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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22464 |
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| _version_ | 1866914293276999680 |
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| author | Wang, Tian-Xiao Wang, Yan Torres-Orjuela, Alejandro Lin, Yi-Ren Fan, Hui-Min Vázquez-Aceves, Verónica Hu, Yi-Ming |
| author_facet | Wang, Tian-Xiao Wang, Yan Torres-Orjuela, Alejandro Lin, Yi-Ren Fan, Hui-Min Vázquez-Aceves, Verónica Hu, Yi-Ming |
| contents | Extremely large mass-ratio inspirals (XMRIs), consisting of a brown dwarf orbiting a supermassive black hole, emit long-lived and nearly monochromatic gravitational waves in the millihertz band and constitute a promising probe of strong-field gravity and black-hole properties. However, dedicated data-analysis pipelines for XMRI signals have not yet been established. In this work, we develop, for the first time, a hierarchical semi-coherent search pipeline for XMRIs tailored to space-based gravitational-wave detectors, with a particular focus on the TianQin mission. The pipeline combines a semi-coherent multi-harmonic $\mathcal{F}$-statistic with particle swarm optimization, and incorporates a novel eccentricity estimation method based on the relative power distribution among harmonics. We validate the performance of the pipeline using simulated TianQin data for a Galactic center XMRI composed of a brown dwarf and Sgr A*. For a three-month observation, the pipeline successfully recovers the signal and achieves high-precision parameter estimation, including fractional uncertainties of $<10^{-6}$ in the orbital frequency, $\lesssim10^{-3}$ in the eccentricity, $\lesssim2\times10^{-3}$ in the black-hole mass, and $\lesssim10^{-3}$ in the black-hole spin. Our framework establishes a practical foundation for future XMRI searches with space-based detectors and highlights the potential of XMRIs as precision probes of stellar dynamics and strong-field gravity in the vicinity of supermassive black holes. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_22464 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Constructing a gravitational wave analysis pipeline for extremely large mass ratio inspirals Wang, Tian-Xiao Wang, Yan Torres-Orjuela, Alejandro Lin, Yi-Ren Fan, Hui-Min Vázquez-Aceves, Verónica Hu, Yi-Ming High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Extremely large mass-ratio inspirals (XMRIs), consisting of a brown dwarf orbiting a supermassive black hole, emit long-lived and nearly monochromatic gravitational waves in the millihertz band and constitute a promising probe of strong-field gravity and black-hole properties. However, dedicated data-analysis pipelines for XMRI signals have not yet been established. In this work, we develop, for the first time, a hierarchical semi-coherent search pipeline for XMRIs tailored to space-based gravitational-wave detectors, with a particular focus on the TianQin mission. The pipeline combines a semi-coherent multi-harmonic $\mathcal{F}$-statistic with particle swarm optimization, and incorporates a novel eccentricity estimation method based on the relative power distribution among harmonics. We validate the performance of the pipeline using simulated TianQin data for a Galactic center XMRI composed of a brown dwarf and Sgr A*. For a three-month observation, the pipeline successfully recovers the signal and achieves high-precision parameter estimation, including fractional uncertainties of $<10^{-6}$ in the orbital frequency, $\lesssim10^{-3}$ in the eccentricity, $\lesssim2\times10^{-3}$ in the black-hole mass, and $\lesssim10^{-3}$ in the black-hole spin. Our framework establishes a practical foundation for future XMRI searches with space-based detectors and highlights the potential of XMRIs as precision probes of stellar dynamics and strong-field gravity in the vicinity of supermassive black holes. |
| title | Constructing a gravitational wave analysis pipeline for extremely large mass ratio inspirals |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22464 |