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Main Authors: Zhao, Xinmiao, Yan, Han, Chen, Xian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.00253
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author Zhao, Xinmiao
Yan, Han
Chen, Xian
author_facet Zhao, Xinmiao
Yan, Han
Chen, Xian
contents Accurately modeling the inspiral-merger-ringdown (IMR) signal of coalescing compact objects is essential for the test of general relativity. However, it is known that astrophysical environments can distort gravitational-wave (GW) signal and, if ignored, may bias parameter estimation or even our understanding of gravity. Previous studies suggest that various astrophysical environmental effects can be modeled in a unified way by introducing an effective acceleration. However, such models are based on stationary phase approximation (SPA) and post-Newtonian (PN) formalism, which are inconsistent with the fast orbital evolution and strong gravity in the final merger-ringdown phase. To overcome this limit, we introduce frequency-domain spectral differentiation (FSD), which maps the time shift of the signal caused by acceleration into a differentiation in the frequency domain. The mapping does not rely on SPA or PN formalism, therefore can be used to construct the accelerated waveform across the entire IMR phases. We compare the FSD waveforms with the conventional SPA+PN ones, and find that the former more faithfully match the simulated signals of accelerating sources, especially in the merger-ringdown phase and when higher-order FSD corrections are included. A Fisher information matrix analysis suggests that FSD waveforms can achieve higher precision than SPA+PN waveforms in measuring effective acceleration. Therefore, the FSD method offers a more self-consistent treatment of various astrophysical environmental effects in the final merger-ringdown phase of binary GW sources.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_00253
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Novel Method to Construct Frequency-Domain Gravitational Waveform for Accelerating Sources
Zhao, Xinmiao
Yan, Han
Chen, Xian
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Accurately modeling the inspiral-merger-ringdown (IMR) signal of coalescing compact objects is essential for the test of general relativity. However, it is known that astrophysical environments can distort gravitational-wave (GW) signal and, if ignored, may bias parameter estimation or even our understanding of gravity. Previous studies suggest that various astrophysical environmental effects can be modeled in a unified way by introducing an effective acceleration. However, such models are based on stationary phase approximation (SPA) and post-Newtonian (PN) formalism, which are inconsistent with the fast orbital evolution and strong gravity in the final merger-ringdown phase. To overcome this limit, we introduce frequency-domain spectral differentiation (FSD), which maps the time shift of the signal caused by acceleration into a differentiation in the frequency domain. The mapping does not rely on SPA or PN formalism, therefore can be used to construct the accelerated waveform across the entire IMR phases. We compare the FSD waveforms with the conventional SPA+PN ones, and find that the former more faithfully match the simulated signals of accelerating sources, especially in the merger-ringdown phase and when higher-order FSD corrections are included. A Fisher information matrix analysis suggests that FSD waveforms can achieve higher precision than SPA+PN waveforms in measuring effective acceleration. Therefore, the FSD method offers a more self-consistent treatment of various astrophysical environmental effects in the final merger-ringdown phase of binary GW sources.
title A Novel Method to Construct Frequency-Domain Gravitational Waveform for Accelerating Sources
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.00253