Applying higher-modes consistency test on GW190814 : lessons on no-hair theorem, nature of the secondary compact object and waveform modeling

TL;DR

This paper applies a higher-modes consistency test to GW190814, confirming the no-hair theorem in GR and highlighting the importance of including multiple higher-order modes in waveform models for accurate gravitational wave analysis.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the higher-modes consistency test on GW190814 and emphasizes the necessity of incorporating numerous higher-order modes in waveform models for future gravitational wave detections.

Findings

GW190814 strongly supports the no-hair hypothesis in GR.

Neglecting higher-order modes can lead to false rejection of the no-hair hypothesis.

Including more higher modes improves the robustness of tests with better detector sensitivity.

Abstract

As one of the consequences of the black-hole "no-hair" theorem in general relativity (GR), the multipolar structure of the radiation (i.e. different spherical harmonic modes) from a merging quasi-circular binary black hole (BBH) is fully determined by the intrinsic parameters (i.e. the masses and spins of the companion black holes). In Refs. [1,2], we have formulated an efficient test named `higher-modes consistency test' to check for the consistency of the observed gravitational-wave (GW) signal with the expected multipolar structure of radiation from BBHs in GR. Detection of the high-mass-ratio merger of GW190814 enables the observation of spherical harmonic modes beyond the dominant $(\ell, m) = (2,\pm2)$ mode; thereby providing a unique opportunity to perform the `higher-modes consistency test'. Using different state-of-art waveform models (IMRPhenomXPHM, IMRPhenomXHM, IMRPhenomHM and SEONNRv4HM_ROM), we show that GW190814 strongly favors the "no-hair" hypothesis in GR over a hypothesis that assumes generic deviation from the multipolar structure of the radiation by a Bayes factor of $\rm log_{e}\mathcal{B}\sim8$. We further investigate any potential systematic errors arising as a result of different waveform modeling choices as well as due to neglecting many higher order modes. We find that, if the waveform model includes only $(\ell, m) = (3,\pm3)$ mode in its higher harmonics, the same event may reject the `no-hair' hypothesis in GR when the detector sensitivity improves by a factor of $12.5$. Our analysis, therefore, provides motivation to include as many higher order modes as possible in future waveform models.