Mimicking mergers: mistaking black hole captures as mergers

Guo, W., Williams, D. , Heng, I. S. , Gabbard, H., Bae, Y.-B., Kang, G. and Zhu, Z.-H. (2022) Mimicking mergers: mistaking black hole captures as mergers. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 516(3), pp. 3847-3860. (doi: 10.1093/mnras/stac2385)

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Abstract

As the number of gravitational wave observations has increased in recent years, the variety of sources has broadened. Here, we investigate whether it is possible for the current generation of detectors to distinguish between very short-lived gravitational wave signals from mergers between high-mass black holes and the signal produced by a close encounter between two black holes, which results in gravitational capture and ultimately a merger. We compare the posterior probability distributions produced by analysing simulated signals from both types of progenitor events, both under ideal and realistic scenarios. We show that while under ideal conditions it is possible to distinguish both progenitors, under realistic conditions they are indistinguishable. This has important implications for the interpretation of such short signals, and we therefore advocate that these signals be the focus of additional investigation even when satisfactory results have been achieved from standard analyses.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Williams, Dr Daniel and Heng, Professor Ik Siong and Gabbard, Hunter Arthur
Authors: Guo, W., Williams, D., Heng, I. S., Gabbard, H., Bae, Y.-B., Kang, G., and Zhu, Z.-H.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Research Centre:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
Journal Name:Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:0035-8711
ISSN (Online):1365-2966
Published Online:26 August 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2022 The Authors
First Published:First published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 516(3): 3847-3860
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy
Data DOI:10.5281/zenodo.6384509

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
310743Investigations in Gravitational Radiation: 1-year extensionSheila RowanScience and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)ST/V001736/1P&S - Physics & Astronomy
312546Investigations in Gravitational RadiationSheila RowanScience and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)ST/V005634/1ENG - Electronics & Nanoscale Engineering