Related papers: Detecting Lensing-Induced Diffraction in Astrophys…
In this thesis we consider the data analysis problem of detecting gravitational waves emitted by inspiraling binary systems. Detection of gravitational waves will open a new window on the Universe enabling direct detection of systems such…
We investigate the merging rates of compact binaries in galaxies, and the related detection rate of gravitational wave (GW) events with AdvLIGO/Virgo and with the Einstein Telescope. To this purpose, we rely on three basic ingredients: (i)…
The detection of a sub-solar mass black hole could yield dramatic new insights into the nature of dark matter and early-Universe physics, as such objects lack a traditional astrophysical formation mechanism. Gravitational waves allow for…
When gravitational waves pass near a gravitating object, they are deflected, or lensed. If the object is massive, such that the wavelength of the waves is small compared to its gravitational size, lensed gravitational wave events can be…
We study gravitational lensing of gravitational waves from compact object binaries as a probe of compact dark matter (DM) objects such as primordial black holes. Assuming a point mass lens, we perform parameter estimation of lensed…
Gravitational lensing of gravitational waves (GWs) is a powerful probe of the matter distribution in the universe. Here we revisit the wave-optics effects induced by dark matter (DM) halos on the GW signals of merging massive black hole…
The first detection of a gravitational-wave signal of a coalescence of two black holes marked the beginning of the era of gravitational-wave astronomy, which opens exciting new possibilities in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics and…
In this paper, we study the strong gravitational lensing of gravitational waves (GWs) from a statistical perspective, with particular focus on the high frequency GWs from stellar binary black hole coalescences. These are most promising…
Gravitational wave observations of compact binary mergers are already providing stringent tests of general relativity and constraints on modified gravity. Ground-based interferometric detectors will soon reach design sensitivity and they…
We search for gravitational wave (GW) events from LIGO-Virgo's third run that may have been affected by gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing delays the arrival of GWs, and alters their amplitude -- thus biasing the inferred…
We study whether binary black hole template banks can be used to search for the gravitational waves emitted by general binary coalescences. To recover binary signals from noisy data, matched-filtering techniques are typically required. This…
Current searches for gravitational waves from compact-object binaries with the LIGO and Virgo observatories employ waveform models with spins aligned (or anti-aligned) with the orbital angular momentum. Here, we derive a new statistic to…
Certain alternative theories of gravity predict that gravitational waves will disperse as they travel from the source to the observer. The recent binary black hole observations by Advanced-LIGO have set limits on a modified dispersion…
We introduce a new technique to search for gravitational wave events from compact binary mergers that produce a clear signal only in a single gravitational wave detector, and marginal signals in other detectors. Such a situation can arise…
Rotating black holes can amplify ultralight bosonic fields through superradiance, forming macroscopic clouds known as gravitational atoms. When the cloud forms around one of the components of a binary system, it can undergo a series of…
We study lensing of gravitational waves by a black hole in the deep wave optics regime, i.e. when the wavelength is much larger than the black hole Schwarzschild radius. We apply it to triple systems, with a binary of stellar mass objects…
Gravitational wave searches rely on a combination of methods, including matched filtering, coherent analyses, and more recent machine learning based pipelines. For compact binary coalescences, where signals originate from the relativistic…
The merger rate of black hole binaries inferred from the detections in the first Advanced LIGO science run, implies that a stochastic background produced by a cosmological population of mergers will likely mask the primordial…
How does the appearance of a strongly lensed system change if a gravitational wave is produced by the lens? In this work we address this question by considering a supermassive black hole binary at the center of the lens emitting…
Ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) observatories have transformed our view of compact-object mergers, yet their reach still limits a comprehensive reconstruction of the processes that generate these systems. Only next-generation…