and Innovation Office Hungary (NKFI), the National Research Foundation of Korea, Industry Canada and the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations, and Communications, the International Center for Theoretical Physics South American Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-SAIFR), the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Leverhulme Trust, the Research Corporation, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan and the Kavli Foundation. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the NSF, STFC, MPS, INFN, CNRS and the State of Niedersachsen, Germany for provision of computational resources.

Funders	Funder number
Not added	ST/N005422/1, ST/M005844/1, ST/K000845/1, ST/N000633/1, ST/N000072/1, ST/P000258/1, ST/H002006/1, ST/J00166X/1, ST/N005430/1
National Science Foundation	1708081, 1607585, 1700765, 1707835, 1404139
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Kavli Foundation
National Kidney Foundation of Iowa
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation
Science and Technology Facilities Council	PPA/G/S/2002/00652, Gravitational Waves, ST/I006269/1
Leverhulme Trust
Royal Society
Scottish Funding Council
Scottish Universities Physics Alliance
European Commission
Australian Research Council
Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science	18H03698
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung	159922
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Science and Engineering Research Board
Russian Foundation for Basic Research
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Generalitat Valenciana
Hungarian Scientific Research Fund
National Research Foundation of Korea
Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Narodowe Centrum Nauki
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Russian Science Foundation
European Regional Development Fund
Universitat de les Illes Balears
Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal
Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research

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10.1103/physrevlett.120.201102

http://link.aps.org/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.201102

Cite this

@article{3634a5c8e1494429a88775017c4c613e,

title = "Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background",

abstract = "The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58×10-8, Ω0V<6.35×10-8, and Ω0S<1.08×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz.",

author = "{LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration} and Abbott, {B. P.} and R. Abbott and Abbott, {T. D.} and F. Acernese and K. Ackley and C. Adams and T. Adams and P. Addesso and Adhikari, {R. X.} and Adya, {V. B.} and C. Affeldt and M. Afrough and B. Agarwal and M. Agathos and K. Agatsuma and N. Aggarwal and Aguiar, {O. D.} and L. Aiello and A. Ain and P. Ajith and B. Allen and G. Allen and A. Allocca and Altin, {P. A.} and A. Amato and A. Ananyeva and Anderson, {S. B.} and Anderson, {W. G.} and Angelova, {S. V.} and S. Antier and S. Appert and K. Arai and Araya, {M. C.} and Areeda, {J. S.} and N. Arnaud and S. Ascenzi and G. Ashton and M. Ast and Aston, {S. M.} and P. Astone and Atallah, {D. V.} and P. Aufmuth and C. Aulbert and K. Aultoneal and C. Austin and A. Avila-Alvarez and S. Babak and P. Bacon and Bader, {M. K.M.} and O. Birnholtz",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 American Physical Society.",

year = "2018",

month = may,

day = "18",

doi = "10.1103/physrevlett.120.201102",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "120",

journal = "Physical Review Letters",

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T1 - Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

AU - LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration

AU - Abbott, B. P.

AU - Abbott, R.

AU - Abbott, T. D.

AU - Acernese, F.

AU - Ackley, K.

AU - Adams, C.

AU - Adams, T.

AU - Addesso, P.

AU - Adhikari, R. X.

AU - Adya, V. B.

AU - Affeldt, C.

AU - Afrough, M.

AU - Agarwal, B.

AU - Agathos, M.

AU - Agatsuma, K.

AU - Aggarwal, N.

AU - Aguiar, O. D.

AU - Aiello, L.

AU - Ain, A.

AU - Ajith, P.

AU - Allen, B.

AU - Allen, G.

AU - Allocca, A.

AU - Altin, P. A.

AU - Amato, A.

AU - Ananyeva, A.

AU - Anderson, S. B.

AU - Anderson, W. G.

AU - Angelova, S. V.

AU - Antier, S.

AU - Appert, S.

AU - Arai, K.

AU - Araya, M. C.

AU - Areeda, J. S.

AU - Arnaud, N.

AU - Ascenzi, S.

AU - Ashton, G.

AU - Ast, M.

AU - Aston, S. M.

AU - Astone, P.

AU - Atallah, D. V.

AU - Aufmuth, P.

AU - Aulbert, C.

AU - Aultoneal, K.

AU - Austin, C.

AU - Avila-Alvarez, A.

AU - Babak, S.

AU - Bacon, P.

AU - Bader, M. K.M.

AU - Birnholtz, O.

PY - 2018/5/18

Y1 - 2018/5/18

N2 - The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58×10-8, Ω0V<6.35×10-8, and Ω0S<1.08×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz.

AB - The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58×10-8, Ω0V<6.35×10-8, and Ω0S<1.08×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz.

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DO - 10.1103/physrevlett.120.201102

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JO - Physical Review Letters

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ER -

Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

Abstract

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