A new gravitational wave event reveals a binary black hole merger with total mass 190-265 solar masses, indicating black holes can form via gravitational-wave driven mergers beyond standard stellar channels.
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Robust parameter estimation for compact binaries with ground-based gravitational-wave observations using the LALInference software library
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abstract
The Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational wave (GW) detectors will begin operation in the coming years, with compact binary coalescence events a likely source for the first detections. The gravitational waveforms emitted directly encode information about the sources, including the masses and spins of the compact objects. Recovering the physical parameters of the sources from the GW observations is a key analysis task. This work describes the LALInference software library for Bayesian parameter estimation of compact binary signals, which builds on several previous methods to provide a well-tested toolkit which has already been used for several studies. We show that our implementation is able to correctly recover the parameters of compact binary signals from simulated data from the advanced GW detectors. We demonstrate this with a detailed comparison on three compact binary systems: a binary neutron star, a neutron star black hole binary and a binary black hole, where we show a cross-comparison of results obtained using three independent sampling algorithms. These systems were analysed with non-spinning, aligned spin and generic spin configurations respectively, showing that consistent results can be obtained even with the full 15-dimensional parameter space of the generic spin configurations. We also demonstrate statistically that the Bayesian credible intervals we recover correspond to frequentist confidence intervals under correct prior assumptions by analysing a set of 100 signals drawn from the prior. We discuss the computational cost of these algorithms, and describe the general and problem-specific sampling techniques we have used to improve the efficiency of sampling the compact binary coalescence parameter space.
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representative citing papers
Presents a practical fully time-domain end-to-end likelihood for gravitational-wave inference with structured linear algebra and GPU acceleration.
LIGO and Virgo detected 39 compact binary coalescence events in O3a, including 13 new ones, with black hole binaries up to 150 solar masses and the first significantly asymmetric mass ratios.
A hierarchical analysis of 69 GWTC-3 black-hole merger candidates yields an effective compactness consistent with C=0.5 and no evidence for a low-compactness exotic population.
SEOBNRv6EHM reduces parameter biases for eccentric binaries versus prior models and shows mild support for eccentricity in five catalog events plus comparable unbound fits for three high-mass events.
A two-step Bayesian reweighting scheme using Euclid galaxy locations boosts the Bayes factor for true lensed GW pairs by a factor of about 10 while lowering it for unlensed coincidences.
F-statistic framework analytically maximizes over distance and polarization to enable faster Bayesian inference of compact binary coalescences with a new evidence formulation that matches full frequency-domain results at lower cost.
Neural spline flows perform fast posterior inference on 11-dimensional millilensed GW parameters with accuracy comparable to dynesty for most quantities and a 3-day to 0.8-second speedup.
Bayesian inference on LVK O1-O3 events with eccentric aligned-spin waveforms yields log10 Bayes factors of 1.77-4.75 favoring eccentricity for GW200129, GW190701 and GW200208_22, and >99.5% probability that at least one of 57 events is eccentric under an astrophysically motivated rate prior.
New surrogate models NRSur7dq4 and RemnantModel accurately predict waveforms and remnant properties for precessing unequal-mass binary black holes up to q=4, outperforming existing models by an order of magnitude.
Ringdown analysis of GW150914 with overtones measures remnant mass and spin consistent with a Kerr black hole, supporting the no-hair theorem at the 10% level.
Binary black hole signals in GWTC-1 are consistent with general relativity predictions, with an improved graviton mass bound of mg ≤ 4.7 × 10^{-23} eV/c² at 90% credible level.
IMRPhenomXPHM is a new computationally efficient phenomenological model for precessing binary black hole gravitational-wave signals that incorporates higher-order modes via twisting-up maps from non-precessing waveforms.
GWTC-5 chirp-mass peaks form a ~1.9-spaced ladder with a new ~19 M⊙ rung matching predicted 2G+3G mergers, unifying prior 1G+2G spin-transition groups under one hierarchical scenario.
Bilby-antiglitch jointly models astrophysical signals and quasi-physical glitches to recover true source properties from simulated gravitational wave data contaminated by loud non-Gaussian transients.
Finite cores in low-mass dark matter halos produce distinct complex residuals in LISA-band wave-optics amplification that cannot be fully mimicked by lower-concentration NFW profiles and peak at rc/rs ≃ 0.25-0.3.
ET-Δ outperforms ET-2L on luminosity distance and source-frame masses for BBH events because its redundancy produces higher multi-detector uptime under realistic duty-cycle modeling.
Hybrid SPA-plus-FFT frequency-domain version of SEOBNRv5THM for quasi-circular spin-aligned BNS systems matches time-domain baseline accuracy while cutting computational cost for long signals.
Introduces Fisher information velocity on a PSD Riemannian manifold to decouple energy surges from spectral warps, achieving 74% higher significance than BLRMS and expanding anomaly detection by 87% on LIGO O4a data while remaining insensitive to astrophysical signals.
GW231123 data favors an overlapping two-signal model over a single merger with Bayes factors of 100-10000, mitigating waveform-dependent discrepancies and suggesting possible gravitational lensing.
No evidence for deviations from general relativity is found in LIGO-Virgo binary black hole events, with improved constraints on waveform parameters, graviton mass, and ringdown properties.
Spin prior choices propagate into tests of GR via the 1.5PN deviation parameter δφ̂3 in a non-trivial, event-dependent way, with stronger effects for short-inspiral events and partial degeneracy with χ_eff when the deviation is included.
GWTC BBH mergers have typical recoil kicks of ~300–330 km/s, with retention of only ~2–3% in globular clusters; hierarchical-merger prospects depend on both retention and post-kick re-centering.
GWTC-2.1 adds eight new high-significance compact binary coalescence events to the prior catalog, extending the observed black hole mass range and including candidates inside the pair-instability mass gap.
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GW231123: a Binary Black Hole Merger with Total Mass 190-265 $M_{\odot}$
A new gravitational wave event reveals a binary black hole merger with total mass 190-265 solar masses, indicating black holes can form via gravitational-wave driven mergers beyond standard stellar channels.
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Accelerated Time-domain Analysis for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
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GWTC-2: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the First Half of the Third Observing Run
LIGO and Virgo detected 39 compact binary coalescence events in O3a, including 13 new ones, with black hole binaries up to 150 solar masses and the first significantly asymmetric mass ratios.
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Establishing Compactness as a Population Observable in Gravitational-Wave Astronomy
A hierarchical analysis of 69 GWTC-3 black-hole merger candidates yields an effective compactness consistent with C=0.5 and no evidence for a low-compactness exotic population.
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Eccentric and unbound compact binaries in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA catalog: parameter estimation and waveform systematics with SEOBNRv6EHM
SEOBNRv6EHM reduces parameter biases for eccentric binaries versus prior models and shows mild support for eccentricity in five catalog events plus comparable unbound fits for three high-mass events.
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Improved Identification of Strongly Lensed Gravitational Waves with Host Galaxy Locations
A two-step Bayesian reweighting scheme using Euclid galaxy locations boosts the Bayes factor for true lensed GW pairs by a factor of about 10 while lowering it for unlensed coincidences.
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A Robust and Efficient F-statistic-based Framework for Consistent Bayesian Inference of Compact Binary Coalescences
F-statistic framework analytically maximizes over distance and polarization to enable faster Bayesian inference of compact binary coalescences with a new evidence formulation that matches full frequency-domain results at lower cost.
-
Parameter inference of millilensed gravitational waves using neural spline flows
Neural spline flows perform fast posterior inference on 11-dimensional millilensed GW parameters with accuracy comparable to dynesty for most quantities and a 3-day to 0.8-second speedup.
-
Evidence for eccentricity in the population of binary black holes observed by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA
Bayesian inference on LVK O1-O3 events with eccentric aligned-spin waveforms yields log10 Bayes factors of 1.77-4.75 favoring eccentricity for GW200129, GW190701 and GW200208_22, and >99.5% probability that at least one of 57 events is eccentric under an astrophysically motivated rate prior.
-
Surrogate models for precessing binary black hole simulations with unequal masses
New surrogate models NRSur7dq4 and RemnantModel accurately predict waveforms and remnant properties for precessing unequal-mass binary black holes up to q=4, outperforming existing models by an order of magnitude.
-
Testing the no-hair theorem with GW150914
Ringdown analysis of GW150914 with overtones measures remnant mass and spin consistent with a Kerr black hole, supporting the no-hair theorem at the 10% level.
-
Tests of General Relativity with the Binary Black Hole Signals from the LIGO-Virgo Catalog GWTC-1
Binary black hole signals in GWTC-1 are consistent with general relativity predictions, with an improved graviton mass bound of mg ≤ 4.7 × 10^{-23} eV/c² at 90% credible level.
-
Computationally efficient models for the dominant and sub-dominant harmonic modes of precessing binary black holes
IMRPhenomXPHM is a new computationally efficient phenomenological model for precessing binary black hole gravitational-wave signals that incorporates higher-order modes via twisting-up maps from non-precessing waveforms.
-
The Chirp-Mass Ladder: A New Rung Emerges
GWTC-5 chirp-mass peaks form a ~1.9-spaced ladder with a new ~19 M⊙ rung matching predicted 2G+3G mergers, unifying prior 1G+2G spin-transition groups under one hierarchical scenario.
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A parametric signal plus noise inference framework for short duration non-Gaussian noise transients
Bilby-antiglitch jointly models astrophysical signals and quasi-physical glitches to recover true source properties from simulated gravitational wave data contaminated by loud non-Gaussian transients.
-
Finite-Core Signatures in LISA-Band Wave-Optics Lensing by Low-Mass Dark Matter Halos
Finite cores in low-mass dark matter halos produce distinct complex residuals in LISA-band wave-optics amplification that cannot be fully mimicked by lower-concentration NFW profiles and peak at rc/rs ≃ 0.25-0.3.
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Impact of the Einstein Telescope's duty cycle on the estimation of binary black holes parameters
ET-Δ outperforms ET-2L on luminosity distance and source-frame masses for BBH events because its redundancy produces higher multi-detector uptime under realistic duty-cycle modeling.
-
Speed and accuracy for long signals: Frequency-domain effective-one-body waveforms for compact binary coalescences
Hybrid SPA-plus-FFT frequency-domain version of SEOBNRv5THM for quasi-circular spin-aligned BNS systems matches time-domain baseline accuracy while cutting computational cost for long signals.
-
Fisher Information Velocity: A New Geometric Channel for Precision Glitch Identification in Gravitational-Wave Detectors
Introduces Fisher information velocity on a PSD Riemannian manifold to decouple energy surges from spectral warps, achieving 74% higher significance than BLRMS and expanding anomaly detection by 87% on LIGO O4a data while remaining insensitive to astrophysical signals.
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GW231123: Overlapping Gravitational Wave Signals?
GW231123 data favors an overlapping two-signal model over a single merger with Bayes factors of 100-10000, mitigating waveform-dependent discrepancies and suggesting possible gravitational lensing.
-
Tests of General Relativity with Binary Black Holes from the second LIGO-Virgo Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog
No evidence for deviations from general relativity is found in LIGO-Virgo binary black hole events, with improved constraints on waveform parameters, graviton mass, and ringdown properties.
-
The Impact of Spin Priors on Parameterized Tests of General Relativity
Spin prior choices propagate into tests of GR via the 1.5PN deviation parameter δφ̂3 in a non-trivial, event-dependent way, with stronger effects for short-inspiral events and partial degeneracy with χ_eff when the deviation is included.
-
Recoil kicks from binary black hole mergers in GWTC catalogs: implications for retention and hierarchical mergers
GWTC BBH mergers have typical recoil kicks of ~300–330 km/s, with retention of only ~2–3% in globular clusters; hierarchical-merger prospects depend on both retention and post-kick re-centering.
-
GWTC-2.1: Deep Extended Catalog of Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the First Half of the Third Observing Run
GWTC-2.1 adds eight new high-significance compact binary coalescence events to the prior catalog, extending the observed black hole mass range and including candidates inside the pair-instability mass gap.
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Investigating the effect of sensitivity of KAGRA on sky localization of gravitational-wave sources from compact binary coalescences
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GW190711_030756 and GW200114_020818: astrophysical interpretation of two asymmetric binary black hole mergers in the IAS catalog
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GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the Second Part of the Third Observing Run
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Tests of General Relativity with GWTC-3
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Pedagogical derivation from first principles of hierarchical Bayesian inference for population properties of compact binaries in the presence of selection effects, with two worked examples.
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