Searching for Prompt Radio Emission from Compact Binaries with the OVRO-LWA

The multi-messenger observation of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 has yielded a wealth of astrophysical information, including the unambiguous observation of a kilonova and direct evidence for the association of short gamma-ray bursts and neutron star mergers. A still-missing piece of this puzzle, however, is the observation of a prompt low-frequency radio burst, which is predicted to accompany compact binary mergers mergers. The discovery of such a signal would be immensely valuable, but is made difficult by the very short delay between the gravitational-wave and radio signals as well as the poor localization of gravitational-wave sources. In this talk, I will describe efforts to detect prompt radio bursts associated with gravitational-wave events using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory’s Long Wavelength Array. I will present results from a proof-of-concept study targeting binary black holes in Advanced LIGO/Virgo’s O2 observing run and discuss plans to target binary neutron star mergers in the upcoming O3 run.