Measuring precession in asymmetric compact binaries

Abstract

Gravitational-wave observations of merging compact binaries hold the key to precision measurements of the objects' masses and spins. General-relativistic precession, caused by spins misaligned with the orbital angular momentum, is considered a crucial tracer for determining the binary's formation history and environment, and it also improves mass estimates -- its measurement is therefore of particular interest with wide-ranging implications. Precession leaves a characteristic signature in the emitted gravitational-wave signal that is even more pronounced in binaries with highly unequal masses. The recent observations of GW190412 and GW190814 have confirmed the existence of such asymmetric compact binaries. Here, we perform a systematic study to assess the confidence in measuring precession in gravitational-wave observations of high mass ratio binaries and, our ability to measure the mass of the lighter companion in neutron star -- black hole type systems. Using Bayesian model selection, we show that precession can be decisively identified for low-mass binaries with mass ratios as low as $1:3$ and mildly precessing spins with magnitudes $\lesssim 0.4$, even in the presence of systematic waveform errors.

18 pages incl. appendices and bibliography, 12 figures, 4 tables; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Research

References in corpus (148)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• GWTC-1: A Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog of Compact Binary Mergers Observed by LIGO and Virgo during the First and Second Observing Runs
• GW190814: Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of a 23 M${}_{\odot }$ Black Hole with a 2.6 M${}_{\odot }$ Compact Object
• GW190425: Observation of a Compact Binary Coalescence with Total Mass $\sim 3.4M_{\odot }$
• Gravitational Waves from Mergin Compact Binaries: How Accurately Can One Extract the Binary's Parameters from the Inspiral Waveform?
• Relativistic Shapiro delay measurements of an extremely massive millisecond pulsar
• Effective one-body approach to general relativistic two-body dynamics
• Transient Events from Neutron Star Mergers
• Properties of the binary neutron star merger GW170817
• Did LIGO detect dark matter?
• Electromagnetic Counterparts of Compact Object Mergers Powered by the Radioactive Decay of R-process Nuclei
• Binary Black Hole Mergers in the first Advanced LIGO Observing Run
• Frequency-domain gravitational waves from non-precessing black-hole binaries. II. A phenomenological model for the advanced detector era
• Robust parameter estimation for compact binaries with ground-based gravitational-wave observations using the LALInference software library
• The first gravitational-wave source from the isolated evolution of two 40-100 Msun stars
• Binary Black Hole Population Properties Inferred from the First and Second Observing Runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo
• Transition from inspiral to plunge in binary black hole coalescences
• Astrophysical Implications of the Binary Black-Hole Merger GW150914
• Frequency-domain gravitational waves from non-precessing black-hole binaries. I. New numerical waveforms and anatomy of the signal
• Using gravitational-wave observations and quasi-universal relations to constrain the maximum mass of neutron stars
• Coalescing binary systems of compact objects to (post)$^{5/2}-Newtonian order. V. Spin Effects
• Double Compact Objects I: The Significance Of The Common Envelope On Merger Rates
• A simple model of complete precessing black-hole-binary gravitational waveforms
• The Black Hole Mass Distribution in the Galaxy
• The runaway growth of intermediate-mass black holes in dense star clusters
• GW190412: Observation of a Binary-Black-Hole Coalescence with Asymmetric Masses
• Coalescence of Two Spinning Black Holes: An Effective One-Body Approach
• Inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms for black-hole binaries with non-precessing spins
• Optical emission from a kilonova following a gravitational-wave-detected neutron-star merger
• The clustering of massive Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter: measuring their mass distribution with Advanced LIGO
• Rapid and Bright Stellar-mass Binary Black Hole Mergers in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Scientific Objectives of Einstein Telescope
• The Mass Distribution of Stellar-Mass Black Holes
• Gravitational waves from inspiralling compact binaries: Parameter estimation using second-post-Newtonian waveforms
• Matching post-Newtonian and numerical relativity waveforms: systematic errors and a new phenomenological model for non-precessing black hole binaries
• On the determination of the last stable orbit for circular general relativistic binaries at the third post-Newtonian approximation
• Modeling GW170817 based on numerical relativity and its implications
• Double Compact Objects III: Gravitational Wave Detection Rates
• BlackCAT: A catalogue of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray transients
• Double Compact Objects II: Cosmological Merger Rates
• Exploring short gamma-ray bursts as gravitational-wave standard sirens
• Towards models of gravitational waveforms from generic binaries II: Modelling precession effects with a single effective precession parameter
• Binary Black Hole Mergers from Globular Clusters: Implications for Advanced LIGO
• Merger of binary neutron stars to a black hole: Disk mass, short gamma-ray bursts, and quasinormal mode ringing
• Formation of the first three gravitational-wave observations through isolated binary evolution
• The evolutionary roads leading to low effective spins, high black hole masses, and O1/O2 rates of LIGO/Virgo binary black holes
• The progenitors of compact-object binaries: impact of metallicity, common envelope and natal kicks
• Illuminating Black Hole Binary Formation Channels with Spins in Advanced LIGO
• On the Mass Distribution and Birth Masses of Neutron Stars
• The Mass Distribution of Stellar Black Holes
• Black Holes: The Next Generation -- Repeated Mergers in Dense Star Clusters and their Gravitational-Wave Properties
• Multipolar Effective-One-Body Waveforms for Precessing Binary Black Holes: Construction and Validation
• IMRPhenomXHM: A multi-mode frequency-domain model for the gravitational wave signal from non-precessing black-hole binaries
• Are merging black holes born from stellar collapse or previous mergers?
• Analysis of spin precession in binary black hole systems including quadrupole-monopole interaction
• Most Black Holes are Born Very Slowly Rotating
• Mergers of neutron star black hole binaries with small mass ratios: nucleosynthesis, gamma-ray bursts and electromagnetic transients
• Merging black hole binaries: the effects of progenitor's metallicity, mass-loss rate and Eddington factor
• Setting the cornerstone for the IMRPhenomX family of models for gravitational waves from compact binaries: The dominant harmonic for non-precessing quasi-circular black holes
• Distinguishing Spin-Aligned and Isotropic Black Hole Populations With Gravitational Waves
• Hierarchical Black Hole Mergers in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Massive black hole binaries from runaway collisions: the impact of metallicity
• Discovery of a Candidate Black Hole - Giant Star Binary System in the Galactic Field
• Enriching the Symphony of Gravitational Waves from Binary Black Holes by Tuning Higher Harmonics
• Bayesian coherent analysis of in-spiral gravitational wave signals with a detector network
• BPASS predictions for Binary Black-Hole Mergers
• Are LIGO's Black Holes Made From Smaller Black Holes?
• Does the Black Hole Merger Rate Evolve with Redshift?
• Eccentric Black Hole Mergers in Dense Star Clusters: The Role of Binary-Binary Encounters
• Mass Measurements of Black Holes in X-Ray Transients: Is There a Mass Gap?
• Measuring the binary black hole mass spectrum with an astrophysically motivated parameterization
• Dynamical Formation of the GW150914 Binary Black Hole
• Gravitational Wave Tests of General Relativity with the Parameterized Post-Einsteinian Framework
• Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers: Disk Mass Predictions
• Evidence for a maximum mass cut-off in the neutron star mass distribution and constraints on the equation of state
• The spin of the second-born black hole in coalescing binary black holes
• Cosmography with the Einstein Telescope
• Towards models of gravitational waveforms from generic binaries: A simple approximate mapping between precessing and non-precessing inspiral signals
• Spin-Orbit Misalignment in Close Binaries with Two Compact Objects
• Remnant baryon mass outside of the black hole after a neutron star-black hole merger
• Cosmology with the lights off: Standard sirens in the Einstein Telescope era
• Compact Binary Coalescences in the Band of Ground-based Gravitational-Wave Detectors
• Nonparametric Inference of Neutron Star Composition, Equation of State, and Maximum Mass with GW170817
• Hierarchical analysis of gravitational-wave measurements of binary black hole spin-orbit misalignments
• Eight New Millisecond Pulsars in NGC 6440 and NGC 6441
• Where are LIGO's Big Black Holes?
• LISA observations of rapidly spinning massive black hole binary systems
• Measuring coalescing massive binary black holes with gravitational waves: The impact of spin-induced precession
• Determining the population properties of spinning black holes
• Reconstructing phenomenological distributions of compact binaries via gravitational wave observations
• Degeneracy between mass and spin in black-hole-binary waveforms
• Tracking the precession of compact binaries from their gravitational-wave signal
• Gravitational waves from spinning black hole-neutron star binaries: dependence on black hole spins and on neutron star equations of state
• Black hole-neutron star mergers at realistic mass ratios: Equation of state and spin orientation effects
• Relativistic Simulations of Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers: Effects of black-hole spin
• Estimates for Disk and Ejecta Masses Produced in Compact Binary Mergers
• A multipolar effective one body waveform model for spin-aligned black hole binaries
• Measuring the spin of black holes in binary systems using gravitational waves
• Model comparison from LIGO-Virgo data on GW170817's binary components and consequences for the merger remnant
• Using spin to understand the formation of LIGO's black holes
• Three-Body Dynamics with Gravitational Wave Emission
• Characterization of systematic error in Advanced LIGO calibration
• Extracting equation of state parameters from black hole-neutron star mergers: aligned-spin black holes and a preliminary waveform model
• Binary black holes in young star clusters: the impact of metallicity
• Black hole, neutron star and white dwarf merger rates in AGN disks
• Effects of waveform model systematics on the interpretation of GW150914
• Calibration Uncertainty for Advanced LIGO's First and Second Observing Runs
• Redshift Evolution of the Black Hole Merger Rate from Globular Clusters
• Merger of black hole-neutron star binaries in full general relativity
• Black hole-neutron star mergers: effects of the orientation of the black hole spin
• Gravitational waves from black hole-neutron star binaries I: Classification of waveforms
• Gravitational waves from nonspinning black hole-neutron star binaries: dependence on equations of state
• Black hole genealogy: Identifying hierarchical mergers with gravitational waves
• Measuring the star formation rate with gravitational waves from binary black holes
• The Black Hole Mass Function from Gravitational Wave Measurements
• Modeling the gravitational wave signature of neutron star black hole coalescences: PhenomNSBH
• The Low Effective Spin of Binary Black Holes and Implications for Individual Gravitational-Wave Events
• Prospects for gravitational-wave observations of neutron-star tidal disruption in neutron-star/black-hole binaries
• Parameter estimation for heavy binary-black holes with networks of second-generation gravitational-wave detectors
• A Multipolar Effective One Body Model for Non-Spinning Black Hole Binaries
• Dynamical Formation of Low-Mass Merging Black Hole Binaries like GW151226
• An aligned-spin neutron-star--black-hole waveform model based on the effective-one-body approach and numerical-relativity simulations
• The Dynamical Evolution of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries in General Relativity: Simulations of Tidal Disruption
• Picky Partners: The Pairing of Component Masses in Binary Black Hole Mergers
• First direct comparison of non-disrupting neutron star-black hole and binary black hole merger simulations
• Gravitational waves from BH-NS binaries: Effective Fisher matrices and parameter estimation using higher harmonics
• Inferring the population properties of binary neutron stars with gravitational-wave measurements of spin
• Effect of calibration errors on Bayesian parameter estimation for gravitational wave signals from inspiral binary systems in the advanced detectors era
• Numerical simulations of neutron star-black hole binaries in the near-equal-mass regime
• On the Maximum Mass of Neutron Stars
• Two-harmonic approximation for gravitational waveforms from precessing binaries
• Birth, life, and death of black hole binaries around supermassive black holes: dynamical evolution of gravitational wave sources
• A Bayesian approach to the follow-up of candidate gravitational wave signals
• Spin-Precession: Breaking the Black Hole--Neutron Star Degeneracy
• Neutron stars versus black holes: probing the mass gap with LIGO/Virgo
• Black holes in the low mass gap: Implications for gravitational wave observations
• Aligned spin neutron star-black hole mergers: a gravitational waveform amplitude model
• Prospects for joint gravitational-wave and electromagnetic observations of neutron-star--black-hole coalescing binaries
• Parameter Estimation of Gravitational Waves from Precessing BH-NS Inspirals with higher harmonics
• When will we observe binary black holes precessing?
• Neutron star tidal disruption in mixed binaries: the imprint of the equation of state
• Astrophysical implications of GW190412 as a remnant of a previous black-hole merger
• Parameter estimation for coalescing massive binary black holes with LISA using the full 2-post-Newtonian gravitational waveform and spin-orbit precession
• Distinguishing black-hole spin-orbit resonances by their gravitational wave signatures. II: Full parameter estimation
• Astrophysical Prior Information and Gravitational-wave Parameter Estimation
• Distinguishing binary neutron star from neutron star-black hole mergers with gravitational waves
• Detection and characterization of spin-orbit resonances in the advanced gravitational wave detectors era

Cited by in corpus (40)

• GWTC-2: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the First Half of the Third Observing Run
• GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the Second Part of the Third Observing Run
• Observation of gravitational waves from two neutron star-black hole coalescences
• SEOBNRv5PHM: Next generation of accurate and efficient multipolar precessing-spin effective-one-body waveforms for binary black holes
• The BayesWave analysis pipeline in the era of gravitational wave observations
• Laying the foundation of the effective-one-body waveform models SEOBNRv5: improved accuracy and efficiency for spinning non-precessing binary black holes
• GW231123: a Binary Black Hole Merger with Total Mass 190-265 $M_{\odot }$
• The Science of the Einstein Telescope
• The curious case of GW200129: interplay between spin-precession inference and data-quality issues
• A generalized precession parameter ${\chi }_{\mathrm{p}}$ to interpret gravitational-wave data
• GWTC-4.0: Updating the Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog with Observations from the First Part of the Fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Observing Run
• Accurate modeling and mitigation of overlapping signals and glitches in gravitational-wave data
• Identifying when Precession can be Measured in Gravitational Waveforms
• Measuring the spins of heavy binary black holes
• Improved post-Newtonian waveform model for inspiralling precessing-eccentric compact binaries
• New effective precession spin for modeling multimodal gravitational waveforms in the strong-field regime
• GW241011 and GW241110: Exploring Binary Formation and Fundamental Physics with Asymmetric, High-Spin Black Hole Coalescence
• Systematic Biases in Estimating the Properties of Black Holes Due to Inaccurate Gravitational-Wave Models
• Understanding how fast black holes spin by analysing data from the second gravitational-wave catalogue
• Interplay of spin-precession and higher harmonics in the parameter estimation of binary black holes
• Measurability of precession and eccentricity for heavy binary-black-hole mergers
• Evidence for subdominant multipole moments and precession in merging black-hole-binaries from GWTC-2.1
• On the LISA science performance in observations of short-lived signals from massive black hole binary coalescences
• Rotating Love: The dynamical tides of spinning Newtonian stars
• Gravitational-wave Observations Suggest Most Black Hole Mergers Form in Triples
• Constraining black-hole binary spin precession and nutation with sequential prior conditioning
• Population properties of neutron stars in the coalescing compact binaries
• Prospects for measuring off-axis spins of binary black holes with Plus-era gravitational-wave detectors
• Phenomenological model of gravitational self-force enhanced tides in inspiralling binary neutron stars
• A fully precessing higher-mode surrogate model of effective-one-body waveforms
• Distinguishing binary black hole precessional morphologies with gravitational wave observations
• Characterizing Compact-object Binaries in the Lower Mass Gap with Gravitational Waves
• Signatures of Hierarchical Mergers in Black Hole Spin and Mass distribution
• Characterization of merging black holes with two precessing spins
• Fast Waveform Generation for Gravitational Waves using Evolutionary Algorithms
• Search for Precessing Binary Black Holes in Advanced LIGO's Third Observing Run using Harmonic Decomposition
• Prospects for distinguishing dynamical tides in inspiralling binary neutron stars with third generation gravitational-wave detectors
• Reconsidering the consistent use of precessing, higher order multipole models for gravitational wave analyses
• No model-independent evidence for a peak in binary black hole spin (mis)alignments
• Multi-detector characterization of gravitational-wave burst tensor polarizations with the BayesWave algorithm