Gravitational-wave standard sirens and application in cosmology

Abstract

The discovery of the gravitational-wave event GW170817 from a binary neutron star merger, together with its multi-wavelength electromagnetic counterparts, marks the beginning of the era of multi-messenger gravitational-wave astronomy. Observations of gravitational-wave signals from compact binary mergers enable an independent measurement of the luminosity distance to the source. This implies that gravitational-wave sources can serve as "standard sirens" to probe the expansion history of the Universe, providing a new approach to constrain cosmological parameters. In this paper, we review the basic principles of using gravitational-wave standard sirens to constrain cosmology. We discuss various methods for determining the source distance and redshift, as well as the capabilities of second- and third-generation ground-based detectors and space-based detectors in constraining cosmological parameters, especially the Hubble constant and dark energy parameters. By examining three types of standard sirens: binary neutron star mergers with electromagnetic counterparts as bright sirens, stellar-mass binary black hole mergers as dark sirens, and the dark lensed sirens, we illustrate the methodology, challenges, and future prospects of the standard siren approach.

41 pages, 10 figures, invited review for RAA (in press)

References in corpus (152)

• Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Advanced Virgo: a 2nd generation interferometric gravitational wave detector
• Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• Gravitational Waves and Gamma-rays from a Binary Neutron Star Merger: GW170817 and GRB 170817A
• LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products
• Exploring the Expansion History of the Universe
• Accelerating Universes with Scaling Dark Matter
• A Comprehensive Measurement of the Local Value of the Hubble Constant with 1 km/s/Mpc Uncertainty from the Hubble Space Telescope and the SH0ES Team
• TianQin: a space-borne gravitational wave detector
• In the Realm of the Hubble tension $-$ a Review of Solutions
• GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the Second Part of the Third Observing Run
• The Nucleosynthetic Signature of Population III
• The Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor
• The Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on the Swift MIDEX Mission
• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-Wave Background
• Characterization of the LIGO detectors during their sixth science run
• Exploring the Sensitivity of Next Generation Gravitational Wave Detectors
• A gravitational-wave standard siren measurement of the Hubble constant
• Search for an isotropic gravitational-wave background with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
• Science Case for the Einstein Telescope
• Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational wave event
• Tensions between the Early and the Late Universe
• Searching for the nano-Hertz stochastic gravitational wave background with the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array Data Release I
• Tidal deformability of neutron stars with realistic equations of state and their gravitational wave signatures in binary inspiral
• Compact Remnant Mass Function: Dependence on the Explosion Mechanism and Metallicity
• Possibility of Direct Measurement of the Acceleration of the Universe Using 0.1 Hz Band Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Antenna in Space
• Challenges for $\Lambda$CDM: An update
• Binary Black Hole Population Properties Inferred from the First and Second Observing Runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo
• The X-ray counterpart to the gravitational wave event GW 170817
• A kilonova as the electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave source
• The Zwicky Transient Facility: Science Objectives
• Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Using gravitational-wave standard sirens
• The NANOGrav 12.5-year Data Set: Search For An Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background
• Observation of gravitational waves from two neutron star-black hole coalescences
• Pulsational Pair-Instability Supernovae
• Formation of Double Neutron Star Systems
• Superluminal motion of a relativistic jet in the neutron star merger GW170817
• Taiji Program: Gravitational-Wave Sources
• KAGRA: 2.5 Generation Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detector
• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
• What is the Most Promising Electromagnetic Counterpart of a Neutron Star Binary Merger?
• Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. I: Supermassive black hole binaries
• Kilonovae
• A 2 per cent Hubble constant measurement from standard sirens within 5 years
• Candidate Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Binary Black Hole Merger Gravitational Wave Event S190521g
• Weak lensing for precision cosmology
• The Effect of Pair-Instability Mass Loss on Black Hole Mergers
• The Zwicky Transient Facility: Surveys and Scheduler
• Cosmology with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
• Very massive stars, pair-instability supernovae and intermediate-mass black holes with the SEVN code
• On the evidence for a common-spectrum process in the search for the nanohertz gravitational-wave background with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
• Concepts and status of Chinese space gravitational wave detection projects
• The Neutron Star Mass Distribution
• The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array I. The dataset and timing analysis
• The International Pulsar Timing Array: Second data release
• The Astrophysics of Nanohertz Gravitational Waves
• First measurement of the Hubble constant from a dark standard siren using the Dark Energy Survey galaxies and the LIGO/Virgo binary-black-hole merger GW170814
• Common-red-signal analysis with 24-yr high-precision timing of the European Pulsar Timing Array: Inferences in the stochastic gravitational-wave background search
• Inference of the cosmological parameters from gravitational waves: application to second generation interferometers
• Ultra-high precision cosmology from gravitational waves
• Measuring a cosmological distance-redshift relationship using only gravitational wave observations of binary neutron star coalescences
• IndIGO and LIGO-India: Scope and Plans for Gravitational Wave Research and Precision Metrology in India
• Constraints on the cosmic expansion history from GWTC-3
• Determination of Dark Energy by the Einstein Telescope: Comparing with CMB, BAO and SNIa Observations
• Cosmography with the Einstein Telescope
• Precision of Hubble constant derived using black hole binary absolute distances and statistical redshift information
• Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. III: Probing the expansion of the Universe using gravitational wave standard sirens
• Prospects for resolving the Hubble constant tension with standard sirens
• Fluctuations of the luminosity distance
• Cosmology with the lights off: Standard sirens in the Einstein Telescope era
• A Future Percent-Level Measurement of the Hubble Expansion at Redshift 0.8 With Advanced LIGO
• Where are LIGO's Big Black Holes?
• Estimating cosmological parameters by the simulated data of gravitational waves from the Einstein Telescope
• Accurate precision Cosmology with redshift unknown gravitational wave sources
• Cosmological Tests of Gravity
• The LISA-Taiji network
• Precision cosmology from future lensed gravitational wave and electromagnetic signals
• Science with the TianQin observatory: Preliminary results on massive black hole binaries
• Higher signal harmonics, LISA's angular resolution, and dark energy
• Reducing the weak lensing noise for the gravitational wave Hubble diagram using the non-Gaussianity of the magnification distribution
• Tests of General Relativity with GWTC-3
• Localization accuracy of compact binary coalescences detected by the third-generation gravitational-wave detectors and implication for cosmology
• Cosmology in the dark: On the importance of source population models for gravitational-wave cosmology
• A statistical standard siren measurement of the Hubble constant from the LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave compact object merger GW190814 and Dark Energy Survey galaxies
• Spectral sirens: cosmology from the full mass distribution of compact binaries
• Sciences with the 2.5-meter Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST)
• Measuring the distance-redshift relation with the cross-correlation of gravitational wave standard sirens and galaxies
• Improved constraints on H0 from a combined analysis of gravitational-wave and electromagnetic emission from GW170817
• Measuring the Hubble constant with neutron star black hole mergers
• Short GRBs: opening angles, local neutron star merger rate and off-axis events for GRB/GW association
• Velocity correction for Hubble constant measurements from standard sirens
• The Science of the Einstein Telescope
• The MeerKAT Pulsar Timing Array: The first search for gravitational waves with the MeerKAT radio telescope
• Science objectives of the Einstein Probe mission
• Dark Sirens to Resolve the Hubble-Lemaître Tension
• Cosmology with space-based gravitational-wave detectors --- dark energy and primordial gravitational waves ---
• Reconstructing the dark sector interaction with LISA
• Cosmological inference using only gravitational wave observations of binary neutron stars
• Forecast for cosmological parameter estimation with gravitational-wave standard sirens from the LISA-Taiji network
• Gravitational wave cosmology with extreme mass-ratio inspirals
• Constraining the dark energy equation of state using LISA observations of spinning Massive Black Hole binaries
• Resolving the Stellar-Collapse and Hierarchical-Merger origins of the Coalescing Black Holes
• Prospects for improving cosmological parameter estimation with gravitational-wave standard sirens from Taiji
• Incompleteness Matters Not: Inference of $H_0$ from BBH-galaxy cross-correlations
• Dynamical Dark Energy in light of the DESI DR2 Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations Measurements
• Modelling Double Neutron Stars: Radio and Gravitational Waves
• How can gravitational-wave standard sirens and 21 cm intensity mapping jointly provide a precise late-universe cosmological probe?
• Gravitational Wave Astronomy With TianQin
• Constraining the cosmological parameters using gravitational wave observations of massive black hole binaries and statistical redshift information
• A Bayesian approach to multi-messenger astronomy: Identification of gravitational-wave host galaxies
• Formation and Evolution of Binary Neutron Stars: Mergers and Their Host Galaxies
• The Taiji-TianQin-LISA network: Precisely measuring the Hubble constant using both bright and dark sirens
• Hunting for the host galaxy groups of binary black holes and the application in constraining Hubble constant
• Synergy between CSST galaxy survey and gravitational-wave observation: Inferring the Hubble constant from dark standard sirens
• A preliminary forecast for cosmological parameter estimation with gravitational-wave standard sirens from TianQin
• Detection of astrophysical gravitational wave sources by TianQin and LISA
• Multi-messenger Detection Rates and distributions of Binary Neutron Star Mergers and Their Cosmological Implications
• The redshift dependence of black hole mass distribution: Is it reliable for standard sirens cosmology?
• The Extremely Large Telescope
• Alternative LISA-TAIJI networks
• Prospects for measuring the Hubble constant and dark energy using gravitational-wave dark sirens with neutron star tidal deformation
• Potential Subpopulations and Assembling Tendency of the Merging Black Holes
• Cross-correlating galaxy catalogs and gravitational waves: a tomographic approach
• Cosmological inference from standard sirens without redshift measurements
• Hubble parameter estimation via dark sirens with the LISA-Taiji network
• Weak lensing effects in the measurement of the dark energy equation of state with LISA
• Cross-correlating dark sirens and galaxies: constraints on $H_0$ from GWTC-3 of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA
• Comprehensive analysis of the tidal effect in gravitational waves and implication for cosmology
• Exploiting the Einstein Telescope to solve the Hubble tension
• Joint constraints on cosmological parameters using future multi-band gravitational wave standard siren observations
• SVOM: a new mission for Gamma-Ray Burst Studies
• The late afterglow of GW170817/GRB170817A: a large viewing angle and the shift of the Hubble constant to a value more consistent with the local measurements
• Probing intrinsic properties of short gamma-ray bursts with gravitational waves
• On using inspiralling supermassive binary black holes in the PTA frequency band as standard sirens to constrain dark energy
• Constraining the origin of stellar binary black hole mergers by detections of their lensed host galaxies and gravitational wave signals
• Measuring the Hubble constant with coalescences of binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole: bright sirens \& dark sirens
• Model-independent $H_0$ within FLRW: Joint constraints from GWTC-3 standard sirens and strong lensing time delays
• Target of Opportunity Observations Detectability of Kilonovae with WFST
• Improving the Cosmological Constraints by Inferring the Formation Channel of Extreme-mass-ratio Inspirals
• Gravitational wave standard sirens: A brief review of cosmological parameter estimation
• Mitigating the binary viewing angle bias for standard sirens
• Prospects of calibrating afterglow modeling of short GRBs with gravitational wave inclination angle measurements and resolving the Hubble tension with a GW-GRB association event
• Multi-spectral Sirens: Gravitational-wave Cosmology with (Multi-) Sub-populations of Binary Black Holes
• Fundamental Physics and Cosmology with TianQin
• On Dark Gravitational Wave Standard Sirens as Cosmological Inference and Forecasting the Constraint on Hubble Constant using Binary Black Holes Detected by Deci-hertz Observatory
• A Systematic Search for Active Galactic Nucleus Flares in ZTF Data Release 23
• The constraint ability of Hubble parameter by gravitational wave standard sirens on cosmological parameters
• Listening Across the Cosmic Time: Standard Sirens from Ground- and Space-Based Missions in the Next Decade
• Weak lensing of bright standard sirens: prospects for ${\sigma }_8$
• Illuminating the Mass Gap Through Deep Optical Constraint on a Neutron Star Merger Candidate S250206dm