An architecture for efficient gravitational wave parameter estimation with multimodal linear surrogate models

Abstract

The recent direct observation of gravitational waves has further emphasized the desire for fast, low-cost, and accurate methods to infer the parameters of gravitational wave sources. Due to expense in waveform generation and data handling, the cost of evaluating the likelihood function limits the computational performance of these calculations. Building on recently developed surrogate models and a novel parameter estimation pipeline, we show how to quickly generate the likelihood function as an analytic, closed-form expression. Using a straightforward variant of a production-scale parameter estimation code, we demonstrate our method using surrogate models of effective-one-body and numerical relativity waveforms. Our study is the first time these models have been used for parameter estimation and one of the first ever parameter estimation calculations with multi-modal numerical relativity waveforms, which include all l <= 4 modes. Our grid-free method enables rapid parameter estimation for any waveform with a suitable reduced-order model. The methods described in this paper may also find use in other data analysis studies, such as vetting coincident events or the computation of the coalescing-compact-binary detection statistic.

10 pages, 3 figures, and 1 table

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• Statistical Gravitational Waveform Models: What to Simulate Next?
• LISA parameter estimation and source localization with higher harmonics of the ringdown
• Impact of subdominant modes on the interpretation of gravitational-wave signals from heavy binary black hole systems
• Accurate inspiral-merger-ringdown gravitational waveforms for non-spinning black-hole binaries including the effect of subdominant modes
• Systematic challenges for future gravitational wave measurements of precessing binary black holes
• Including mode mixing in a higher-multipole model for gravitational waveforms from nonspinning black-hole binaries
• Rapid and accurate parameter inference for coalescing, precessing compact binaries
• Application of the third RIT binary black hole simulations catalog to parameter estimation of gravitational waves signals from the LIGO-Virgo O1/O2 observational runs
• Enhancing gravitational waveform models through dynamic calibration
• Beyond GWTC-3: Analysing and verifying new gravitational-wave events from community catalogues
• GWSurrogate: A Python package for gravitational wave surrogate models