GW190521: Tracing imprints of spin-precession on the most massive black hole binary
GW190521: Tracing imprints of spin-precession on the most massive black hole binary
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DOI：
10.1103/physrevd.109.024024
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发表时间：
2023-10
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
S. Miller;M. Isi;K. Chatziioannou;Vijay Varma;Ilya Mandel
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Miller;M. Isi;K. Chatziioannou;Vijay Varma;Ilya Mandel
GW190521是一个多方面的引力波信号：它的来源是迄今为止发现的最大质量的黑洞双星，可能是自旋与其轨道不一致，导致自旋诱导进动--这是与双星起源有关的天体物理学上的重要性质。然而，由于其大质量，GW190521只在其最后3-4个周期内被观测到，这使得进动限制令人费解，并引发了不同的解释，如偏心率。在这些复杂性的驱使下，我们用一种新的时域技术解剖数据，追踪了GW190521上的进动观测印记，使我们能够探索少数观测到的周期的形态和相互作用。我们发现，进动推断取决于合并前数据中的一小部分，这部分数据相对于合并环比被抑制。无论是合并前的数据还是合并后的数据都不是唯一的推动力，而是它们的组合：在准循环情景中，进动作为一种机制出现，以适应根据观察到的合并后缺乏更强的合并前信号的情况。就震源动力学而言，合并前的抑制源于双星相对于观测者的倾斜。在源动力学和观测数据之间建立这种一致的图景对于描述越来越多的大规模双星观测的特征和支持随后的天体物理主张的稳健性至关重要。
GW190521 is a remarkable gravitational-wave signal on multiple fronts: its source is the most massive black hole binary identified to date and could have spins misaligned with its orbit, leading to spin-induced precession -- an astrophysically consequential property linked to the binary's origin. However, due to its large mass, GW190521 was only observed during its final 3-4 cycles, making precession constraints puzzling and giving rise to alternative interpretations, such as eccentricity. Motivated by these complications, we trace the observational imprints of precession on GW190521 by dissecting the data with a novel time domain technique, allowing us to explore the morphology and interplay of the few observed cycles. We find that precession inference hinges on a quiet portion of the pre-merger data that is suppressed relative to the merger-ringdown. Neither pre-merger nor post-merger data alone are the sole driver of inference, but rather their combination: in the quasi-circular scenario, precession emerges as a mechanism to accommodate the lack of a stronger pre-merger signal in light of the observed post-merger. In terms of source dynamics, the pre-merger suppression arises from a tilting of the binary with respect to the observer. Establishing such a consistent picture between the source dynamics and the observed data is crucial for characterizing the growing number of massive binary observations and bolstering the robustness of ensuing astrophysical claims.