Abstract

Compact binary mergers produce gravitational waves (GWs), which carry information about their sources. The LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA network detects GWs signals, and we use those measurements to infer BBHs population properties such as mass, spin, and eccentricity distribution in the universe. Binary component masses and spins are well-known to provide insight into the source formation, evolution, and environment. Unlike these two, eccentricity is a unique and measurable signature of strongly interacting events. Unfortunately, most available parameter estimation results for GWs signals do not include eccentricity: models for binary merger with eccentricity have minimal availability and parameter coverage. Therefore, to assess how well the eccentricity distribution can be recovered, we generated a synthetic population of non-spinning, non-precessing, lower mass (10M⊙ − 50M⊙), eccentric binary black holes (EBBHs) using a modified power law model and consist of 100 events with eccentricity distribution σε = 0.05. Furthermore, to compare the synthetic EBBHs population with the non-eccentric BBHs (NEBBHS), we estimate how our sources would be characterized by parameter inferences that omitted the effects of eccentricity. We apply Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method to constrain model parameters: event rate R, α, mmin, mmax, and σε. Our method effectively recovered the eccentricity distribution de- spite our injections having low eccentricity. We also show that population parameters are better constrained with the eccentric population model than with the non-eccentric model.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Black holes (Astronomy)--Mathematical models; Double stars--Mathematical models

Publication Date

8-4-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Astrophysical Sciences and Technology (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Physics and Astronomy (COS)

Advisor

Richard O'Shaughnessy

Advisor/Committee Member

Joshua Faber

Advisor/Committee Member

Jason Nordhaus

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

ASTP-MS

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