Giant Arc Statistics and Cosmological Parameters

We study with semi-analytical methods the statistics of pronounced arcs caused by lensing of galaxies by foreground galaxy clusters. For the number density and redshift distribution of rich clusters we use Press-Schechter theory, normalized on the basis of empirical data. For the background sources we make use of observational results in the Hubble Deep Field. We present results for three different lens models, in particular for the universal profile suggested by Navarro, Frenk and White. Our primary concern is the dependence of the expected statistics on the cosmological parameters, $\Omega_M$, $\Omega_\Lambda$. The theoretical estimates are compared with the cluster arcs survey EMSS, and the resulting constraints in the $\Omega$-plane are presented. In spite of considerable theoretical an observational uncertainties a low-density universe is favored. Degeneracy curves for the optical depth and likelihood regions for the arc statistics in the $\Omega$-plane depend only weakly on the cosmological constant.Comment: Presented at the Journees Relativistes 1999, Weimar (September 12-17

The search for continuous gravitational waves: metric of the multi-detector F-statistic

We develop a general formalism for the parameter-space metric of the multi-detector F-statistic, which is a matched-filtering detection statistic for continuous gravitational waves. We find that there exists a whole family of F-statistic metrics, parametrized by the (unknown) amplitude parameters of the gravitational wave. The multi-detector metric is shown to be expressible in terms of noise-weighted averages of single-detector contributions, which implies that the number of templates required to cover the parameter space does not scale with the number of detectors. Contrary to using a longer observation time, combining detectors of similar sensitivity is therefore the computationally cheapest way to improve the sensitivity of coherent wide-parameter searches for continuous gravitational waves. We explicitly compute the F-statistic metric family for signals from isolated spinning neutron stars, and we numerically evaluate the quality of different metric approximations in a Monte-Carlo study. The metric predictions are tested against the measured mismatches and we identify regimes in which the local metric is no longer a good description of the parameter-space structure.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, revtex4; v2: some edits of style and notation, fixed minor typo

Lapse function for maximally sliced Brill-Lindquist initial data

For binary black holes the lapse function corresponding to the Brill-Lindquist initial value solution for uncharged black holes is given in analytic form under the maximal slicing condition. In the limiting case of very small ratio of mass to separation between the black holes the surface defined by the zero value of the lapse function coincides with the minimal surfaces around the singularities.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D (ver. 2: some more details added

Dimensional regularization of the gravitational interaction of point masses

We show how to use dimensional regularization to determine, within the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner canonical formalism, the reduced Hamiltonian describing the dynamics of two gravitationally interacting point masses. Implementing, at the third post-Newtonian (3PN) accuracy, our procedure we find that dimensional continuation yields a finite, unambiguous (no pole part) 3PN Hamiltonian which uniquely determines the heretofore ambiguous ``static'' parameter: namely, $\omega_s=0$. Our work also provides a remarkable check of the perturbative consistency (compatibility with gauge symmetry) of dimensional continuation through a direct calculation of the ``kinetic'' parameter $\omega_k$, giving the unique answer compatible with global Poincar\'e invariance ($\omega_k={41/24}$) by summing $\sim50$ different dimensionally continued contributions.Comment: REVTeX, 8 pages, 1 figure; submitted to Phys. Lett.

Equivalence between the ADM-Hamiltonian and the harmonic-coordinates approaches to the third post-Newtonian dynamics of compact binaries

The third post-Newtonian approximation to the general relativistic dynamics of two point-mass systems has been recently derived by two independent groups, using different approaches, and different coordinate systems. By explicitly exhibiting the map between the variables used in the two approaches we prove their physical equivalence. Our map allows one to transfer all the known results of the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) approach to the harmonic-coordinates one: in particular, it gives the value of the harmonic-coordinates Lagrangian, and the expression of the ten conserved quantities associated to global Poincar\'e invariance.Comment: REVTeX, 13 pages, corrected misprint (wrong sign) in Eq. (4.7), updated reference

Dimensional regularization of the gravitational interaction of point masses in the ADM formalism

The ADM formalism for two-point-mass systems in $d$ space dimensions is sketched. It is pointed out that the regularization ambiguities of the 3rd post-Newtonian ADM Hamiltonian considered directly in $d=3$ space dimensions can be cured by dimensional continuation (to complex $d$'s), which leads to a finite and unique Hamiltonian as $d\to3$. Some so far unpublished details of the dimensional-continuation computation of the 3rd post-Newtonian two-point-mass ADM Hamiltonian are presented.Comment: To appear in "Proceedings of the 11th Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity", edited by H.Kleinert, R.T.Jantzen and R.Ruffini, World Scientific, Singapore, 200

Parameter-space metric of semicoherent searches for continuous gravitational waves

Continuous gravitational-wave (CW) signals such as emitted by spinning neutron stars are an important target class for current detectors. However, the enormous computational demand prohibits fully coherent broadband all-sky searches for prior unknown CW sources over wide ranges of parameter space and for yearlong observation times. More efficient hierarchical "semicoherent" search strategies divide the data into segments much shorter than one year, which are analyzed coherently; then detection statistics from different segments are combined incoherently. To optimally perform the incoherent combination, understanding of the underlying parameter-space structure is requisite. This problem is addressed here by using new coordinates on the parameter space, which yield the first analytical parameter-space metric for the incoherent combination step. This semicoherent metric applies to broadband all-sky surveys (also embedding directed searches at fixed sky position) for isolated CW sources. Furthermore, the additional metric resolution attained through the combination of segments is studied. From the search parameters (sky position, frequency, and frequency derivatives), solely the metric resolution in the frequency derivatives is found to significantly increase with the number of segments.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures (matching Phys.Rev.D version

A nonlinear detection algorithm for periodic signals in gravitational wave detectors

We present an algorithm for the detection of periodic sources of gravitational waves with interferometric detectors that is based on a special symmetry of the problem: the contributions to the phase modulation of the signal from the earth rotation are exactly equal and opposite at any two instants of time separated by half a sidereal day; the corresponding is true for the contributions from the earth orbital motion for half a sidereal year, assuming a circular orbit. The addition of phases through multiplications of the shifted time series gives a demodulated signal; specific attention is given to the reduction of noise mixing resulting from these multiplications. We discuss the statistics of this algorithm for all-sky searches (which include a parameterization of the source spin-down), in particular its optimal sensitivity as a function of required computational power. Two specific examples of all-sky searches (broad-band and narrow-band) are explored numerically, and their performances are compared with the stack-slide technique (P. R. Brady, T. Creighton, Phys. Rev. D, 61, 082001).Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

On the equations of motion of point-particle binaries at the third post-Newtonian order

We investigate the dynamics of two point-like particles through the third post-Newtonian (3PN) approximation of general relativity. The infinite self-field of each point-mass is regularized by means of Hadamard's concept of ``partie finie''. Distributional forms associated with the regularization are used systematically in the computation. We determine the stress-energy tensor of point-like particles compatible with the previous regularization. The Einstein field equations in harmonic coordinates are iterated to the 3PN order. The 3PN equations of motion are Lorentz-invariant and admit a conserved energy (neglecting the 2.5PN radiation reaction). They depend on an undetermined coefficient, in agreement with an earlier result of Jaranowski and Schaefer. This suggests an incompleteness of the formalism (in this stage of development) at the 3PN order. In this paper we present the equations of motion in the center-of-mass frame and in the case of circular orbits.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Physics Letters A, minor changes include