Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2005.01827

GPU-accelerated massive black hole binary parameter estimation with LISA

Michael L. Katz·Sylvain Marsat·Alvin J. K. Chua·Stanislav Babak·Shane L. Larson
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is slated for launch in the early 2030s. A main target of the mission is massive black hole binaries that have an expected detection rate of $\sim20$ yr$^{-1}$. We present a parameter estimation analysis for a variety of massive black hole binaries. This analysis is performed with a graphics processing unit (GPU) implementation comprising the phenomhm waveform with higher-order harmonic modes and aligned spins; a fast frequency-domain LISA detector response function; and a GPU-native likelihood computation. The computational performance achieved with the GPU is shown to be 500 times greater than with a similar CPU implementation, which allows us to analyze full noise-infused injections at a realistic Fourier bin width for the LISA mission in a tractable and efficient amount of time. With these fast likelihood computations, we study the effect of adding aligned spins to an analysis with higher-order modes by testing different configurations of spins in the injection, as well as the effect of varied and fixed spins during sampling. Within these tests, we examine three different binaries with varying mass ratios, redshifts, sky locations, and detector-frame total masses ranging over three orders of magnitude. We discuss varied correlations between the total masses and mass ratios; unique spin posteriors for the larger mass binaries; and the constraints on parameters when fixing spins during sampling, allowing us to compare to previous analyses that did not include aligned spins.

Explore related subjects

gr-qc

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Michael L. Katz, Sylvain Marsat, Alvin J. K. Chua, Stanislav Babak, Shane L. Larson. 2020-07-13. GPU-accelerated massive black hole binary parameter estimation with LISA. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.102.023033

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Naturally Light Distortion

In the most general formulation of gravity, the metric and connection are independent degrees of freedom, and the connection may include torsion and non-metricity (or distortion, collectively) degrees of freedom, resulting in a huge number of possible dynamical fields. However, most fields are either non-dynamical or extremely heavy and the general relativity is recovered at low energy. We find a unique naturally light vector- or scalar-like distortion field, which can be dynamical and have phenomenological implications. In particular, a light scalar particle that mixes with the Higgs boson naturally appears.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2026

Polarization-Dependent Photon Propagation, Quasinormal Modes, and Gravitational Lensing in Higher-Curvature Effective Theories

We investigate the impact of higher-curvature corrections on photon propagation within an effective field theory framework and their observational consequences in strong gravitational fields. We consider polarization-dependent modifications to photon trajectories in static and spherically symmetric spacetimes, focusing on Schwarzschild and Reissner--Nordström black hole backgrounds. Using the geometrical optics approximation, we derive the effective metrics governing photon propagation and study the resulting polarization-dependent shifts of the photon sphere. We compute the corresponding quasinormal modes in the eikonal limit and analyze their polarization dependence. We further investigate gravitational lensing, focusing on polarization-dependent corrections to the deflection angle in both weak- and strong-field regimes. In the strong-deflection regime, we find that even perturbatively small EFT corrections modify the coefficient of the logarithmically divergent part of the deflection angle, resulting in a potentially observable difference from the uncorrected case. This suggests that strong gravitational lensing may provide a sensitive probe of small higher-curvature corrections. While extracting EFT information directly from QNM frequencies is more subtle, QNMs may provide complementary information to gravitational lensing in future studies. Our results establish a framework for probing higher-curvature effects through polarization-dependent strong-field observables.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2026

Dynamics for Spin-$1/2$ Particles in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity II: Non-Relativistic Case

In this work, I investigate the non-relativistic quantum dynamics of spin-1/2 particles in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity and establish a direct connection between higher-curvature corrections, fermionic dynamics, and the phenomenology of compact objects. Starting from the Dirac Hamiltonian in a static, spherically symmetric EGB spacetime, we perform a Fold-Wouthuysen transformation and derive the effective Hamiltonian, including relativistic kinetic, gravitational, spin-orbit, and higher-curvature contributions. Heisenberg equations are then used to obtain the dynamics of velocity, force, and spin, revealing explicit EGB corrections for both translational motion and spin transport. In particular, the spin-orbit sector induces a modified precession frequency whose fractional deviation from general relativity scales as $δ_Ω=-4(ξ/M^{2})(M/ρ)^{3}$, providing a clear dimensionless signature of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. Through Ehrenfest's theorem, we also establish the correspondence between the dynamics of quantum operators and their semiclassical gravitational limit. As an astrophysical application, we consider the stellar-mass black hole A0620-00 and show that prospective relative sensitivities in spin precession on the order of $10^{-3}$ to $10^{-4}$ can probe Gauss-Bonnet couplings in the range of approximately $10^{6}$ to $10^{8}\,{\rm m}^{2}$, depending on the orbital radius. This result identifies fermionic spin precession as a complementary channel for testing gravity with higher-curvature corrections and provides a quantum-mechanical framework connecting modified gravitational dynamics to precision phenomenology in strong-gravity regimes.

gr-qc↗