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Narrowband searches for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in the first two parts of the fourth LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA observing run
Authors:
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration,
the Virgo Collaboration,
the KAGRA Collaboration,
A. G. Abac,
I. Abouelfettouh,
F. Acernese,
K. Ackley,
A. Adam,
C. Adamcewicz,
S. Adhicary,
D. Adhikari,
N. Adhikari,
R. X. Adhikari,
V. K. Adkins,
S. Afroz,
A. Agapito,
D. Agarwal,
M. Agathos,
N. Aggarwal,
S. Aggarwal,
O. D. Aguiar,
I. -L. Ahrend,
L. Aiello,
A. Ain,
P. Ajith
, et al. (1831 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
Rotating non-axisymmetric neutron stars (NSs) are promising sources for continuous gravitational waves (CWs). Such CWs can, if detected, inform us about the internal structure and equation of state of NSs. Here, we present a narrowband search for CWs from known pulsars, for which an efficient and sensitive matched-filter search can be applied. Narrowband searches are designed to be robust to misma…
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Rotating non-axisymmetric neutron stars (NSs) are promising sources for continuous gravitational waves (CWs). Such CWs can, if detected, inform us about the internal structure and equation of state of NSs. Here, we present a narrowband search for CWs from known pulsars, for which an efficient and sensitive matched-filter search can be applied. Narrowband searches are designed to be robust to mismatches between the electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational emissions, in contrast to fully targeted searches where the CW emission is assumed to be phase-locked to the EM one. In this work, we search for the CW counterparts emitted by 34 pulsars using data from the first and second parts of the fourth LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA observing run. This is the largest number of pulsars so far targeted for narrowband searches in the advanced detector era. We use the 5n-vector narrowband pipeline, which applies frequency-domain matched filtering. In previous searches, it covered a narrow range in the frequency -- frequency time derivative ($f$ -- $\dot{f}$) space. Here, we also explore a range in the second time derivative of the frequency $\ddot{f}$ around the value indicated by EM observations. Additionally, for the first time, we target sources in a binary system with this kind of search. We find no evidence for CWs and therefore set upper limits on the strain amplitude emitted by each pulsar, using simulated signals added in real data. For 20 analyses, we report an upper limit below the theoretical spin-down limit. The tightest constraint is for pulsar PSR J0534+2200 (the Crab pulsar), for which our strain upper limit on the CW amplitude is $\lesssim 2\%$ of its spin-down limit, corresponding to less than $0.04\%$ of the spin-down power being radiated in the CW channel.
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Submitted 26 March, 2026;
originally announced March 2026.
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All-sky Searches for Continuous Gravitational Waves from Isolated Neutron Stars in the Data from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Observing Run
Authors:
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration,
the Virgo Collaboration,
the KAGRA Collaboration,
A. G. Abac,
I. Abouelfettouh,
F. Acernese,
K. Ackley,
A. Adam,
C. Adamcewicz,
S. Adhicary,
D. Adhikari,
N. Adhikari,
R. X. Adhikari,
V. K. Adkins,
S. Afroz,
A. Agapito,
D. Agarwal,
M. Agathos,
N. Aggarwal,
S. Aggarwal,
O. D. Aguiar,
I. -L. Ahrend,
L. Aiello,
A. Ain,
P. Ajith
, et al. (1804 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
We present results from an all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves, using three different methods applied to the first eight months of LIGO data from the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration s observing run. We aim at signals potentially emitted by rotating, non-axisymmetric isolated neutron star in the Milky Way. The analysis spans a frequency range from 20 Hz to 2000 Hz and accommodat…
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We present results from an all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves, using three different methods applied to the first eight months of LIGO data from the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration s observing run. We aim at signals potentially emitted by rotating, non-axisymmetric isolated neutron star in the Milky Way. The analysis spans a frequency range from 20 Hz to 2000 Hz and accommodates frequency derivative magnitudes up to $10^{-8}$ Hz/s. No statistically significant periodic gravitational wave signals were detected. We establish 95% confidence-level (CL) frequentist upper limits on the dimensionless strain amplitudes. The most stringent population-averaged strain upper limits reach 9.7 $\times$ $10^{-26}$ near 290 Hz, matching the best previous constraints from 250 to $\sim$1700 Hz while extending coverage to a much broader spin-down range. At higher frequencies, the new limits improve upon previous results by factors of approximately $\sim$1.6. These constraints are applied to three astrophysical scenarios: 1) the distribution of galactic neutron stars as a function of spin frequency and ellipticity; 2) the contribution of millisecond pulsars to the GeV excess near the galactic center; and 3) the possible dark matter fraction composed of nearby inspiraling primordial binary black holes with asteroid-scale masses.
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Submitted 14 March, 2026;
originally announced March 2026.
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The Preheating Stage on The Starobinsky Inflation after ACT
Authors:
Norma Sidik Risdianto,
Romy Hanang Setya Budhi,
Nehla Shobcha,
Apriadi Salim Adam,
Muhammad Abdan Syakura
Abstract:
In this paper, we reinvestigate the Starobinsky inflation model and its reheating features in light of the recent ACT results. To make the Starobinsky model consistent with the ACT data at the $68\%$ confidence level, the number of e-folds must increase while the reheating temperature decreases. We find that the Starobinsky model requires a spectator field to achieve efficient preheating. The preh…
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In this paper, we reinvestigate the Starobinsky inflation model and its reheating features in light of the recent ACT results. To make the Starobinsky model consistent with the ACT data at the $68\%$ confidence level, the number of e-folds must increase while the reheating temperature decreases. We find that the Starobinsky model requires a spectator field to achieve efficient preheating. The preheating stage and the reheating temperature must be significantly adjusted to accommodate the lower temperature. In this paper, the favored non-minimal coupling of the produced particles is approximately $10$ or slightly lower. We also present viable parameter sets that fit the preferred reheating mechanism in this model. For certain parameter choices, the daughter fields could potentially be detected in future collider experiments such as the LHC or the ILC. Furthermore, our proposed mechanism can reproduce the lower reheating temperature, but it fails when the temperature falls below $1$ GeV.
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Submitted 13 February, 2026; v1 submitted 17 July, 2025;
originally announced July 2025.
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The Second-Level Preheating
Authors:
Norma Sidik Risdianto,
Apriadi Salim Adam,
Lalu Zamakhsyari
Abstract:
This paper proposes two levels of preheating for the inflaton that is non-minimally coupled with gravity. The first level, later named by the quadratic regime, corresponds to the matter-dominated era and is responsible for draining the inflaton's energy density. The second level, which we will call the quartic regime, corresponds to the radiation-dominated era and is responsible for the reheating…
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This paper proposes two levels of preheating for the inflaton that is non-minimally coupled with gravity. The first level, later named by the quadratic regime, corresponds to the matter-dominated era and is responsible for draining the inflaton's energy density. The second level, which we will call the quartic regime, corresponds to the radiation-dominated era and is responsible for the reheating of the universe. We investigate the behavior of non-renormalizable higher dimension operators in both the quadratic and quartic regimes. In the quadratic regime, the preheating is also efficient, even though it is less than the lower dimension. On the other hand, the non-renormalizable higher dimension operators in the quartic regime are extremely inefficient. In our work, we also introduce a simple mechanism controlled by the characteristic momentum $α$ to suppress the particle production during preheating. Additionally, we emphasized the significance of the small momentum of the particles produced during preheating for the abundance of primordial black holes. This result supports the efficient preheating in the quadratic regime. Finally, we evaluate two modes of the reheating temperature, which differ based on the preheating efficiency during the quadratic regime.
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Submitted 28 January, 2025; v1 submitted 6 September, 2024;
originally announced September 2024.
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Black-Body Radiation in a Uniformly Accelerated Frame
Authors:
Seramika Ariwahjoedi,
Apriadi Salim Adam,
Hadyan Luthfan Prihadi,
Freddy Permana Zen
Abstract:
We derive Planck's radiation law in a uniformly accelerated frame expressed in Rindler coordinates. The black-body spectrum is time-dependent by its temperature and Planckian at each instantaneous time, but it is scaled by an emissivity factor that depends on the Rindler spatial coordinate and the acceleration magnitude. The observer in an accelerated frame will perceive the black-body as black, h…
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We derive Planck's radiation law in a uniformly accelerated frame expressed in Rindler coordinates. The black-body spectrum is time-dependent by its temperature and Planckian at each instantaneous time, but it is scaled by an emissivity factor that depends on the Rindler spatial coordinate and the acceleration magnitude. The observer in an accelerated frame will perceive the black-body as black, hyperblack, or grey, depending on its position with respect to the source (moving away or towards), the acceleration magnitude, and the case of whether it is accelerated or decelerated. For an observer accelerating away from the source, there exists a threshold on the acceleration magnitude beyond which it stops receiving radiation from the black-body. Since the frequency and the number of modes in Planck's law evolve over time, the spectrum is continuously red or blue-shifted towards lower (or higher) frequencies as time progresses, and the radiation modes (photons) could be created or annihilated, depending on the observer's position and its acceleration or deceleration relative to the source of radiation.
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Submitted 3 June, 2024; v1 submitted 15 September, 2023;
originally announced September 2023.
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Rotating black holes in Einstein-aether theory
Authors:
Alexander Adam,
Pau Figueras,
Ted Jacobson,
Toby Wiseman
Abstract:
We introduce new methods to numerically construct for the first time stationary axisymmetric black hole solutions in Einstein-aether theory and study their properties. The key technical challenge is to impose regularity at the spin-2, 1, and 0 wave mode horizons. Interestingly we find the metric horizon, and various wave mode horizons, are not Killing horizons, having null generators to which no l…
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We introduce new methods to numerically construct for the first time stationary axisymmetric black hole solutions in Einstein-aether theory and study their properties. The key technical challenge is to impose regularity at the spin-2, 1, and 0 wave mode horizons. Interestingly we find the metric horizon, and various wave mode horizons, are not Killing horizons, having null generators to which no linear combination of Killing vectors is tangent, and which spiral from pole to equator or vice versa. Existing phenomenological constraints result in two regions of coupling parameters where the theory is viable and some couplings are large; region I with a large twist coupling and region II with also a (somewhat) large expansion coupling. Currently these constraints do not include tests from strong field dynamics, such as observations of black holes and their mergers. Given the large aether coupling(s) one might expect such dynamics to deviate significantly from general relativity, and hence to further constrain the theory. Here we argue this is not the case, since for these parameter regions solutions exist where the aether is "painted" onto a metric background that is very close to that of general relativity. This painting for region I is approximately independent of the large twist coupling, and for region II is also approximately independent of the large expansion coupling and normal to a maximal foliation of the spacetime. We support this picture analytically for weak fields, and numerically for rotating black hole solutions, which closely approximate the Kerr metric.
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Submitted 13 June, 2022; v1 submitted 30 July, 2021;
originally announced August 2021.
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A new mechanism for generating particle number asymmetry through interactions
Authors:
Takuya Morozumi,
Keiko I. Nagao,
Apriadi Salim Adam,
Hiroyuki Takata
Abstract:
A new mechanism for generating particle number asymmetry (PNA) has been developed. This mechanism is realized with a Lagrangian including a complex scalar field and a neutral scalar field. The complex scalar carries U(1) charge which is associated with the PNA. It is written in terms of the condensation and Green's function, which is obtained with two-particle irreducible (2PI) closed time path (C…
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A new mechanism for generating particle number asymmetry (PNA) has been developed. This mechanism is realized with a Lagrangian including a complex scalar field and a neutral scalar field. The complex scalar carries U(1) charge which is associated with the PNA. It is written in terms of the condensation and Green's function, which is obtained with two-particle irreducible (2PI) closed time path (CTP) effective action (EA). In the spatially flat universe with a time-dependent scale factor, the time evolution of the PNA is computed. We start with an initial condition where only the condensation of the neutral scalar is non-zero. The initial condition for the fields is specified by a density operator parameterized by the temperature of the universe. With the above initial conditions, the PNA vanishes at the initial time and later it is generated through the interaction between the complex scalar and the condensation of the neutral scalar. We investigate the case that both the interaction and the expansion rate of the universe are small and include their effects up to the first order of the perturbation. The expanding universe causes the effects of the dilution of the PNA, freezing interaction and the redshift of the particle energy. As for the time dependence of the PNA, we found that PNA oscillates at the early time and it begins to dump at the later time. The period and the amplitude of the oscillation depend on the mass spectrum of the model, the temperature and the expansion rate of the universe.
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Submitted 4 January, 2019; v1 submitted 25 September, 2017;
originally announced September 2017.
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A numerical approach to finding general stationary vacuum black holes
Authors:
Alexander Adam,
Sam Kitchen,
Toby Wiseman
Abstract:
The Harmonic Einstein equation is the vacuum Einstein equation supplemented by a gauge fixing term which we take to be that of DeTurck. For static black holes analytically continued to Riemannian manifolds without boundary at the horizon this equation has previously been shown to be elliptic, and Ricci flow and Newton's method provide good numerical algorithms to solve it. Here we extend these tec…
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The Harmonic Einstein equation is the vacuum Einstein equation supplemented by a gauge fixing term which we take to be that of DeTurck. For static black holes analytically continued to Riemannian manifolds without boundary at the horizon this equation has previously been shown to be elliptic, and Ricci flow and Newton's method provide good numerical algorithms to solve it. Here we extend these techniques to the arbitrary cohomogeneity stationary case which must be treated in Lorentzian signature. For stationary spacetimes with globally timelike Killing vector the Harmonic Einstein equation is elliptic. In the presence of horizons and ergo-regions it is less obviously so. Motivated by the Rigidity theorem we study a class of stationary black hole spacetimes, considered previously by Harmark, general enough to include the asymptotically flat case in higher dimensions. We argue the Harmonic Einstein equation consistently truncates to this class of spacetimes giving an elliptic problem. The Killing horizons and axes of rotational symmetry are boundaries for this problem and we determine boundary conditions there. As a simple example we numerically construct 4D rotating black holes in a cavity using Anderson's boundary conditions. We demonstrate both Newton's method and Ricci flow to find these Lorentzian solutions.
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Submitted 31 May, 2011;
originally announced May 2011.