Detecting gravitational waves using seismic data

Ray Abma

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ABSTRACT

Several years of seismic data acquired by the international deployment of accelerometers (IDA) are used in an attempt to detect gravitational waves radiated from low-frequency astronomical binary sources. These data were preconditioned with various combinations of earthquake removal, gain, and tapering. Directionally weighted spectra were calculated for 0.012 to 0.556 milli-Hz (one day to one-half hour periods) in 84 directions, one year at a time, with correction for the earth's rotation. While patterns similar to the synthetic response from a gravitational-wave source were observed, these patterns showed no consistency when compared between years. This inconsistency suggests that the patterns are noise and not the result of gravitational wave excitation by binary sources.