Observational Limit on Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars in the Galaxy

Using optimal matched filtering, we search 25 hours of data from the LIGO 40-m prototype laser interferometric gravitational-wave detector for gravitational-wave chirps emitted by coalescing binary systems within our Galaxy. This is the first test of this filtering technique on real interferometric data. An upper limit on the rate $R$ of neutron star binary inspirals in our Galaxy is obtained: with $90%$ confidence, $R<0.5{\mathrm{h}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Similar experiments with LIGO interferometers will provide constraints on the population of tight binary neutron star systems in the Universe.