From Source Properties to Strong-Field Tests: a multipronged analysis of GW250114 with an effective one-body model for generic orbits

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the gravitational wave GW250114 using an advanced waveform model, confirming the source's properties, detecting subdominant modes, and performing tests of general relativity, establishing it as a key event for gravity tests.

Contribution

The study introduces a comprehensive analysis of GW250114 with a generic-orbit waveform model, detecting subdominant modes and performing multiple GR tests, enhancing understanding of high-SNR gravitational wave signals.

Findings

Source consistent with merging low-spin black holes within the pair-instability gap.

Detection of subdominant (4,±4) multipoles with high confidence.

GR tests show no detectable deviations, supporting Einstein's theory.

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of GW250114, the loudest gravitational-wave signal observed to date, using a waveform model capable of describing binary black holes in generic (eccentric and precessing) orbits. Our analysis builds on LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK)'s results, finding that the source is consistent at a probability of $\geq 96\%$ with the merger of two first-generation, nearly equal-mass, low-spin black holes, forming a remnant within the pair-instability mass gap. The signal's high signal-to-noise ratio ($\gtrsim 75$) enables the detection of the subdominant $(4,\pm4)$ multipoles, whose presence we confirm with higher evidence than previously reported by the LVK. Restricting the analysis even to post-peak data yields $\log_{10}B\gtrsim 1$ in favor of models including the $(4,\pm4)$ mode, demonstrating that this contribution remains detectable well into the post-merger phase. We further perform three independent tests of general relativity, complementary to those performed by the LVK: a modified residual analysis confirms that our semi-analytical model fully describes the signal without detectable discrepancies; a subdominant mode test finds that the amplitude of the $(4,\pm4)$ multipoles agrees with general-relativistic expectations; and a parameterised analysis of the plunge-merger-ringdown regime recovers the GR expectation within the 50\% credible region for the remnant mass and spin, and within the 90\% interval for the $(2,\pm2)$ peak amplitude. Collectively, these results reinforce GW250114 as a landmark event for a precision test of gravity.