The Summed Parallel Infinite Impulse Response (SPIIR) pipeline is designed to detect in real time cosmic gravitational wave signals from coalescing binary neutron stars and black holes, and to provide early warnings of these events to the general public with a minimum time delay.
A joint detection of gravitational and electromagnetic radiation from cosmic events will greatly help our understanding of the astrophysical processes in our Universe. This is an essential component in the emerging era of multi-messenger astronomy.
One major goal of the SPIIR pipeline is to identify a gravitational-wave event in real-time whenever the signal is sufficiently strong, possibly tens of seconds before the final binary merger. These early warnings will then be passed to other astronomical observatories to help position them in time to capture possible electromagnetic flashes associated with the binary merger.
To achieve this, the SPIIR pipeline utilises a novel time-domain filtering technique, advanced high-performance computing using Graphics Processing Unit and a coherent analysis method that optimally combines data from a network of gravitational wave detectors in the world.
The GWDC team provides logistical and analytic support to the UWA research group with a focus on implementing modern software engineering best practices within their development process.
Current projects focus on:
Further transition of the pipeline components from CPU to GPU operations Incorporating upcoming new gravitational-wave detectors within the SPIIR software infrastructure Further automation of the installation, operation, and online monitoring of the SPIIR pipeline Continuous documentation of new features for a complete user guide