Fast marginalization algorithm for optimizing gravitational wave detection, parameter estimation and sky localization

Understand

We introduce an algorithm to marginalize the likelihood for a gravitational wave signal from a quasi-circular binary merger over its extrinsic parameters, accounting for the effects of higher harmonics and spin-induced precession.

• The algorithm takes as input the matched-filtering time series of individual waveform harmonics against the data in all operational detectors, and the covariances of the harmonics.
• The outputs are the Gaussian likelihood marginalized over extrinsic parameters describing the merger time, location and orientation, along with samples from the conditional posterior of these parameters.
• Our algorithm exploits the waveform's known analytical dependence on extrinsic parameters to efficiently marginalize over them using a single waveform evaluation.