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  • Open Access

Generalized parameter-space metrics for continuous gravitational-wave searches

P. B. Covas1,2,* and R. Prix1

  • *Contact author: jb.covas@uib.es
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 044041 – Published 21 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1vds-2cgh

Abstract

Many searches for continuous gravitational waves face significant computational challenges due to the need to explore large parameter spaces characterized by unknown parameters. Parameter-space metrics are used to predict the relative loss of signal power when the searched parameters differ from the true signal parameters. In this paper, we present generalized parameter-space metrics for the F-statistic (a detection statistic used in many searches) that improve upon previous idealized metrics by incorporating realistic effects such as data gaps and varying noise floors. We derive a new marginalized F-statistic metric that is more accurate than the previous averaged F-statistic metric, especially for short coherent segments. We also derive a more accurate semicoherent metric that properly accounts for the signal-power variability over segments. We provide numerical tests illustrating that the new generalized metrics provide more accurate mismatch predictions than previous expressions. More accurate metrics can result in a reduced number of templates needed for a given search, a feature that could improve the sensitivity of future searches.

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Information

Phys. Rev. D 112, 044041– Published 21 August, 2025
  • Received 28 March 2025
  • Accepted 16 July 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by the Max Planck Society.

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