Systematic Uncertainty of Standard Sirens From the Viewing Angle of Binary Neutron Star Inspirals
ORAL
Abstract
The joint detection of gravitational-wave and electromagnetic-wave emissions from neutron star mergers GW170817 allowed for the first standard-siren measurement of the Hubble constant. Future standard sirens will potentially shed light on the tension between the local distance ladders and Planck experiments. Therefore, thorough understanding of the sources of systematic uncertainty for the standard siren method is crucial. In this talk, I will discuss a systematic uncertainty of the standard siren method introduced by the aspherical electromagnetic emission of neutron star mergers. Depending on the observational strategies and the understanding of the electromagnetic emissions, the systematics originated from the geometry of electromagnetic emissions of neutron star mergers may be a major challenge before the standard sirens can resolve the tension in Hubble constant.
*The author was supported by by the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University, which is funded by grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to Harvard University. The author is grateful for support provided by NASA through the NASA Hubble Fellowship grant #HST-HF2-51452.001-A awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract NAS 5-26555.
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