Gravitational Wave Extraction Research Articles

Space-based gravitational wave signal detection and extraction with deep neural network

Space-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors will be able to observe signals from sources that are otherwise nearly impossible from current ground-based detection. Consequently, the well established signal detection method, matched filtering, will require a complex template bank, leading to a computational cost that is too expensive in practice. Here, we develop a high-accuracy GW signal detection and extraction method for all space-based GW sources. As a proof of concept, we show that a science-driven and uniform multi-stage self-attention-based deep neural network can identify synthetic signals that are submerged in Gaussian noise. Our method exhibits a detection rate exceeding 99% in identifying signals from various sources, with the signal-to-noise ratio at 50, at a false alarm rate of 1%. while obtaining at least 95% similarity compared with target signals. We further demonstrate the interpretability and strong generalization behavior for several extended scenarios.

Spectral Cauchy-characteristic extraction of the gravitational wave news function

We present an improved spectral algorithm for Cauchy-characteristic extraction and characteristic evolution of gravitational waves in numerical relativity. The new algorithms improve spectral convergence both at the poles of the spherical-polar grid and at future null infinity, as well as increase the temporal resolution of the code. The key to the success of these algorithms is a new set of high-accuracy tests, which we present here. We demonstrate the accuracy of the code and compare with the existing PittNull implementation.

Extracting gravitational waves induced by plasma turbulence in the early Universe through an averaging process

This work is a follow-up to the paper, ‘Numerical relativity as a tool for studying the early Universe’. In this article, we determine if cosmological gravitational waves can be accurately extracted from a dynamical spacetime using an averaging process as opposed to conventional methods of gravitational wave extraction using a complex Weyl scalar. We calculate the normalized energy density, strain and degree of polarization of gravitational waves produced by a simulated turbulent plasma similar to what was believed to have existed shortly after the electroweak scale. This calculation is completed using two numerical codes, one which utilizes full general relativity calculations based on modified BSSN equations while the other utilizes a linearized approximation of general relativity. Our results show that the spectrum of gravitational waves calculated from the nonlinear code using an averaging process is nearly indistinguishable from those calculated from the linear code. This result validates the use of the averaging process for gravitational wave extraction of cosmological systems.

Extraction of gravitational waves in numerical relativity.

A numerical-relativity calculation yields in general a solution of the Einstein equations including also a radiative part, which is in practice computed in a region of finite extent. Since gravitational radiation is properly defined only at null infinity and in an appropriate coordinate system, the accurate estimation of the emitted gravitational waves represents an old and non-trivial problem in numerical relativity. A number of methods have been developed over the years to “extract” the radiative part of the solution from a numerical simulation and these include: quadrupole formulas, gauge-invariant metric perturbations, Weyl scalars, and characteristic extraction. We review and discuss each method, in terms of both its theoretical background as well as its implementation. Finally, we provide a brief comparison of the various methods in terms of their inherent advantages and disadvantages.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s41114-016-0001-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

On the accuracy and precision of numerical waveforms: effect of waveform extraction methodology

We present a new set of 95 numerical relativity simulations of non-precessing binary black holes (BBHs). The simulations sample comprehensively both black-hole spins up to spin magnitude of 0.9, and cover mass ratios 1–3. The simulations cover on average 24 inspiral orbits, plus merger and ringdown, with low initial orbital eccentricities . A subset of the simulations extends the coverage of non-spinning BBHs up to mass ratio q = 10. Gravitational waveforms at asymptotic infinity are computed with two independent techniques: extrapolation and Cauchy characteristic extraction. An error analysis based on noise-weighted inner products is performed. We find that numerical truncation error, error due to gravitational wave extraction, and errors due to the Fourier transformation of signals with finite length of the numerical waveforms are of similar magnitude, with gravitational wave extraction errors dominating at noise-weighted mismatches of . This set of waveforms will serve to validate and improve aligned-spin waveform models for gravitational wave science.

A note on gravitational wave extraction from binary simulations

In previous works, we developed a perturbative extrapolation formula to obtain gravitational waves at infinity from binary black hole simulations, based on the Regge–Wheeler–Zerilli formalism. In practice, this formula was basically derived in a background flat spacetime. We derive here an estimation of errors and an improved extrapolation formula by using the Teukolsky perturbative equation for a background Kerr spacetime. The improved formula requires knowledge about a mass and spin of the background spacetime.

Numerical evolution of general Robinson-Trautman spacetimes: Code tests, wave forms, and the efficiency of the gravitational wave extraction

We present an efficient numerical code based on spectral methods to integrate the field equations of general Robinson-Trautmann spacetimes. The most natural basis functions for the spectral expansion of the metric functions are spherical harmonics. Using the values of appropriate combinations of the metric functions at the collocation points, we have managed to reduce expression swell when the number of spherical harmonics increases. Our numerical code runs with relatively little computational resources and the code tests have shown excellent accuracy and convergence. The code has been applied to situations of physical interest in the context of Robsinson-Trautmann geometries such as: perturbation of the exterior gravitational field of a spheroid of matter; perturbation of an initially boosted black hole; and the nonfrontal collision of two Schwarzschild black holes. In dealing with these processes we have derived analytical lower and upper bounds on the velocity of the resulting black hole and the efficiency of the gravitational wave extraction, respectively. Numerical experiments were performed to determine the forms of the gravitational waves and the efficiency in each situation of interest.

Gravitational wave extraction in simulations of rotating stellar core collapse

We perform simulations of general relativistic rotating stellar core collapse and compute the gravitational waves (GWs) emitted in the core-bounce phase of three representative models via multiple techniques. The simplest technique, the quadrupole formula (QF), estimates the GW content in the spacetime from the mass-quadrupole tensor only. It is strictly valid only in the weak-field and slow-motion approximation. For the first time, we apply GW extraction methods in core collapse that are fully curvature based and valid for strongly radiating and highly relativistic sources. These techniques are not restricted to weak-field and slow-motion assumptions. We employ three extraction methods computing (i) the Newman-Penrose (NP) scalar ${\ensuremath{\Psi}}_{4}$, (ii) Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli-Moncrief master functions, and (iii) Cauchy-characteristic extraction (CCE) allowing for the extraction of GWs at future null infinity, where the spacetime is asymptotically flat and the GW content is unambiguously defined. The latter technique is the only one not suffering from residual gauge and finite-radius effects. All curvature-based methods suffer from strong nonlinear drifts. We employ the fixed-frequency integration technique as a high-pass waveform filter. Using the CCE results as a benchmark, we find that finite-radius NP extraction yields results that agree nearly perfectly in phase, but differ in amplitude by $\ensuremath{\sim}1%--7%$ at core bounce, depending on the model. Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli-Moncrief waveforms, while, in general, agreeing in phase, contain spurious high-frequency noise of comparable amplitudes to those of the relatively weak GWs emitted in core collapse. We also find remarkably good agreement of the waveforms obtained from the QF with those obtained from CCE. The results from QF agree very well in phase and systematically underpredict peak amplitudes by $\ensuremath{\sim}5%--11%$, which is comparable to the NP results and is certainly within the uncertainties associated with core collapse physics.

Numerical relativity forDdimensional space-times: Head-on collisions of black holes and gravitational wave extraction

Higher dimensional black holes play an exciting role in fundamental physics, such as high energy physics. In this paper, we use the formalism and numerical code reported in [1] to study the head-on collision of two black holes. For this purpose we provide a detailed treatment of gravitational wave extraction in generic $D$ dimensional space-times, which uses the Kodama-Ishibashi formalism. For the first time, we present the results of numerical simulations of the head-on collision in five space-time dimensions, together with the relevant physical quantities. We show that the total radiated energy, when two black holes collide from rest at infinity, is approximately $(0.089\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006)%$ of the center of mass energy, slightly larger than the 0.055% obtained in the four-dimensional case, and that the ringdown signal at late time is in very good agreement with perturbative calculations.

Publisher’s Note: Gravitational-wave extraction from neutron-star oscillations: Comparing linear and nonlinear techniques [Phys. Rev. D79, 024002 (2009)

Received 26 January 2010DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.81.049902©2010 American Physical Society

Gravitational-wave extraction from neutron-star oscillations: Comparing linear and nonlinear techniques

The main aim of this study is the comparison of gravitational waveforms obtained from numerical simulations which employ different numerical evolution approaches and different wave-extraction techniques. For this purpose, we evolve an oscillating, nonrotating, polytropic neutron-star model with two different approaches: a full nonlinear relativistic simulation (in three dimensions) and a linear simulation based on perturbation theory. The extraction of the gravitational-wave signal is performed via three methods: the gauge-invariant curvature-perturbation theory based on the Newman-Penrose scalar ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{4}$; the gauge-invariant Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli-Moncrief metric-perturbation theory of a Schwarzschild space-time; some generalization of the quadrupole emission formula.

How far away is far enough for extracting numerical waveforms, and how much do they depend on the extraction method?

We present a method for extracting gravitational waves from numerical spacetimes which generalizes and refines one of the standard methods based on the Regge–Wheeler–Zerilli perturbation formalism. At the analytical level, this generalization allows a much more general class of slicing conditions for the background geometry, and is thus not restricted to Schwarzschild-like coordinates. At the numerical level, our approach uses high-order multi-block methods, which improve both the accuracy of our simulations and of our extraction procedure. In particular, the latter is simplified since there is no need for interpolation, and we can afford to extract accurate waves at large radii with only little additional computational effort. We then present fully nonlinear three-dimensional numerical evolutions of a distorted Schwarzschild black hole in Kerr–Schild coordinates with an odd parity perturbation and analyse the improvement that we gain from our generalized wave extraction, comparing our new method to the standard one. In particular, we analyse in detail the quasinormal frequencies of the extracted waves, using both methods. We do so by comparing the extracted waves with one-dimensional high resolution solutions of the corresponding generalized Regge–Wheeler equation. We explicitly see that the errors in the waveforms extracted with the standard method at fixed, finite extraction radii do not converge to zero with increasing resolution. We find that even with observers as far out as R = 80M—which is larger than what is commonly used in state-of-the-art simulations—the assumption in the standard method that the background is close to having Schwarzschild-like coordinates increases the error in the extracted waves considerably. Furthermore, those errors are dominated by the extraction method itself and not by the accuracy of our simulations. For extraction radii between 20M and 80M and for the resolutions that we use in this paper, our new method decreases the errors in the extracted waves, compared to the standard method, by between one and three orders of magnitude. In a general scenario, for example a collision of compact objects, there is no precise definition of gravitational radiation at a finite distance, and gravitational wave extraction methods at such distances are thus inherently approximate. The results of this paper bring up the possibility that different choices in the wave extraction procedure at a fixed and finite distance may result in relative differences in the waveforms which are actually larger than the numerical errors in the solution.

Exact boundary conditions in numerical relativity using multiple grids: scalar field tests

Cauchy-characteristic matching (CCM), the combination of a central 3 + 1 Cauchy code with an exterior characteristic code connected across a timelike interface, is a promising technique for the generation and extraction of gravitational waves. While it provides a tool for the exact specification of boundary conditions for the Cauchy evolution, it also allows us to follow gravitational radiation all the way to infinity, where it is unambiguously defined. We present a new fourth-order accurate finite difference CCM scheme for a first-order reduction of the wave equation around a Schwarzschild black hole in axisymmetry. The matching at the interface between the Cauchy and the characteristic regions is done by transferring appropriate characteristic/null variables. Numerical experiments indicate that the algorithm is fourth-order convergent. As an application we reproduce the expected late-time tail decay for the scalar field.

Gravitational-Wave Extraction from an Inspiraling Configuration of Merging Black Holes

We present new ideas for evolving black holes through a computational grid without excision, which enable accurate and stable evolutions of binary black hole systems with the accurate determination of gravitational waveforms directly from the wave zone region. Rather than excising the black hole interiors, our approach follows the "puncture" treatment of black holes, but utilizing a new gauge condition which allows the black holes to move successfully through the computational domain. We apply these techniques to an inspiraling binary, modeling the radiation generated during the final plunge and ringdown. We demonstrate convergence of the waveforms and good conservation of mass-energy, with just over 3% of the system's mass converted to gravitational radiation.

Merger of binary neutron stars to a black hole: Disk mass, short gamma-ray bursts, and quasinormal mode ringing

Three-dimensional simulations for the merger of binary neutron stars are performed in the framework of full general relativity. We pay particular attention to the black hole formation case and to the resulting mass of the surrounding disk for exploring the possibility for formation of the central engine of short-duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs). Hybrid equations of state are adopted mimicking realistic, stiff nuclear equations of state (EOSs), for which the maximum allowed gravitational mass of cold and spherical neutron stars, ${M}_{\mathrm{sph}}$, is larger than $2{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. Such stiff EOSs are adopted motivated by the recent possible discovery of a heavy neutron star of mass $\ensuremath{\sim}2.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. For the simulations, we focus on binary neutron stars of the ADM mass $M\ensuremath{\gtrsim}2.6{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. For an ADM mass larger than the threshold mass ${M}_{\mathrm{thr}}$, the merger results in prompt formation of a black hole irrespective of the mass ratio ${Q}_{M}$ with $0.65\ensuremath{\lesssim}{Q}_{M}\ensuremath{\le}1$. The value of ${M}_{\mathrm{thr}}$ depends on the EOSs and is approximately written as $1.3--1.35{M}_{\mathrm{sph}}$ for the chosen EOSs. For the black hole formation case, we evolve the space-time using a black hole excision technique and determine the mass of a quasistationary disk surrounding the black hole. The disk mass steeply increases with decreasing the value of ${Q}_{M}$ for given ADM mass and EOS. This suggests that a merger with small value of ${Q}_{M}$ is a candidate for producing central engine of SGRBs. For $M<{M}_{\mathrm{thr}}$, the outcome is a hypermassive neutron star of a large ellipticity. Because of the nonaxisymmetry, angular momentum is transported outward. If the hypermassive neutron star collapses to a black hole after the long-term angular momentum transport, the disk mass may be $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}0.01{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ irrespective of ${Q}_{M}$. Gravitational waves are computed in terms of a gauge-invariant wave extraction technique. In the formation of the hypermassive neutron star, quasiperiodic gravitational waves of frequency between 3 and 3.5 kHz are emitted irrespective of EOSs. The effective amplitude of gravitational waves can be $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}21}$ at a distance of 50 Mpc, and hence, it may be detected by advanced laser-interferometers. For the black hole formation case, the black hole excision technique enables a long-term computation and extraction of ring-down gravitational waves associated with a black hole quasinormal mode. It is found that the frequency and amplitude are $\ensuremath{\approx}6.5--7\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kHz}$ and $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}22}$ at a distance of 50 Mpc for the binary of mass $M\ensuremath{\approx}2.7--2.9{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$.

Gravitational wave extraction based on Cauchy–characteristic extraction and characteristic evolution

We implement a code to find the gravitational news at future null infinity by using data from a Cauchy code as boundary data for a characteristic code. This technique of Cauchy–characteristic extraction (CCE) allows for the unambiguous extraction of gravitational waves from numerical simulations. We first test the technique on non-radiative spacetimes: Minkowski spacetime, perturbations of Minkowski spacetime and static black hole spacetimes in various gauges. We show the convergence and limitations of the algorithm and illustrate its success in cases where other wave extraction methods fail. We further apply our techniques to a standard radiative test case for wave extraction, a linearized Teukolsky wave, presenting our results in comparison to the Zerilli technique, and we argue for the advantages of our method of extraction.

Black hole head-on collisions and gravitational waves with fixed mesh-refinement and dynamic singularity excision

We present long-term-stable and convergent evolutions of head-on black-hole collisions and extraction of gravitational waves generated during the merger and subsequent ring-down. The new ingredients in this work are the use of fixed mesh-refinement and dynamical singularity excision techniques. We are able to carry out head-on collisions with large initial separations and demonstrate that our excision infrastructure is capable of accommodating the motion of the individual black holes across the computational domain as well as their merger. We extract gravitational waves from these simulations using the Zerilli-Moncrief formalism and find the ring-down radiation to be, as expected, dominated by the $\ensuremath{\ell}=2$, $m=0$ quasinormal mode. The total radiated energy is about $0.1%$ of the total Arnowitt-Deser-Misner mass of the system.

Accuracy requirements for the calculation of gravitational waveforms from coalescing compact binaries in numerical relativity

I discuss the accuracy requirements on numerical relativity calculations of inspiraling compact object binaries whose extracted gravitational waveforms are to be used as templates for matched filtering signal extraction and physical parameter estimation in modern interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Using a post-Newtonian point particle model for the pre-merger phase of the binary inspiral, I calculate the maximum allowable errors for the mass and relative velocity and positions of the binary during numerical simulations of the binary inspiral. These maximum allowable errors are compared to the errors of state-of-the-art numerical simulations of multiple-orbit binary neutron star calculations in full general relativity, and are found to be smaller by several orders of magnitude. A post-Newtonian model for the error of these numerical simulations suggests that adaptive mesh refinement coupled with second order accurate finite difference codes will {\it not} be able to robustly obtain the accuracy required for reliable gravitational wave extraction on Terabyte-scale computers. I conclude that higher order methods (higher order finite difference methods and/or spectral methods) combined with adaptive mesh refinement and/or multipatch technology will be needed for robustly accurate gravitational wave extraction from numerical relativity calculations of binary coalescence scenarios.

Gauge-Invariant Gravitational Wave Extraction from Coalescing Binary Neutron Stars

We report application of a method for extracting gravitational waves to three-dimensional numerical simulation on coalescing binary neutron stars. We found the extracted wave form includes the components corresponding to the quadrupole part in the Newtonian potential of the background metric, if it is monitored at a position not far from the central stars. We present how to eliminate it.

Axisymmetric core collapse simulations using characteristic numerical relativity

We present results from nonrotating axisymmetric stellar core collapse simulations in general relativity. Our hydrodynamics code has proved robust and accurate enough to allow for a detailed analysis of the global dynamics of the collapse. Contrary to traditional approaches based on the 3+1 formulation of the gravitational field equations, our framework uses a foliation based on a family of outgoing light cones, emanating from a regular center, and terminating at future null infinity. Such a coordinate system is well adapted to the study of interesting dynamical spacetimes in relativistic astrophysics such as stellar core collapse and neutron star formation. Perhaps most importantly this procedure allows for the extraction of gravitational waves at future null infinity, along with the commonly used quadrupole formalism for the gravitational wave extraction. Our results concerning the gravitational wave signals show noticeable disagreement when those are extracted by computing the Bondi news at future null infinity on the one hand and by using the quadrupole formula on the other hand. We have a strong indication that for our setup the quadrupole formula on the null cone does not lead to physical gravitational wave signals. The Bondi gravitational wave signals extracted at infinity show typical oscillation frequencies of about 0.5 kHz.