Estimation of parameters of gravitational waves from coalescing binaries

TL;DR

This paper presents a Monte Carlo simulation method incorporating post-Newtonian corrections to estimate parameters and source direction of gravitational waves from coalescing binaries detected by initial LIGO.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using time-of-coalescence for improved accuracy in source localization of gravitational waves.

Findings

Post-Newtonian corrections improve parameter estimation.

Using time-of-coalescence reduces directional errors.

Simulation results demonstrate enhanced source localization accuracy.

Abstract

In this paper we deal with the measurement of the parameters of the gravitational wave signal emitted by a coalescing binary signal. We present the results of Monte Carlo simulations carried out for the case of the initial LIGO, incorporating the first post-Newtonian corrections into the waveform. Using the parameters so determined, we estimate the direction to the source. We stress the use of the time-of-coalescence rather than the time-of-arrival of the signal to determine the direction of the source. We show that this can considerably reduce the errors in the determination of the direction of the source.