Gravitational-Wave Astronomy with Inspiral Signals of Spinning Compact-Object Binaries

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates improved parameter estimation for spinning black-hole--neutron-star binary inspirals using Markov-chain Monte-Carlo methods, achieving higher accuracy in source localization and binary parameters with ground-based gravitational-wave detectors.

Contribution

First to estimate parameters of spinning binary inspirals and assess accuracy using MCMC simulations for ground-based gravitational-wave observations.

Findings

Achieved higher accuracy in distance, sky position, and orientation estimation.

Sky position can be localized within a few tens of square degrees.

Demonstrated the effectiveness of MCMC methods for spinning binary parameter estimation.

Abstract

Inspiral signals from binary compact objects (black holes and neutron stars) are primary targets of the ongoing searches by ground-based gravitational-wave interferometers (LIGO, Virgo, GEO-600 and TAMA-300). We present parameter-estimation simulations for inspirals of black-hole--neutron-star binaries using Markov-chain Monte-Carlo methods. For the first time, we have both estimated the parameters of a binary inspiral source with a spinning component and determined the accuracy of the parameter estimation, for simulated observations with ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. We demonstrate that we can obtain the distance, sky position, and binary orientation at a higher accuracy than previously suggested in the literature. For an observation of an inspiral with sufficient spin and two or three detectors we find an accuracy in the determination of the sky position of typically a few tens of square degrees.