The Distribution of Coalescing Compact Binaries in the Local Universe: Prospects for Gravitational-wave Observations

Merging compact binaries are the most viable and best-studied candidates for gravitational-wave (GW) detection by the fully operational network of ground-based observatories. In anticipation of the first detections, the expected distribution of GW sources in the local universe is of considerable int...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2010-12, Vol.725 (1), p.L91-L96
Main Authors: Kelley, Luke Zoltan, Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico, Zemp, Marcel, Diemand, Jürg, Mandel, Ilya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BARYONS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
GALAXIES
GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
HADRONS
INTERFEROMETERS
ISOTROPY
MATHEMATICAL SPACE
MATTER
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NEUTRONS
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
NUCLEONS
PHASE SPACE
PULSARS
RED SHIFT
SIMULATION
SPACE
STARS
UNIVERSE
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Summary:Merging compact binaries are the most viable and best-studied candidates for gravitational-wave (GW) detection by the fully operational network of ground-based observatories. In anticipation of the first detections, the expected distribution of GW sources in the local universe is of considerable interest. Here we investigate the full phase-space distribution of coalescing compact binaries at z = 0 using dark matter simulations of structure formation. The fact that these binary systems acquire large barycentric velocities at birth ('kicks') results in merger site distributions that are more diffusely distributed with respect to their putative hosts, with mergers occurring out to distances of a few Mpc from the host halo. Redshift estimates based solely on the nearest galaxy in projection can, as a result, be inaccurate. On the other hand, large offsets from the host galaxy could aid the detection of faint optical counterparts and should be considered when designing strategies for follow-up observations. The degree of isotropy in the projected sky distributions of GW sources is found to be augmented with increasing kick velocity and to be severely enhanced if progenitor systems possess large kicks as inferred from the known population of pulsars and double compact binaries. Even in the absence of observed electromagnetic counterparts, the differences in sky distributions of binaries produced by disparate kick-velocity models could be discerned by GW observatories, within the expected accuracies and detection rates of advanced LIGO--in particular with the addition of more interferometers.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/725/1/L91