https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-019-7234-1
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
On echo intervals in gravitational wave echo analysis
1
School of Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
2
Theoretical Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
3
Interdisciplinary Center for Theoretical Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China
4
Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2735, Beijing, 100190, China
* e-mail: wangyutong@ucas.ac.cn
Received:
15
June
2019
Accepted:
18
August
2019
Published online:
29
August
2019
Gravitational wave echoes, if they exist, could encode important information of new physics from the strong gravity regime. Current echo searches usually assume constant interval echoes (CIEs) a priori, although unequal interval echoes (UIEs) are also possible. Despite of its simplicity, the using of CIE templates need to be properly justified, especially given the high sensitivity of future gravitational wave detectors. In this paper, we assess the necessity of UIE templates in echo searches. By reconstructing injected UIE signals with both CIE and UIE templates, we show that the CIE template may significantly misinterpret the echo signals if the variation of the interval is greater than the statistical errors of the interval, which is further confirmed by a Bayesian analysis on model stelection. We also forecast the constraints on the echo intervals given by future GW detectors such as Advanced LIGO and Einstein Telescope.
© The Author(s), 2019
