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Cosmic swarms: a search for supermassive black holes in the LISA data stream with a hybrid evolutionary algorithm

Jonathan R Gair1 and Edward K Porter2,3

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We describe a hybrid evolutionary algorithm that can simultaneously search for multiple supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) inspirals in LISA data. The algorithm mixes evolutionary computation, Metropolis–Hastings methods and Nested Sampling. The inspiral of SMBHBs presents an interesting problem for gravitational wave data analysis since, due to the LISA response function, the sources have a bi-modal sky solution. We show here that it is possible not only to detect multiple SMBHBs in the data stream, but also to investigate simultaneously all the various modes of the global solution. In all cases, the algorithm returns parameter determinations within 5σ (as estimated from the Fisher matrix) of the true answer, for both the actual and antipodal sky solutions.


PACS

04.80.Nn Gravitational wave detectors and experiments

95.55.Ym Gravitational radiation detectors; mass spectrometers; and other instrumentation and techniques

04.70.-s Physics of black holes

04.30.Db Wave generation and sources

MSC

83C35 Gravitational waves

83C57 Black holes

Subjects

Instrumentation and measurement

Gravitation and cosmology

Astrophysics and astroparticles

Dates

Issue 22 (21 November 2009)

Received 22 March 2009, in final form 1 September 2009

Published 19 October 2009



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