Computing waveforms for spinning compact binaries in quasi-eccentric orbits

TL;DR

This paper develops an efficient method to generate gravitational waveforms for spinning black hole binaries on quasi-eccentric orbits using a separation of timescales and generalized Keplerian parameterization, facilitating detection and analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a computationally efficient approach to produce waveforms for spinning, quasi-eccentric binaries at 1.5 PN order by separating orbital and precession timescales.

Findings

Efficient waveform generation for spinning binaries on quasi-eccentric orbits.

Method reduces computational cost compared to direct implementation.

Framework can be extended to higher PN orders.

Abstract

Several scenarios have been proposed in which the orbits of binary black holes enter the band of a gravitational wave detector with significant eccentricity. To avoid missing these signals or biasing parameter estimation it is important that we consider waveform models that account for eccentricity. The ingredients needed to compute post-Newtonian (PN) waveforms produced by spinning black holes inspiralling on quasi-eccentric orbits have been available for almost two decades at 2 PN order, and this work has recently been extended to 2.5 PN order. However, the computational cost of directly implementing these waveforms is high, requiring many steps per orbit to evolve the system of coupled differential equations. Here we employ the standard techniques of a separation of timescales and a generalized Keplerian parameterization of the orbits to produce efficient waveforms describing spinning black hole binaries with arbitrary masses and spins on quasi-eccentric orbits to 1.5 PN order. We separate the fast orbital timescale from the slow spin-orbit precession timescale by solving for the orbital motion in a non-interial frame of reference that follows the orbital precession. We outline a scheme for extending our approach to higher post-Newtonian order.