An improved analytical description of inspiralling and coalescing black-hole binaries

Abstract

We present an analytical formalism, within the Effective-One-Body framework, which predicts gravitational-wave signals from inspiralling and coalescing black-hole binaries that agree, within numerical errors, with the results of the currently most accurate numerical relativity simulations for several different mass ratios. In the equal-mass case, the gravitational wave energy flux predicted by our formalism agrees, within numerical errors, with the most accurate numerical-relativity energy flux. We think that our formalism opens a realistic possibility of constructing a sufficiently accurate, large bank of gravitational wave templates, as needed both for detection and data analysis of (non spinning) coalescing binary black holes.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: Equal-mass case: agreement between NR (black online) and EOB-based (red online) $\ell=m=2$ metric waveforms.
• Figure 2: Phase difference between the analytical and numerical (metric) waveforms of Fig. \ref{['fig:fig1']}.
• Figure 3: Equal mass case: metric-amplitudes comparison. The maximum of the orbital frequency $\Omega$ defines the EOB merger.
• Figure 4: Triple comparison between NR and EOB GW energy fluxes and the EOB mechanical energy loss.
• Figure 5: Unequal mass case: Comparison between metric waveforms for the 2:1 mass ratio.