arXiv subjects

Daniel A. Hemberger

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel A. Hemberger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The SXS Collaboration's third catalog of binary black hole simulations

We present a major update to the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration's catalog of binary black hole simulations. Using highly efficient spectral methods implemented in the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC), we have nearly doubled the total number of binary configurations from 2,018 to 3,756. The catalog now densely covers the parameter space with precessing simulations up to mass ratio $q=8$ and dimensionless spins up to $|\vecχ|\le0.8$ with near-zero eccentricity. The catalog also includes some simulations at higher mass ratios with moderate spin and more than 250 eccentric simulations. We have also deprecated and rerun some simulations from our previous catalog (e.g., simulations run with a much older version of SpEC or that had anomalously high errors in the waveform). The median waveform difference (which is similar to the mismatch) between resolutions over the simulations in the catalog is $4\times10^{-4}$. The simulations have a median of 22 orbits, while the longest simulation has 148 orbits. We have corrected each waveform in the catalog to be in the binary's center-of-mass frame and exhibit gravitational-wave memory. We estimate the total CPU cost of all simulations in the catalog to be 480,000,000 core-hours. We find that using spectral methods for binary black hole simulations is over 1,000 times more efficient than much shorter finite-difference simulations of comparable accuracy. The full catalog is publicly available through the sxs Python package and at https://data.black-holes.org .

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Gravitational waveforms from SpEC simulations : neutron star-neutron star and low-mass black hole-neutron star binaries

Gravitational waveforms from numerical simulations are a critical tool to test and analytically calibrate the waveform models used to study the properties of merging compact objects. In this paper, we present a series of high-accuracy waveforms produced with the SpEC code for systems involving at least one neutron star. We provide for the first time waveforms with sub-radian accuracy over more than twenty cycles for low-mass black hole-neutron star binaries, including binaries with non-spinning objects, and binaries with rapidly spinning neutron stars that maximize the impact on the gravitational wave signal of the near-resonant growth of the fundamental excitation mode of the neutron star (f-mode). We also provide for the first time with SpEC a high-accuracy neutron star-neutron star waveform. These waveforms are made publicly available as part of the SxS catalogue. We compare our results to analytical waveform models currently implemented in data analysis pipelines. For most simulations, the models lie outside of the predicted numerical errors in the last few orbits before merger, but do not show systematic deviations from the numerical results: comparing different models appears to provide reasonable estimates of the modeling errors. The sole exception is the equal-mass simulation using a rapidly counter-rotating neutron star to maximize the impact of the excitation of the f-mode, for which all models perform poorly. This is however expected, as even the single model that takes f-mode excitation into account ignores the significant impact of the neutron star spin on the f-mode excitation frequency.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Detection and characterization of spin-orbit resonances in the advanced gravitational wave detectors era

In this paper, we test the performance of templates in detection and characterization of Spin-orbit resonant (SOR) binaries. We use precessing SEOBNRv3 waveforms as well as {\it four} numerical relativity (NR) waveforms to model GWs from SOR binaries and filter them through IMRPhenomD, SEOBNRv4 (non-precessing) and IMRPhenomPv2 (precessing) approximants. We find that IMRPhenomD and SEOBNRv4 recover only $\sim70\%$ of injections with fitting factor (FF) higher than 0.97 (or 90\% of injections with ${\rm FF} >0.9$).However, using the sky-maxed statistic, IMRPhenomPv2 performs magnificently better than their non-precessing counterparts with recovering $99\%$ of the injections with FFs higher than 0.97. Interestingly, injections with $Δϕ= 180^{\circ}$ have higher FFs ($Δϕ$ is the angle between the components of the black hole spins in the plane orthogonal to the orbital angular momentum) as compared to their $Δϕ=0^{\circ}$ and generic counterparts. This implies that we will have a slight observation bias towards $Δϕ=180^{\circ}$ SORs while using non-precessing templates for searches. All template approximants are able to recover most of the injected NR waveforms with FFs $>0.95$. For all the injections including NR, the error in estimating chirp mass remains below $<10\%$ with minimum error for $Δϕ= 180^{\circ}$ resonant binaries. The symmetric mass ratio can be estimated with errors below $15\%$. The effective spin parameter $χ_{\rm eff}$ is measured with maximum absolute error of 0.13. The in-plane spin parameter $χ_p$ is mostly underestimated indicating that a precessing signal will be recovered as a relatively less precessing signal. Based on our findings, we conclude that we not only need improvements in waveform models towards precession and non-quadrupole modes but also better search strategies for precessing GW signals.

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arXiv2018

Systematic effects from black hole-neutron star waveform model uncertainties on the neutron star equation of state

We identify various contributors of systematic effects in the measurement of the neutron star (NS) tidal deformability and quantify their magnitude for several types of neutron star - black hole (NSBH) binaries. Gravitational waves from NSBH mergers contain information about the components' masses and spins as well as the NS equation of state. Extracting this information requires comparison of the signal in noisy detector data with theoretical templates derived from some combination of post-Newtonian (PN) approximants, effective one-body (EOB) models and %analytic fits to numerical relativity (NR) simulations. The accuracy of these templates is limited by errors in the NR simulations, by the approximate nature of the PN/EOB waveforms, and by the hybridization procedure used to combine them. In this paper, we estimate the impact of these errors by constructing and comparing a set of PN-NR hybrid waveforms, for the first time with NR waveforms from two different codes, namely, SpEC and SACRA, for such systems. We then attempt to recover the parameters of the binary using two non-precessing template approximants. We find that systematic errors are too large for tidal effects to be accurately characterized for any realistic NS equation of state model. We conclude that NSBH waveform models must be significantly improved if they are to be useful for the extraction of NS equation of state information or even for distinguishing NSBH systems from binary black holes.

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arXiv2018

Measuring the properties of nearly extremal black holes with gravitational waves

Characterizing the properties of black holes is one of the most important science objectives for gravitational-wave observations. Astrophysical evidence suggests that black holes that are nearly extremal (i.e. spins near the theoretical upper limit) might exist and thus might be among the merging black holes observed with gravitational waves. In this paper, we explore how well current gravitational wave parameter estimation methods can measure the spins of rapidly spinning black holes in binaries. We simulate gravitational-wave signals using numerical-relativity waveforms for nearly-extremal, merging black holes. For simplicity, we confine our attention to binaries with spins parallel or antiparallel with the orbital angular momentum. We find that recovering the holes' nearly extremal spins is challenging. When the spins are nearly extremal and parallel to each other, the resulting parameter estimates do recover spins that are large, though the recovered spin magnitudes are still significantly smaller than the true spin magnitudes. When the spins are nearly extremal and antiparallel to each other, the resulting parameter estimates recover the small effective spin but incorrectly estimate the individual spins as nearly zero. We study the effect of spin priors and argue that a commonly used prior (uniform in spin magnitude and direction) hinders unbiased recovery of large black-hole spins.

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arXiv2018

Black hole-neutron star mergers using a survey of finite-temperature equations of state

Each of the potential signals from a black hole-neutron star merger should contain an imprint of the neutron star equation of state: gravitational waves via its effect on tidal disruption, the kilonova via its effect on the ejecta, and the gamma ray burst via its effect on the remnant disk. These effects have been studied by numerical simulations and quantified by semi-analytic formulae. However, most of the simulations on which these formulae are based use equations of state without finite temperature and composition-dependent nuclear physics. In this paper, we simulate black hole-neutron star mergers varying both the neutron star mass and the equation of state, using three finite-temperature nuclear models of varying stiffness. Our simulations largely vindicate formulae for ejecta properties but do not find the expected dependence of disk mass on neutron star compaction. We track the early evolution of the accretion disk, largely driven by shocking and fallback inflow, and do find notable equation of state effects on the structure of this early-time, neutrino-bright disk.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Numerical binary black hole mergers in dynamical Chern-Simons: I. Scalar field

Testing general relativity in the non-linear, dynamical, strong-field regime of gravity is one of the major goals of gravitational wave astrophysics. Performing precision tests of general relativity (GR) requires numerical inspiral, merger, and ringdown waveforms for binary black hole (BBH) systems in theories beyond GR. Currently, GR and scalar-tensor gravity are the only theories amenable to numerical simulations. In this article, we present a well-posed perturbation scheme for numerically integrating beyond-GR theories that have a continuous limit to GR. We demonstrate this scheme by simulating BBH mergers in dynamical Chern-Simons gravity (dCS), to linear order in the perturbation parameter. We present mode waveforms and energy fluxes of the dCS pseudoscalar field from our numerical simulations. We find good agreement with analytic predictions at early times, including the absence of pseudoscalar dipole radiation. We discover new phenomenology only accessible through numerics: a burst of dipole radiation during merger. We also quantify the self-consistency of the perturbation scheme. Finally, we estimate bounds that GR-consistent LIGO detections could place on the new dCS length scale, approximately $\ell \lesssim \mathcal{O}(10)~\mathrm{km}$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

A Surrogate Model of Gravitational Waveforms from Numerical Relativity Simulations of Precessing Binary Black Hole Mergers

We present the first surrogate model for gravitational waveforms from the coalescence of precessing binary black holes. We call this surrogate model NRSur4d2s. Our methodology significantly extends recently introduced reduced-order and surrogate modeling techniques, and is capable of directly modeling numerical relativity waveforms without introducing phenomenological assumptions or approximations to general relativity. Motivated by GW150914, LIGO's first detection of gravitational waves from merging black holes, the model is built from a set of $276$ numerical relativity (NR) simulations with mass ratios $q \leq 2$, dimensionless spin magnitudes up to $0.8$, and the restriction that the initial spin of the smaller black hole lies along the axis of orbital angular momentum. It produces waveforms which begin $\sim 30$ gravitational wave cycles before merger and continue through ringdown, and which contain the effects of precession as well as all $\ell \in \{2, 3\}$ spin-weighted spherical-harmonic modes. We perform cross-validation studies to compare the model to NR waveforms \emph{not} used to build the model, and find a better agreement within the parameter range of the model than other, state-of-the-art precessing waveform models, with typical mismatches of $10^{-3}$. We also construct a frequency domain surrogate model (called NRSur4d2s_FDROM) which can be evaluated in $50\, \mathrm{ms}$ and is suitable for performing parameter estimation studies on gravitational wave detections similar to GW150914.

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arXiv2017

An improved effective-one-body model of spinning, nonprecessing binary black holes for the era of gravitational-wave astrophysics with advanced detectors

We improve the accuracy of the effective-one-body (EOB) waveforms that were employed during the first observing run of Advanced LIGO for binaries of spinning, nonprecessing black holes by calibrating them to a set of 141 numerical-relativity (NR) waveforms. The NR simulations expand the domain of calibration towards larger mass ratios and spins, as compared to the previous EOBNR model. Merger-ringdown waveforms computed in black-hole perturbation theory for Kerr spins close to extremal provide additional inputs to the calibration. For the inspiral-plunge phase, we use a Markov-chain Monte Carlo algorithm to efficiently explore the calibration space. For the merger-ringdown phase, we fit the NR signals with phenomenological formulae. After extrapolation of the calibrated model to arbitrary mass ratios and spins, the (dominant-mode) EOBNR waveforms have faithfulness --- at design Advanced-LIGO sensitivity --- above $99\%$ against all the NR waveforms, including 16 additional waveforms used for validation, when maximizing only on initial phase and time. This implies a negligible loss in event rate due to modeling for these binary configurations. We find that future NR simulations at mass ratios $\gtrsim 4$ and double spin $\gtrsim 0.8$ will be crucial to resolve discrepancies between different ways of extrapolating waveform models. We also find that some of the NR simulations that already exist in such region of parameter space are too short to constrain the low-frequency portion of the models. Finally, we build a reduced-order version of the EOBNR model to speed up waveform generation by orders of magnitude, thus enabling intensive data-analysis applications during the upcoming observation runs of Advanced LIGO.

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arXiv2017

Complete waveform model for compact binaries on eccentric orbits

We present a time domain waveform model that describes the inspiral-merger-ringdown (IMR) of compact binary systems whose components are non-spinning, and which evolve on orbits with low to moderate eccentricity. The inspiral evolution is described using third order post-Newtonian equations both for the equations of motion of the binary, and its far-zone radiation field. This latter component also includes instantaneous, tails and tails-of-tails contributions, and a contribution due to non-linear memory. This framework reduces to the post-Newtonian approximant TaylorT4 at third post-Newtonian order in the zero eccentricity limit. To improve phase accuracy, we incorporate higher-order post-Newtonian corrections for the energy flux of quasi-circular binaries and gravitational self-force corrections to the binding energy of compact binaries. This enhanced inspiral evolution prescription is combined with an analytical prescription for the merger-ringdown evolution using a catalog of numerical relativity simulations. This IMR waveform model reproduces effective-one-body waveforms for systems with mass-ratios between 1 to 15 in the zero eccentricity limit. Using a set of eccentric numerical relativity simulations, not used during calibration, we show that our eccentric model accurately reproduces the features of eccentric compact binary coalescence throughout the merger. Using this model we show that the gravitational wave transients GW150914 and GW151226 can be effectively recovered with template banks of quasi-circular, spin-aligned waveforms if the eccentricity $e_0$ of these systems when they enter the aLIGO band at a gravitational wave frequency of 14 Hz satisfies $e_0^{\rm GW150914}\leq0.15$ and $e_0^{\rm GW151226}\leq0.1$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Dynamical ejecta from precessing neutron star-black hole mergers with a hot, nuclear-theory based equation of state

Neutron star-black hole binaries are among the strongest sources of gravitational waves detectable by current observatories. They can also power bright electromagnetic signals (gamma-ray bursts, kilonovae), and may be a significant source of production of r-process nuclei. A misalignment of the black hole spin with respect to the orbital angular momentum leads to precession of that spin and of the orbital plane, and has a significant effect on the properties of the post-merger remnant and of the material ejected by the merger. We present a first set of simulations of precessing neutron star-black hole mergers using a hot, composition dependent, nuclear-theory based equation of state (DD2). We show that the mass of the remnant and of the dynamical ejecta are broadly consistent with the result of simulations using simpler equations of state, while differences arise when considering the dynamics of the merger and the velocity of the ejecta. We show that the latter can easily be understood from assumptions about the composition of low-density, cold material in the different equations of state, and propose an updated estimate for the ejecta velocity which takes those effects into account. We also present an updated mesh-refinement algorithm which allows us to improve the numerical resolution used to evolve neutron star-black hole mergers.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

On the accuracy and precision of numerical waveforms: Effect of waveform extraction methodology

We present a new set of 95 numerical relativity simulations of non-precessing binary black holes (BBHs). The simulations sample comprehensively both black-hole spins up to spin magnitude of 0.9, and cover mass ratios 1 to 3. The simulations cover on average 24 inspiral orbits, plus merger and ringdown, with low initial orbital eccentricities $e<10^{-4}$. A subset of the simulations extends the coverage of non-spinning BBHs up to mass ratio $q=10$. Gravitational waveforms at asymptotic infinity are computed with two independent techniques, extrapolation, and Cauchy characteristic extraction. An error analysis based on noise-weighted inner products is performed. We find that numerical truncation error, error due to gravitational wave extraction, and errors due to the finite length of the numerical waveforms are of similar magnitude, with gravitational wave extraction errors somewhat dominating at noise-weighted mismatches of $\sim 3\times 10^{-4}$. This set of waveforms will serve to validate and improve aligned-spin waveform models for gravitational wave science.

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arXiv2016

Modeling the source of GW150914 with targeted numerical-relativity simulations

In fall of 2015, the two LIGO detectors measured the gravitational wave signal GW150914, which originated from a pair of merging black holes. In the final 0.2 seconds (about 8 gravitational-wave cycles) before the amplitude reached its maximum, the observed signal swept up in amplitude and frequency, from 35 Hz to 150 Hz. The theoretical gravitational-wave signal for merging black holes, as predicted by general relativity, can be computed only by full numerical relativity, because analytic approximations fail near the time of merger. Moreover, the nearly-equal masses, moderate spins, and small number of orbits of GW150914 are especially straightforward and efficient to simulate with modern numerical-relativity codes. In this paper, we report the modeling of GW150914 with numerical-relativity simulations, using black-hole masses and spins consistent with those inferred from LIGO's measurement. In particular, we employ two independent numerical-relativity codes that use completely different analytical and numerical methods to model the same merging black holes and to compute the emitted gravitational waveform; we find excellent agreement between the waveforms produced by the two independent codes. These results demonstrate the validity, impact, and potential of current and future studies using rapid-response, targeted numerical-relativity simulations for better understanding gravitational-wave observations.

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arXiv2016

Accuracy of binary black hole waveform models for aligned-spin binaries

Coalescing binary black holes are among the primary science targets for second generation ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Reliable GW models are central to detection of such systems and subsequent parameter estimation. This paper performs a comprehensive analysis of the accuracy of recent waveform models for binary black holes with aligned spins, utilizing a new set of $84$ high-accuracy numerical relativity simulations. Our analysis covers comparable mass binaries ($1\le m_1/m_2\le 3$), and samples independently both black hole spins up to dimensionless spin-magnitude of $0.9$ for equal-mass binaries and $0.85$ for unequal mass binaries. Furthermore, we focus on the high-mass regime (total mass $\gtrsim 50M_\odot$). The two most recent waveform models considered (PhenomD and SEOBNRv2) both perform very well for signal detection, losing less than 0.5\% of the recoverable signal-to-noise ratio $ρ$, except that SEOBNRv2's efficiency drops mildly for both black hole spins aligned with large magnitude. For parameter estimation, modeling inaccuracies of SEOBNRv2 are found to be smaller than systematic uncertainties for moderately strong GW events up to roughly $ρ\lesssim 15$. PhenomD's modeling errors are found to be smaller than SEOBNRv2's, and are generally irrelevant for $ρ\lesssim 20$. Both models' accuracy deteriorates with increased mass-ratio, and when at least one black hole spin is large and aligned. The SEOBNRv2 model shows a pronounced disagreement with the numerical relativity simulation in the merger phase, for unequal masses and simultaneously both black hole spins very large and aligned. Two older waveform models (PhenomC and SEOBNRv1) are found to be distinctly less accurate than the more recent PhenomD and SEOBNRv2 models. Finally, we quantify the bias expected from all GW models during parameter estimation for recovery of binary's masses and spins.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Fast and accurate prediction of numerical relativity waveforms from binary black hole coalescences using surrogate models

Simulating a binary black hole (BBH) coalescence by solving Einstein's equations is computationally expensive, requiring days to months of supercomputing time. Using reduced order modeling techniques, we construct an accurate surrogate model, which is evaluated in a millisecond to a second, for numerical relativity (NR) waveforms from non-spinning BBH coalescences with mass ratios in $[1, 10]$ and durations corresponding to about $15$ orbits before merger. We assess the model's uncertainty and show that our modeling strategy predicts NR waveforms {\em not} used for the surrogate's training with errors nearly as small as the numerical error of the NR code. Our model includes all spherical-harmonic ${}_{-2}Y_{\ell m}$ waveform modes resolved by the NR code up to $\ell=8.$ We compare our surrogate model to Effective One Body waveforms from $50$-$300 M_\odot$ for advanced LIGO detectors and find that the surrogate is always more faithful (by at least an order of magnitude in most cases).

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arXiv2015

Nearly extremal apparent horizons in simulations of merging black holes

The spin angular momentum $S$ of an isolated Kerr black hole is bounded by the surface area $A$ of its apparent horizon: $8πS \le A$, with equality for extremal black holes. In this paper, we explore the extremality of individual and common apparent horizons for merging, rapidly spinning binary black holes. We consider simulations of merging black holes with equal masses $M$ and initial spin angular momenta aligned with the orbital angular momentum, including new simulations with spin magnitudes up to $S/M^2 = 0.994$. We measure the area and (using approximate Killing vectors) the spin on the individual and common apparent horizons, finding that the inequality $8πS < A$ is satisfied in all cases but is very close to equality on the common apparent horizon at the instant it first appears. We also introduce a gauge-invariant lower bound on the extremality by computing the smallest value that Booth and Fairhurst's extremality parameter can take for any scaling. Using this lower bound, we conclude that the common horizons are at least moderately close to extremal just after they appear. Finally, following Lovelace et al. (2008), we construct quasiequilibrium binary-black-hole initial data with "overspun" marginally trapped surfaces with $8πS > A$ and for which our lower bound on their Booth-Fairhurst extremality exceeds unity. These superextremal surfaces are always surrounded by marginally outer trapped surfaces (i.e., by apparent horizons) with $8πS<A$. The extremality lower bound on the enclosing apparent horizon is always less than unity but can exceed the value for an extremal Kerr black hole. (Abstract abbreviated.)

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Improved methods for simulating nearly extremal binary black holes

Astrophysical black holes could be nearly extremal (that is, rotating nearly as fast as possible); therefore, nearly extremal black holes could be among the binaries that current and future gravitational-wave observatories will detect. Predicting the gravitational waves emitted by merging black holes requires numerical-relativity simulations, but these simulations are especially challenging when one or both holes have mass $m$ and spin $S$ exceeding the Bowen-York limit of $S/m^2=0.93$. We present improved methods that enable us to simulate merging, nearly extremal black holes more robustly and more efficiently. We use these methods to simulate an unequal-mass, precessing binary black hole coalescence, where the larger black hole has $S/m^2=0.99$. We also use these methods to simulate a non-precessing binary black hole coalescence, where both black holes have $S/m^2=0.994$, nearly reaching the Novikov-Thorne upper bound for holes spun up by thin accretion disks. We demonstrate numerical convergence and estimate the numerical errors of the waveforms; we compare numerical waveforms from our simulations with post-Newtonian and effective-one-body waveforms; we compare the evolution of the black-hole masses and spins with analytic predictions; and we explore the effect of increasing spin magnitude on the orbital dynamics (the so-called "orbital hangup" effect).

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

A catalog of 174 binary black-hole simulations for gravitational-wave astronomy

This paper presents a publicly available catalog of 174 numerical binary black-hole simulations following up to 35 orbits. The catalog includes 91 precessing binaries, mass ratios up to 8:1, orbital eccentricities from a few percent to $10^{-5}$, black-hole spins up to 98% of the theoretical maximum, and radiated energies up to 11.1% of the initial mass. We establish remarkably good agreement with post-Newtonian precession of orbital and spin directions for two new precessing simulations, and we discuss other applications of this catalog. Formidable challenges remain: e.g., precession complicates the connection of numerical and approximate analytical waveforms, and vast regions of the parameter space remain unexplored.

gr-qc↗