Derek Davis

California Institute of Technology, October 25, 12:00 pm

Decoding LIGO detector data for high-precision gravitational-wave astronomy

Gravitational-wave detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), have changed how we observe our universe by detecting gravitational waves from merging black holes and neutron stars. However, finding these signals requires highly sensitive detectors and careful procedures to analyze the recorded data. As the detection of gravitational-wave events becomes an everyday occurrence, the demand for precision in our gravitational-wave data analysis techniques continues to grow. One of the main roadblocks to further improvements is the presence of continually evolving instrumental artifacts in our data. In this talk, I will discuss my ongoing work to decode the complexities of gravitational-wave data and improve the robustness of astrophysical analyses. This includes direct investigations of the nature of instrumental artifacts, how these artifacts might mimic gravitational-wave signals or impact analysis of real events, and how we can use multiple analysis approaches to separate exciting new physics from everyday noise.