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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, gr-qc
Abstract:
One way to produce complete inspiral-merger-ringdown gravitational waveforms
from black-hole-binary systems is to connect post-Newtonian (PN) and
numerical-relativity (NR) results to create ``hybrid'' waveforms. Hybrid
waveforms are central to the construction of some phenomenological models for
GW search templates, and for tests of GW search pipelines. The dominant error
source in hybrid waveforms arises from the PN contribution, and can be reduced
by increasing the number of NR GW cycles that are included in the hybrid.
Hybrid waveforms are considered sufficiently accurate for GW detection if their
mismatch error is below 3% (i.e., a fitting factor about 0.97). We address the
question of the length requirements of NR waveforms such that the final hybrid
waveforms meet this requirement, considering nonspinning binaries with q =
M_2/M_1 \in [1,4] and equal-mass binaries with \chi = S_i/M_i^2 \in [-0.5,0.5].
We conclude that for the cases we study simulations must contain between three
(in the equal-mass nonspinning case) and ten (the \chi = 0.5 case) orbits
before merger, but there is also evidence that these are the regions of
parameter space for which the least number of cycles will be needed.
