Status of the continuous gravitational wave searches in the Advanced Detector Era

Abstract

Periodic (almost monochromatic) gravitational waves emitted by rotating, asymmetric neutron stars are intriguing potential signals in the sensitivity band of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. These signals are related to elastic and magnetic stresses in the neutron-star interior, as well as to various possible instabilities, and thus are interesting from the point of view of the largely-unknown neutron star structure. I will describe the main challenges related to these searches, the current state of the data-analysis methods and plans for the future.