Galactic Background

These signals are generated by large numbers of gravitationally radiating galactic binary systems. LISA will be sensitive to so many of these sources that it will not be possible to resolve all of them individually (the "Cocktail Party" problem). LISA's observations of these sources will provide astrophysical details about some individual systems which stand out above the others. They will also provide statistical information about the others through the specific form of the unresolvable background. For other classes of sources, these backgrounds constitute 'noise'. Accurate observation of these sources will require resolving the galactic background as much as possible.

LISA Simulator output for some galactic background realizations are provided in gzipped files linked under the column labeled 'Data'. For each case there is a file labeled Parameters with a list of the ten strongest individual systems which are present in each frequency bin of the realization. How many can you pick out? See the tutorial for more information on using these data.

Galactic Background mock data

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Montana Group - February 2004
Evens-Iben-Smarr (EIS) Hills-Bender-Webbink (HBW) Matt Benecquista (Bena)

Contributor Description Data Images

Montana Group Text Description (EIS)
Update - July 15, 2004
Galactic Background (103 Mb)
Parameters (6.7 Mb)

Montana Group Text Description (HBW)
Update - July 15, 2004
Galactic Background (103 Mb)
Parameters (6.5 Mb)

Matt Benacquista Text Description (Bena)
Not LISA Simulator compatible Galactic Background (158 Mb)
Parameters (3.2 Mb)
Standards for handling
broader classes of data
are under discussion.