Extending the Reach of Gravitational Wave Astronomy: Detection without Characterization

Gravitational waves (GW) that may be too weak to be characterized or quantified may still be strong enough to be detected using statistical approaches. Similar to observing the light from a stellar cluster without resolving the individual stars, we seek to answer the question of whether GW signals may be detected to greater distances without providing a quantification of the wave. We describe a Bayesian approach to the problem of weak GW detection in noisy data. We identify the contribution of the observations to the odds that a signal is present. We demonstrate this method by examining a range of simulated signals and computing the volume of space over which a confident detection may be made. Finally, we compare the volume estimate to present detection methods, which utilize a signal to noise ratio threshold to characterize detections.