LISA observations of supermassive black holes: Parameter estimation using full post-Newtonian inspiral waveforms
Abstract
We study parameter estimation of supermassive black hole binary systems in the final stage of inspiral using the full post-Newtonian gravitational waveforms. We restrict our analysis to systems in circular orbit with negligible spins, in the mass range 108M⊙-105M⊙, and compare the results with those arising from the commonly used restricted post-Newtonian approximation. The conclusions of this work are particularly important with regard to the astrophysical reach of future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna measurements. Our analysis clearly shows that modeling the inspiral with the full post-Newtonian waveform, not only extends the reach to higher mass systems, but also improves in general the parameter estimation. In particular, there are remarkable improvements in angular resolution and distance measurement for systems with a total mass higher than 5×106M⊙, as well as a large improvement in the mass determination.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review D
- Pub Date:
- January 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevD.77.024030
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0707.4434
- Bibcode:
- 2008PhRvD..77b4030T
- Keywords:
-
- 04.25.Nx;
- 04.80.Nn;
- 95.55.Ym;
- 97.60.Lf;
- Post-Newtonian approximation;
- perturbation theory;
- related approximations;
- Gravitational wave detectors and experiments;
- Gravitational radiation detectors;
- mass spectrometers;
- and other instrumentation and techniques;
- Black holes;
- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
- E-Print:
- Final version. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D