Parameter estimation of inspiralling compact binaries using 3.5 post-Newtonian gravitational wave phasing: The nonspinning case

Abstract

We revisit the problem of parameter estimation of gravitational-wave chirp signals from inspiralling nonspinning compact binaries in the light of the recent extension of the post-Newtonian (PN) phasing formula to order (v/c)7 beyond the leading Newtonian order. We study in detail the implications of higher post-Newtonian orders from 1PN up to 3.5PN in steps of 0.5PN (~v/c), and examine their convergence. In both initial and advanced detectors the estimation of the chirp mass ([script M]) and symmetric mass ratio (eta) improve at higher PN orders but oscillate with every half-a-PN order. In initial LIGO, for a 10M[sun]–10M[sun] binary at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 10, the improvement in the estimation of [script M] (eta) at 3.5PN relative to 2PN is ~19% (52%). We compare parameter estimation in different detectors and assess their relative performance in two different ways: at a fixed SNR, with the aim of understanding how the bandwidth improves parameter estimation, and for a fixed source, to gauge the importance of sensitivity. Errors in parameter estimation at a fixed SNR are smaller for VIRGO than for both initial and advanced LIGO. This is because of the larger bandwidth over which it observes the signals. However, for sources at a fixed distance it is advanced LIGO that achieves the lowest errors owing to its greater sensitivity. Finally, we compute the amplitude corrections due to the "frequency-sweep" in the Fourier domain representation of the waveform within the stationary phase approximation and discuss its implication on parameter estimation. We find that the amplitude corrections change the errors in [script M] and eta by less than 10% for initial LIGO at a signal-to-noise ratio of 10. Our analysis makes explicit the significance of higher PN order modeling of the inspiralling compact binary on parameter estimation.