Fundamental theoretical bias in gravitational wave astrophysics and the parametrized post-Einsteinian framework

By N. Yunes, Frans Pretorius. 2009

321 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We consider the concept of fundamental bias in gravitational wave astrophysics as the assumption that general relativity is the correct theory of gravity during the entire wave-generation and propagation regime. Such an assumption is valid in the weak field, as verified by precision experiments and observations, but it need not hold in the dynamical strong-field regime where tests are lacking. Fundamental bias can cause systematic errors in the detection and parameter estimation of signals, which can lead to a mischaracterization of the Universe through incorrect inferences about source event rates and populations. We propose a remedy through the introduction of the parametrized post-Einsteinian framework, which consists of the enhancement of waveform templates via the inclusion of post-Einsteinian parameters. These parameters would ostensibly be designed to interpolate between templates constructed in general relativity and well-motivated alternative theories of gravity, and also include extrapolations that follow sound theoretical principles, such as consistency with conservation laws and symmetries. As an example, we construct parametrized post-Einsteinian templates for the binary coalescence of equal-mass, nonspinning compact objects in a quasicircular inspiral. The parametrized post-Einsteinian framework should allow matched filtered data to select a specific set of post-Einsteinian parameters without a priori assuming the validity of the former, thus either verifying general relativity or pointing to possible dynamical strong-field deviations.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b5bdeff9e25949bf86b88639f4db30e92d7ff8e5

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In Astronomy and Astrophysics

Citations in the corpus

Doing Science with eLISA: Astrophysics and Cosmology in the Millihertz Regime (2012, methodology): “tions from GR) could be encoded in a phenomenological way by considering hypothetical modiﬁcations of the gravitational wave amplitude and phasing, as proposed by dierent authors (Arun et al., 2006, Yunes and Pretorius, 2009). The relatively large strength of the inspiral gravitational wave signal w”
Tests of general relativity with the binary black hole signals from the LIGO-Virgo catalog GWTC-1 (2019, methodology): “A consistency test of GR using measurements of the inspiral PN phase coefficients was first proposed in [92–94], while a generalized parametrization was motivated in [95].”
Black-hole binaries, gravitational waves, and numerical relativity (2010, background): “The possibility that general relativity will find its limits in these observations motivates a better understanding of what waveforms might be predicted by alternative theories of gravity (Yunes and Pretorius, 2009).”
The astrophysics of nanohertz gravitational waves (2018, background): “Myriad new tests of gravity have become possible with GW observations (e. g., Abbott et al. 2017g; Chatziioannou et al. 2012; Eardley et al. 1973b; Yunes and Pretorius 2009; Yunes and Siemens 2013).”