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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, gr-qc
Abstract:
I provide a frequency domain reduced order model (ROM) for the aligned-spin
effective-one-body (EOB) model "SEOBNRv2" for data analysis with second and
third generation ground based gravitational wave (GW) detectors. SEOBNRv2
models the dominant mode of the GWs emitted by the coalescence of black hole
(BH) binaries. The large physical parameter space (dimensionless spins $-1 \leq
\chi_i \leq 0.99$ and symmetric mass-ratios $0.01 \leq \eta \leq 0.25$)
requires sophisticated reduced order modeling techniques, including patching in
the parameter space and in frequency. I find that the time window over which
the inspiral-plunge and the merger-ringdown waveform in SEOBNRv2 are connected
is discontinuous when the spin of the deformed Kerr BH $\chi=0.8$ or the
symmetric mass-ratio $\eta \sim 0.083$. This discontinuity increases resolution
requirements for the ROM. The ROM can be used for compact binary systems with
total masses of $2 M_\odot$ or higher for the advanced LIGO (aLIGO) design
sensitivity and a $10$ Hz lower cutoff frequency. The ROM has a worst mismatch
against SEOBNRv2 of $\sim 1\%$, but in general mismatches are better than $\sim
0.1\%$. The ROM is crucial for key data analysis applications for compact
binaries, such as GW searches and parameter estimation carried out within the
LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC).
