Beating the spin-down limit on gravitational wave emission from the Crab pulsar

LIGO Scientific Collaboration

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177 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present direct upper limits on gravitational wave emission from the Crab pulsar using data from the first 9 months of the fifth science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). These limits are based on two searches. In the first we assume that the gravitational wave emission follows the observed radio timing, giving an upper limit on gravitational wave emission that beats indirect limits inferred from the spin-down and braking index of the pulsar and the energetics of the nebula. In the second we allow for a small mismatch between the gravitational and radio signal frequencies and interpret our results in the context of two possible gravitational wave emission mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L45-L49
JournalThe Astrophysical Journal
Volume683
Issue number1 PART 2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes

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