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Article
Improved Analysis of GW150914 Using a Fully Spin-Precessing Waveform Model
Faculty Publications
  • Tiffany Summerscales, Andrews University
  • LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-21-2016
Keywords
  • Gravitational waves,
  • Binary stars,
  • Black holes
Abstract

This paper presents updated estimates of source parameters for GW150914, a binary black-hole coalescence event detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015 [Abbott et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016).]. Abbott et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 241102 (2016).] presented parameter estimation of the source using a 13-dimensional, phenomenological precessing-spin model (precessing IMRPhenom) and an 11-dimensional nonprecessing effective-one-body (EOB) model calibrated to numerical-relativity simulations, which forces spin alignment (nonprecessing EOBNR). Here, we present new results that include a 15-dimensional precessing-spin waveform model (precessing EOBNR) developed within the EOB formalism. We find good agreement with the parameters estimated previously [Abbott et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 241102 (2016).], and we quote updated component masses of 35+5−3 M⊙ and 30+3−4 M⊙ (where errors correspond to 90% symmetric credible intervals). We also present slightly tighter constraints on the dimensionless spin magnitudes of the two black holes, with a primary spin estimate <0.65 and a secondary spin estimate <0.75 at 90% probability. Abbott et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 241102 (2016).] estimated the systematic parameter-extraction errors due to waveform-model uncertainty by combining the posterior probability densities of precessing IMRPhenom and nonprecessing EOBNR. Here, we find that the two precessing-spin models are in closer agreement, suggesting that these systematic errors are smaller than previously quoted.

Journal Title
Physical Review X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.041014
First Department
Physics
Citation Information
Tiffany Summerscales and LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration. "Improved Analysis of GW150914 Using a Fully Spin-Precessing Waveform Model" Vol. 6 (2016) p. 041014 - 041014
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/tiffany_summerscales/66/