On echo intervals in gravitational wave echo analysis

• Published in: The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields Particles and fields, 2019-09, Vol.79 (9), p.1-8, Article 726
• Main Authors: Wang, Yu-Tong, Zhang, Jun, Zhou, Shuang-Yong, Piao, Yun-Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; Astrophysics and Cosmology; Bayesian analysis; Constraint modelling; Detectors; Elementary Particles; Gravitation; Gravitational waves; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Intervals; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; Searching; Sensitivity analysis; String Theory
• ISSN: 1434-6044; 1434-6052
• DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-019-7234-1

Gravitational wave echoes, if they exist, could encode important information of new physics from the strong gravity regime. Current echo searches usually assume constant interval echoes (CIEs) a priori, although unequal interval echoes (UIEs) are also possible. Despite of its simplicity, the using of CIE templates need to be properly justified, especially given the high sensitivity of future gravitational wave detectors. In this paper, we assess the necessity of UIE templates in echo searches. By reconstructing injected UIE signals with both CIE and UIE templates, we show that the CIE template may significantly misinterpret the echo signals if the variation of the interval is greater than the statistical errors of the interval, which is further confirmed by a Bayesian analysis on model stelection. We also forecast the constraints on the echo intervals given by future GW detectors such as Advanced LIGO and Einstein Telescope.