Systematic bias in LISA ringdown analysis due to waveform inaccuracy
Inaccurate modeling of gravitational-wave signals can introduce systematic biases in the inferred source parameters. As detector sensitivities improve and signals become louder, mitigating such waveform-induced systematics becomes increasingly important. In this work, we assess the systematic biases introduced by an incomplete description of the ringdown signal from massive black hole binaries in the LISA band. Specifically, we investigate the impact of mode truncation in the ringdown template. Using a reference waveform composed of 13 modes, we establish a mode hierarchy and determine the minimum number of modes required to avoid parameter biases across a wide range of LISA sources. For typical systems with masses $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{6}--{10}^{7}{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ at redshifts $z\ensuremath{\sim}2--6$, we find that at least 3--6 modes are needed for accurate parameter estimation, while high signal-to-noise ratio events may need at least 10 modes. Our results are a window-insensitive lower bound on the minimum number of modes, as more modes may be needed depending on the choice of time-domain windowing of the postmerger signal.
Authors
- Lodovico Capuano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0369-6635)
- Chantal Pitte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0524-7292)
- Enrico Barausse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6499-6263)
- Adrien Kuntz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4803-2998)
- Massimo Vaglio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7285-3489)
- Rohit S. Chandramouli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5229-2752)
Institutions
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (IT)
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- University of Trieste (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste (IT)
- Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2025-11-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/86yd-x1sl
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.15