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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Analyzing black-hole ringdowns
Mixed citation behavior. Most common role is background (50%).
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abstract
A perturbed black hole rings down by emitting gravitational waves in tones with specific frequencies and durations. Such tones encode prized information about the geometry of the source spacetime and the fundamental nature of gravity, making the measurement of black hole ringdowns a key goal of gravitational wave astronomy. However, this task is plagued by technical challenges that invalidate the naive application of standard data analysis methods and complicate sensitivity projections. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive account of the formalism required to properly carry out ringdown analyses, examining in detail the foundations of recent observational results, and providing a framework for future measurements. We build on those insights to clarify the concepts of ringdown detectability and resolvability -- touching on the drawbacks of both Bayes factors and naive Fisher matrix approaches -- and find that overly pessimistic heuristics have led previous works to underestimate the role of ringdown overtones for black hole spectroscopy. We put our framework to work on the analysis of a variety of simulated signals in colored noise, including analytic injections and a numerical relativity simulation consistent with GW150914. We demonstrate that we can use tones of the quadrupolar angular harmonic to test the no-hair theorem at current sensitivity, with precision comparable to published constraints from real data. Finally, we assess the role of modeling systematics, and project measurements for future, louder signals. We release ringdown, a Python library for analyzing black hole ringdowns using the the methods discussed in this paper, under a permissive open-source license at https://github.com/maxisi/ringdown
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representative citing papers
The first informative astrophysical calibration of gravitational-wave detectors is reported using GW240925 and GW250207.
A reduction scheme transforms arbitrary N-term scalar and matrix recurrence relations from black hole perturbations in modified gravity into three-term relations solvable by continued fractions.
Polynomial models for the (2,2) post-merger waveform amplitudes of eccentric non-spinning binary black holes are constructed from numerical-relativity data as functions of symmetric mass ratio and two merger-time dynamical parameters.
Presents a practical fully time-domain end-to-end likelihood for gravitational-wave inference with structured linear algebra and GPU acceleration.
A mixture-model framework for combining gravitational-wave tests of General Relativity yields Bayes factors of 10-20 favoring GR, substantially lower than existing methods that assume uniform deviations across events.
SPRING framework propagates pre-merger information into spectral-level ringdown inference, improving Bayesian support for an agnostic two-damped-sinusoid model on GW250114 by ΔlnB ~5-10 while keeping remnant posteriors consistent with IMR estimates.
Constrained polarization model for Kerr ringdown modes enables inclination inference from two-detector data for non-precessing mergers but introduces biases when applied to precessing systems.
An EFT consistency map transports cosmology-conditioned posteriors from scalar-tensor FLRW backgrounds to black-hole quasinormal-mode kernels, showing tensor-speed effects fall below ringdown detectability while other operators remain potentially active near black holes.
FIREFLY algorithm enables 200-fold faster multi-mode ringdown analysis for space-borne gravitational wave detectors while remaining compatible with time-delay interferometry.
GW250114 data constrains GR deviations in merger amplitude to 10% and frequency to 4% at 90% CL, with first bounds on the (4,4) mode frequency at 6%.
GW250114 data confirm the remnant is consistent with a Kerr black hole and bound the dominant quadrupolar mode frequency to within a few percent of the GR prediction, with constraints tighter than prior multi-event catalogs.
Presents an efficient time-frequency Bayesian gap-filling technique that avoids costly matrix operations and integrates into LISA Global Fit, demonstrated on simulated LISA data.
BHPTNRSur2dq1e3 is a new surrogate model for spinning intermediate-mass-ratio black hole binary gravitational waves, constructed from ppBHPT training data with domain decomposition for retrograde modes and calibrated to NR simulations.
Simultaneously sampling the EFT scaling index p̃ and length scale ℓ̃ in ParSpec shows p̃ is prior-dominated and the ℓ̃ ~ 83 km bound is mostly prior geometry.
Properly accounting for sky localization uncertainty in ringdown inference widens mode-amplitude posteriors, avoids bias from fixed point estimates, and leaves amplitude ratios robust for Kerr spectroscopy.
Orthonormal QNM analysis of GW250114 raises the significance of the first overtone of the ℓ=m=2 mode from 82.5% to 99.9% and detects no significant deviation from Kerr predictions.
Gravity renders probability quasilocal in quantum theory on curved backgrounds by converting global unitarity into local flux balance laws at boundaries while preserving overall conservation.
GW250114 data confirm the remnant black hole ringdown frequencies lie within 30% of Kerr predictions and that the final horizon area is larger than the sum of the progenitors' areas to high credibility.
The work calculates scalar quasinormal mode spectra for a rotating quantum-corrected black hole and constructs a methodological pipeline to infer the quantum correction parameter from gravitational-wave ringdown data using informative priors.
A self-contained formalism for the WDM time-frequency basis in gravitational-wave analysis, including transforms, localization, edge effects, and the time-frequency noise likelihood.
No evidence for physics beyond general relativity is found in the analysis of 15 GW events from GWTC-3, with consistency in residuals, PN parameters, and remnant properties.
citing papers explorer
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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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GW240925 and GW250207: Astrophysical Calibration of Gravitational-wave Detectors
The first informative astrophysical calibration of gravitational-wave detectors is reported using GW240925 and GW250207.
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Beyond Three Terms: Continued Fractions for Rotating Black Holes in Modified Gravity
A reduction scheme transforms arbitrary N-term scalar and matrix recurrence relations from black hole perturbations in modified gravity into three-term relations solvable by continued fractions.
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Highly eccentric non-spinning binary black hole mergers: quadrupolar post-merger waveforms
Polynomial models for the (2,2) post-merger waveform amplitudes of eccentric non-spinning binary black holes are constructed from numerical-relativity data as functions of symmetric mass ratio and two merger-time dynamical parameters.
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Accelerated Time-domain Analysis for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
Presents a practical fully time-domain end-to-end likelihood for gravitational-wave inference with structured linear algebra and GPU acceleration.
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Testing General Relativity with GWTC-4.0 through mixture models
A mixture-model framework for combining gravitational-wave tests of General Relativity yields Bayes factors of 10-20 favoring GR, substantially lower than existing methods that assume uniform deviations across events.
-
A pre-merger-informed spectral-level ringdown inference framework for black-hole spectroscopy
SPRING framework propagates pre-merger information into spectral-level ringdown inference, improving Bayesian support for an agnostic two-damped-sinusoid model on GW250114 by ΔlnB ~5-10 while keeping remnant posteriors consistent with IMR estimates.
-
Polarization Analysis of Ringdown Signals
Constrained polarization model for Kerr ringdown modes enables inclination inference from two-detector data for non-precessing mergers but introduces biases when applied to precessing systems.
-
A cosmology-to-ringdown EFT consistency map for scalar-tensor gravity
An EFT consistency map transports cosmology-conditioned posteriors from scalar-tensor FLRW backgrounds to black-hole quasinormal-mode kernels, showing tensor-speed effects fall below ringdown detectability while other operators remain potentially active near black holes.
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Cracking Gravitational Wave Multiple Ringdown Modes in Space
FIREFLY algorithm enables 200-fold faster multi-mode ringdown analysis for space-borne gravitational wave detectors while remaining compatible with time-delay interferometry.
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Plunge-Merger-Ringdown Tests of General Relativity with GW250114
GW250114 data constrains GR deviations in merger amplitude to 10% and frequency to 4% at 90% CL, with first bounds on the (4,4) mode frequency at 6%.
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Black Hole Spectroscopy and Tests of General Relativity with GW250114
GW250114 data confirm the remnant is consistent with a Kerr black hole and bound the dominant quadrupolar mode frequency to within a few percent of the GR prediction, with constraints tighter than prior multi-event catalogs.
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Handling Data Gaps for the Next Generation of Gravitational-Wave Observatories
Presents an efficient time-frequency Bayesian gap-filling technique that avoids costly matrix operations and integrates into LISA Global Fit, demonstrated on simulated LISA data.
-
Gravitational wave surrogate model for spinning, intermediate mass ratio binaries based on perturbation theory and numerical relativity
BHPTNRSur2dq1e3 is a new surrogate model for spinning intermediate-mass-ratio black hole binary gravitational waves, constructed from ppBHPT training data with domain decomposition for retrograde modes and calibrated to NR simulations.
-
Extended parameterized spin expansion formalism for ringdown analysis with GW250114
Simultaneously sampling the EFT scaling index p̃ and length scale ℓ̃ in ParSpec shows p̃ is prior-dominated and the ℓ̃ ~ 83 km bound is mostly prior geometry.
-
Impact of sky localization uncertainty on ringdown inference
Properly accounting for sky localization uncertainty in ringdown inference widens mode-amplitude posteriors, avoids bias from fixed point estimates, and leaves amplitude ratios robust for Kerr spectroscopy.
-
Ringdown Analysis of GW250114 with Orthonormal Modes
Orthonormal QNM analysis of GW250114 raises the significance of the first overtone of the ℓ=m=2 mode from 82.5% to 99.9% and detects no significant deviation from Kerr predictions.
-
Does Gravity Render Probability Quasilocal?
Gravity renders probability quasilocal in quantum theory on curved backgrounds by converting global unitarity into local flux balance laws at boundaries while preserving overall conservation.
-
GW250114: testing Hawking's area law and the Kerr nature of black holes
GW250114 data confirm the remnant black hole ringdown frequencies lie within 30% of Kerr predictions and that the final horizon area is larger than the sum of the progenitors' areas to high credibility.
-
The quasinormal modes of the rotating quantum corrected black holes
The work calculates scalar quasinormal mode spectra for a rotating quantum-corrected black hole and constructs a methodological pipeline to infer the quantum correction parameter from gravitational-wave ringdown data using informative priors.
-
The WDM Time-Frequency Transform in Gravitational-Wave Data Analysis I: Formalism
A self-contained formalism for the WDM time-frequency basis in gravitational-wave analysis, including transforms, localization, edge effects, and the time-frequency noise likelihood.
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Tests of General Relativity with GWTC-3
No evidence for physics beyond general relativity is found in the analysis of 15 GW events from GWTC-3, with consistency in residuals, PN parameters, and remnant properties.