Impact of subdominant modes on the interpretation of gravitational-wave signals from heavy binary black hole systems

Abstract

Over the past year, a handful of new gravitational wave models have been developed to include multiple harmonic modes thereby enabling for the first time fully Bayesian inference studies including higher modes to be performed. Using one recently-developed numerical relativity surrogate model, NRHybSur3dq8, we investigate the importance of higher modes on parameter inference of coalescing massive binary black holes. We focus on examples relevant to the current three-detector network of observatories, with a detector-frame mass set to $120M_{\odot }$ and with signal amplitude values that are consistent with plausible candidates for the next few observing runs. We show that for such systems the higher mode content will be important for interpreting coalescing binary black holes, reducing systematic bias, and computing properties of the remnant object. Even for comparable-mass binaries and at low signal amplitude, the omission of higher modes can influence posterior probability distributions. We discuss the impact of our results on source population inference and self-consistency tests of general relativity. Our work can be used to better understand asymmetric binary black hole merger events, such as GW190412. Higher modes are critical for such systems, and their omission usually produces substantial parameter biases.

24 pages, 12 figures, 1 table; version 2 contains additional material including a comparison to previous works and measuring individual black hole spins

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• GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the Second Part of the Third Observing Run
• GW190412: Observation of a Binary-Black-Hole Coalescence with Asymmetric Masses
• Four eccentric mergers increase the evidence that LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA's binary black holes form dynamically
• Possible Causes of False General Relativity Violations in Gravitational Wave Observations
• Targeted large mass ratio numerical relativity surrogate waveform model for GW190814
• Mode-by-mode Relative Binning: Fast Likelihood Estimation for Gravitational Waveforms with Spin-Orbit Precession and Multiple Harmonics
• The SXS Collaboration's third catalog of binary black hole simulations
• Surrogate model for gravitational wave signals from non-spinning, comparable- to large-mass-ratio black hole binaries built on black hole perturbation theory waveforms calibrated to numerical relativity
• Numerical relativity surrogate model with memory effects and post-Newtonian hybridization
• Towards the routine use of subdominant harmonics in gravitational-wave inference: re-analysis of GW190412 with generation X waveform models
• Measuring the spins of heavy binary black holes
• Black hole spectroscopy horizons for current and future gravitational wave detectors
• Cosmography with next-generation gravitational wave detectors
• VARAHA: A Fast Non-Markovian sampler for estimating Gravitational-Wave posteriors
• Interplay of spin-precession and higher harmonics in the parameter estimation of binary black holes
• GW190521: tracing imprints of spin-precession on the most massive black hole binary
• Systematic biases due to waveform mismodeling in parametrized post-Einsteinian tests of general relativity: The impact of neglecting spin precession and higher modes
• Accelerating Multi-Model Bayesian Inference, Model Selection and Systematic Studies for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
• Statistical and systematic uncertainties in extracting the source properties of neutron star - black hole binaries with gravitational waves
• Improved analysis of GW190412 with a precessing numerical relativity surrogate waveform model
• Population inference of spin-induced quadrupole moments as a probe for non-black hole compact binaries
• Assessing and marginalizing over compact binary coalescence waveform systematics with RIFT
• On the LISA science performance in observations of short-lived signals from massive black hole binary coalescences
• Odd-parity perturbations of the wormhole-like geometries and quasi-normal modes in Einstein-Æther theory
• Analysis of GWTC-3 with fully precessing numerical relativity surrogate models
• Inconsistent black hole kick estimates from gravitational-wave models
• Detectability of gravitational higher order modes in the third-generation era
• What is the nature of GW230529? An exploration of the gravitational lensing hypothesis
• High-precision source characterization of intermediate mass-ratio black hole coalescences with gravitational waves: The importance of higher-order multipoles
• Universal horizons and black hole spectroscopy in gravitational theories with broken Lorentz symmetry
• Numerical Relativity Multimodal Waveforms using Absorbing Boundary Conditions
• Impact of Bayesian Priors on the Inferred Masses of Quasi-Circular Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Binaries
• Systematic biases in parameter estimation on LISA binaries: The effect of excluding higher harmonics for non-spinning binaries
• Numerical-relativity surrogate modeling with nearly extremal black-hole spins
• Probing Spin-Orbit Resonances with the Binary Black Hole Population
• Mapping Parameter Correlations in Spinning Binary Black Hole Mergers
• Parameter control for binary black hole initial data
• No model-independent evidence for a peak in binary black hole spin (mis)alignments
• Measuring spin precession from massive black hole binaries with gravitational waves: insights from time-domain signal morphology
• Applying higher-modes consistency test on GW190814 : lessons on no-hair theorem, nature of the secondary compact object and waveform modeling