Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts during the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run and Implications for the Origin of GRB 150906B

Abstract

We present the results of the search for gravitational waves (GWs) associated with γ-ray bursts detected during the first observing run of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). We find no evidence of a GW signal for any of the 41 γ-ray bursts for which LIGO data are available with sufficient duration. For all γ-ray bursts, we place lower bounds on the distance to the source using the optimistic assumption that GWs with an energy of M c 10 2 2 - were emitted within the 16-500 Hz band, and we find a median 90% confidence limit of 71 Mpc at 150 Hz. For the subset of 19 short/hard γ-ray bursts, we place lower bounds on distance with a median 90% confidence limit of 90 Mpc for binary neutron star (BNS) coalescences, and 150and 139 Mpc for neutron star-black hole coalescences with spins aligned to the orbital angular momentum and in a generic configuration, respectively. These are the highest distance limits ever achieved by GW searches. We also discuss in detail the results of the search for GWs associated with GRB 150906B, an event that was localized by the InterPlanetary Network near the local galaxy NGC 3313, which is at a luminosity distance of 54 Mpc (z=0.0124). Assuming the γ-ray emission is beamed with a jet half-opening angle 30  , we exclude a BNS and a neutron star-black hole in NGC3313 as the progenitor of this event with confidence >99%. Further, we exclude such progenitors up to a distance of 102 Mpc and 170 Mpc, respectively.

Radio forensics could unmask nearby off-axis gamma-ray bursts

“…Finally, Table 1 also lists available exclusion distance lower limits from astrophysically triggered searches (Abbott et al 2008) using GW data. Of the GRBs in our sample, only GRB 151228A has a measured exclusion distance lower limit of 122 Mpc for a BNS merger, which sets a lower distance limit for this event (Abbott et al 2017b).…”

Prospects of joint detections of neutron star mergers and short GRBs with Gaussian structured jets

“…Chen & Holz (2013); Dietz et al (2013); Clark et al (2015)). In recent years, there were triggered searches performed on LIGO-Virgo data following the detections of short and long GRBs (Aasi et al 2013(Aasi et al , 2014aAbbott et al 2017cAbbott et al , 2019.…”

Fermi GBM Observations of GRB 150101B: A Second Nearby Event with a Short Hard Spike and a Soft Tail

“…The most distant events that can be detected are face-on mergers at the position of the maximal antenna pattern sensitivity, which is 2.26 times the detection range (when cosmological effects can be neglected; Finn & Chernoff 1993). Joint GW-GRB detections can extend this range by ∼20%-25% (Williamson et al 2014;Blackburn et al 2015;Abbott et al 2017b). Altogether, the joint GW-GRB detection horizon of Advanced LIGO at design sensitivity is ∼500 Mpc (z≈0.1; Burns 2017).…”