20 Nov 2024 | Alessandra Buonanno, Gustav Mogull, Raj Patil, Lorenzo Pompili
The paper presents the development of a new waveform model, SEOBNR-PM, which combines post-Minkowskian (PM) theory with the effective-one-body (EOB) formalism to describe the inspiral, merger, and ringdown phases of binary black hole (BBH) mergers. This model is designed to improve the accuracy of gravitational wave (GW) predictions for future observations by next-generation detectors such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. The key innovation is the inclusion of a PM-informed EOB Hamiltonian, which incorporates recent advancements in PM theory, particularly in scattering amplitudes and worldline-based methods. This Hamiltonian is derived by matching the two-body scattering angle in a perturbative PM expansion and includes contributions up to fifth post-Newtonian (5PN) order. The model is calibrated to numerical relativity (NR) simulations using 441 simulations from the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration, focusing on the binding energy and periastron advance. The results show that the SEOBNR-PM model outperforms the previous SEOBNRv5 model in terms of accuracy, with a median mismatch lower than that of SEOBNRv5 when calibrated to NR simulations. The paper also discusses the calibration process, the interpretation of deformation parameters, and the fits of NR calibration parameters across different parameter spaces.The paper presents the development of a new waveform model, SEOBNR-PM, which combines post-Minkowskian (PM) theory with the effective-one-body (EOB) formalism to describe the inspiral, merger, and ringdown phases of binary black hole (BBH) mergers. This model is designed to improve the accuracy of gravitational wave (GW) predictions for future observations by next-generation detectors such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. The key innovation is the inclusion of a PM-informed EOB Hamiltonian, which incorporates recent advancements in PM theory, particularly in scattering amplitudes and worldline-based methods. This Hamiltonian is derived by matching the two-body scattering angle in a perturbative PM expansion and includes contributions up to fifth post-Newtonian (5PN) order. The model is calibrated to numerical relativity (NR) simulations using 441 simulations from the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration, focusing on the binding energy and periastron advance. The results show that the SEOBNR-PM model outperforms the previous SEOBNRv5 model in terms of accuracy, with a median mismatch lower than that of SEOBNRv5 when calibrated to NR simulations. The paper also discusses the calibration process, the interpretation of deformation parameters, and the fits of NR calibration parameters across different parameter spaces.