Search for gravitational waves from five low mass X-ray binaries in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

Understand

Low mass X-ray binaries are prime targets for continuous gravitational wave searches by ground-based interferometers.

• Results are presented from a search for five low-mass X-ray binaries whose spin frequencies and orbital elements are measured accurately from X-ray pulsations: HETE J1900.1-2455, IGR J00291+5934, SAX J1808.4-3658, XTE J0929-314, and XTE J1814-338.
• Data are analysed from Observing Run 2 of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO).
• The search algorithm uses a hidden Markov model to track spin wandering, the $\mathcal{J}$-statistic maximum likelihood matched filter to track orbital phase, and a suite of five vetoes to reject artefacts from non-Gaussian noise.