A comprehensive look into the accuracy of SpEC binary black hole waveforms

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Knapp, Taylor, Chatziioannou, Katerina, Mitman, Keefe, Scheel, Mark A., Boyle, Michael, Kidder, Lawrence E., Pfeiffer, Harald
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Knapp, Taylor
Chatziioannou, Katerina
Mitman, Keefe
Scheel, Mark A.
Boyle, Michael
Kidder, Lawrence E.
Pfeiffer, Harald
author_facet Knapp, Taylor
Chatziioannou, Katerina
Mitman, Keefe
Scheel, Mark A.
Boyle, Michael
Kidder, Lawrence E.
Pfeiffer, Harald
contents Numerical relativity simulations provide a full description of the dynamics of binary systems, including gravitational radiation. The waveforms produced by these simulations have a number of applications in gravitational-wave detection and inference. In this work, we revisit the accuracy of the waveforms produced by the Spectral Einstein Code. Motivated by the wide range of waveform applications, we propose and explore three accuracy metrics between simulation resolutions: (i) the generalized frequency-weighted mismatch, (ii) the relative amplitude difference, and (iii) the phase difference at different times. We find that numerical errors accumulate over the binary evolution, but the error is not intrinsically larger during the latest, more dynamical stages. Studying errors across the parameter space, we identify a positive correlation between both the mismatch and the phase difference with precessing spin, but little correlation with aligned spin or eccentricity. Lastly, amplitude and phases differences are symmetric upon exchanging resolutions across the catalog, suggesting that there is no systematic error.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_06393
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A comprehensive look into the accuracy of SpEC binary black hole waveforms
Knapp, Taylor
Chatziioannou, Katerina
Mitman, Keefe
Scheel, Mark A.
Boyle, Michael
Kidder, Lawrence E.
Pfeiffer, Harald
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Numerical relativity simulations provide a full description of the dynamics of binary systems, including gravitational radiation. The waveforms produced by these simulations have a number of applications in gravitational-wave detection and inference. In this work, we revisit the accuracy of the waveforms produced by the Spectral Einstein Code. Motivated by the wide range of waveform applications, we propose and explore three accuracy metrics between simulation resolutions: (i) the generalized frequency-weighted mismatch, (ii) the relative amplitude difference, and (iii) the phase difference at different times. We find that numerical errors accumulate over the binary evolution, but the error is not intrinsically larger during the latest, more dynamical stages. Studying errors across the parameter space, we identify a positive correlation between both the mismatch and the phase difference with precessing spin, but little correlation with aligned spin or eccentricity. Lastly, amplitude and phases differences are symmetric upon exchanging resolutions across the catalog, suggesting that there is no systematic error.
title A comprehensive look into the accuracy of SpEC binary black hole waveforms
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.06393