PhysRevLett-113-151101.pdf (337.8 kB)
Simple model of complete precessing black-hole-binary gravitational waveforms
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 02:23 authored by Mark Hannam, Patricia Schmidt, Alejandro Bohé, Leïla Haegel, Sascha Husa, Frank Ohme, Geraint Pratten, Michael PürrerThe construction of a model of the gravitational-wave (GW) signal from generic configurations of spinning-black-hole binaries, through inspiral, merger, and ringdown, is one of the most pressing theoretical problems in the buildup to the era of GW astronomy. We present the first such model in the frequency domain, PhenomP, which captures the basic phenomenology of the seven-dimensional parameter space of binary configurations with only three key physical parameters. Two of these (the binary’s mass ratio and an effective total spin parallel to the orbital angular momentum, which determines the inspiral rate) define an underlying nonprecessing-binary model. The nonprecessing-binary waveforms are then twisted up with approximate expressions for the precessional motion, which require only one additional physical parameter, an effective precession spin, ?p. All other parameters (total mass, sky location, orientation and polarization, and initial phase) can be specified trivially. The model is constructed in the frequency domain, which will be essential for efficient GW searches and source measurements. We have tested the model’s fidelity for GW applications by comparison against hybrid post-Newtonian-numerical-relativity waveforms at a variety of configurations—although we did not use these numerical simulations in the construction of the model. Our model can be used to develop GW searches, to study the implications for astrophysical measurements, and as a simple conceptual framework to form the basis of generic-binary waveform modeling in the advanced-detector era.
Funding
2012 Doctoral Training Grant - Quota Studentships (STFC); G0939; STFC-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL; ST/K502364/1
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- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Physical Review LettersISSN
0031-9007Publisher
American Physical SocietyExternal DOI
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15Volume
113Department affiliated with
- Physics and Astronomy Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-08-05First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-08-05First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-08-04Usage metrics
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