Determining remnant parameters from black-hole binary systems

Document #:

LIGO-T1700339-v6

Document type:

T - Technical notes

Abstract:

Computing the remnant mass, spin, and recoil of a black hole binary in principle requires numerical relativity (NR)
simulations. Unfortunately, NR simulations cannot be performed quickly enough for some waveform models and LIGO
data analysis routines that require remnant parameters. We develop phenomenological formulae for the remnant
mass, spin, and recoil of binary systems given arbitrary initial spins and mass ratios. We do this by constructing fits to
NR simulations in the SXS catalog. In particular, we explore the use of Gaussian Process Regression. We use the SXS
catalog to compare the accuracy of our remnant mass and spin fits with that of the remnant mass and spin formulae in
the Effective One Body (EOB) waveform model in the LSC Algorithm Library (LALSuite).

Files in Document:

• Final Report (Nicholas_Meyer_Final_Report_2017v1.pdf, 409.7 kB)

Other Files:

• Image PDF Presentation (presentation_fallback.pdf, 1.4 MB)
• Interim Report 1 (Nicholas_Meyer_Interim_Report_1_2017.pdf, 225.9 kB)
• Interim Report 2 (Nicholas_Meyer_Interim_Report_2_2017.pdf, 373.0 kB)
• Presentation (Nicholas_Meyer_Final_Presentation_2017v2.pdf, 402.7 kB)
• Proposal (Nicholas_Meyer_Proposal_2017.pdf, 146.8 kB)

Topics:

• Compact Binaries

Authors:

• Nicholas Meyer
• Mark Scheel

Keywords:

SURF17

Referenced by:

• LIGO-T1800048: Final reports from LIGO SURF program, Summer 2017