Gravitational waves from black hole-neutron star binaries I: Classification of waveforms

Using our new numerical-relativity code SACRA, long-term simulations for inspiral and merger of black hole (BH)-neutron star (NS) binaries are performed, focusing particularly on gravitational waveforms. As the initial conditions, BH-NS binaries in a quasiequilibrium state are prepared in a modified version of the moving-puncture approach. The BH is modeled by a nonspinning moving puncture and for the NS, a polytropic equation of state with $\Gamma=2$ and the irrotational velocity field are employed. The mass ratio of the BH to the NS, $Q=M_{\rm BH}/M_{\rm NS}$, is chosen in the range between 1.5 and 5. The compactness of the NS, defined by ${\cal C}=GM_{\rm NS}/c^2R_{\rm NS}$, is chosen to be between 0.145 and 0.178. For a large value of $Q$ for which the NS is not tidally disrupted and is simply swallowed by the BH, gravitational waves are characterized by inspiral, merger, and ringdown waveforms. In this case, the waveforms are qualitatively the same as that from BH-BH binaries. For a sufficiently small value of Q \alt 2, the NS may be tidally disrupted before it is swallowed by the BH. In this case, the amplitude of the merger and ringdown waveforms is very low, and thus, gravitational waves are characterized by the inspiral waveform and subsequent quick damping. The difference in the merger and ringdown waveforms is clearly reflected in the spectrum shape and in the "cut-off" frequency above which the spectrum amplitude steeply decreases. When an NS is not tidally disrupted (e.g., for Q=5), kick velocity, induced by asymmetric gravitational wave emission, agrees approximately with that derived for the merger of BH-BH binaries, whereas for the case that the tidal disruption occurs, the kick velocity is significantly suppressed.Comment: 25 pages, 3 jpg figures, accepted for publication in PRD; erratum is added on Jul 23. 201

Properties of the remnant disk and the dynamical ejecta produced in low-mass black hole-neutron star mergers

We systematically perform numerical-relativity simulations for low-mass black hole-neutron star mergers for the models with seven mass ratios $Q=M_{\rm BH}/M_{\rm NS}$ ranging from 1.5 to 4.4, and three neutron-star equations of state, focusing on properties of matter remaining outside the black hole and ejected dynamically during the merger. We pay particular attention to the dependence on the mass ratio of the binaries. It is found that the rest mass remaining outside the apparent horizon after the merger depends only weakly on the mass ratio for the models with low mass ratios. It is also clarified that the rest mass of the ejecta has a peak at $Q \sim 3$, and decreases steeply as the mass ratio decreases for the low mass-ratio case. We present a novel analysis method for the behavior of matter during the merger, focusing on the matter distribution in the phase space of specific energy and specific angular momentum. Then we model the matter distribution during and after the merger. Using the result of the analysis, we discuss the properties of the ejecta

Self-consistent picture of the mass ejection from a one second-long binary neutron star merger leaving a short-lived remnant in general-relativistic neutrino-radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulation

We perform a general-relativistic neutrino-radiation magnetohydrodynamicsimulation of a one second-long binary neutron star merger on Japanesesupercomputer Fugaku using about $72$ million CPU hours with $20,736$ CPUs. Weconsider an asymmetric binary neutron star merger with masses of $1.2$ and$1.5M_\odot$ and a `soft' equation of state SFHo. It results in a short-livedremnant with the lifetime of $\approx 0.017$\,s, and subsequent massive torusformation with the mass of $\approx 0.05M_\odot$ after the remnant collapses toa black hole. For the first time, we confirm that after the dynamical massejection, which drives the fast tail and mildly relativistic components, thepost-merger mass ejection from the massive torus takes place due to themagnetorotational instability-driven turbulent viscosity and the two ejectacomponents are seen in the distributions of the electron fraction and velocitywith distinct features.<br

General-relativistic neutrino-radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulation of black hole-neutron star mergers for seconds

Seconds-long numerical-relativity simulations for black hole-neutron star mergers are performed for the first time to obtain a self-consistent picture of the merger and post-merger evolution processes. To investigate the case that tidal disruption takes place, we choose the initial mass of the black hole to be $5.4M_\odot$ or $8.1M_\odot$ with the dimensionless spin of 0.75. The neutron-star mass is fixed to be $1.35M_\odot$. We find that after the tidal disruption, dynamical mass ejection takes place spending $\lesssim 10\,{\rm ms}$ together with the formation of a massive accretion disk. Subsequently, the magnetic field in the disk is amplified by the magnetic winding and magnetorotational instability, establishing a turbulent state and inducing the angular momentum transport. The post-merger mass ejection by the magnetically-induced viscous effect sets in at $\sim 300$-$500\,{\rm ms}$ after the tidal disruption, at which the neutrino luminosity drops below $\sim 10^{51.5}\,{\rm erg/s}$, and continues for several hundreds ms. A magnetosphere near the rotational axis of the black hole is developed after the matter and magnetic flux fall into the black hole from the accretion disk, and high-intensity Poynting flux generation sets in at a few hundreds ms after the tidal disruption. The intensity of the Poynting flux becomes low after the significant post-merger mass ejection, because the opening angle of the magnetosphere increases. The lifetime for the stage with the strong Poynting flux is $1$-$2\,{\rm s}$, which agrees with the typical duration of short-hard gamma-ray bursts

General-relativistic neutrino-radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulation of seconds-long black hole-neutron star mergers: Dependence on initial magnetic field strength, configuration, and neutron-star equation of state

Numerical-relativity simulations for seconds-long black hole-neutron starmergers are performed to obtain a self-consistent picture starting from theinspiral and the merger throughout the post-merger stages for a variety ofsetups. Irrespective of the initial and computational setups, we findqualitatively universal evolution processes: The dynamical mass ejection takesplace together with a massive accretion disk formation after the neutron staris tidally disrupted; Subsequently, the magnetic field in the accretion disk isamplified by the magnetic winding, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, andmagnetorotational instability, which establish a turbulent state inducing thedynamo and angular momentum transport; The post-merger mass ejection by theeffective viscous effects stemming from the magnetohydrodynamics turbulencesets in at $\sim300$-$500$ ms after the merger and continues for severalhundred ms; A magnetosphere near the black-hole spin axis is developed and thecollimated strong Poynting flux is generated with its lifetime of $\sim0.5$-$2$s. The model of no equatorial-plane symmetry shows the reverse of themagnetic-field polarity in the magnetosphere, which is caused by the dynamoassociated with the magnetorotational instability in the accretion disk. Themodel with initially toroidal fields shows the tilt of the disk andmagnetosphere in the late post-merger stage because of the anisotropicpost-merger mass ejection. These effects could terminate the strongPoynting-luminosity stage within the timescale of $\sim0.5$-$2$ s.<br

Geometrical Aspects on Parameter estimation of stochastic gravitational wave background: beyond the Fisher analysis

The maximum likelihood method is often used for parameter estimation in gravitational wave astronomy. Recently, an interesting approach was proposed by Vallisneri to evaluate the distributions of parameter estimation errors expected for the method. This approach is to statistically analyze the local peaks of the likelihood surface, and works efficiently even for signals with low signal-to-noise ratios. Focusing special attention to geometric structure of the likelihood surface, we follow the proposed approach and derive formulae for a simplified model of data analysis where the target signal has only one intrinsic parameter, along with its overall amplitude. Then we apply our formulae to correlation analysis of stochastic gravitational wave background with a power-law spectrum. We report qualitative trends of the formulae using numerical results specifically obtained for correlation analysis with two Advanced-LIGO detectors.Comment: 23 pages, to be published in PR

Investigating GW190425 with numerical-relativity simulations

The third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo collaboration has resulted in abouthundred gravitational-wave triggers including the binary neutron star mergerGW190425. However, none of these events have been accompanied with anelectromagnetic transient found during extensive follow-up searches. In thisarticle, we perform new numerical-relativity simulations of binary neutron starand black hole - neutron star systems that have a chirp mass consistent withGW190425. Assuming that the GW190425's sky location was covered with sufficientaccuracy during the electromagnetic follow-up searches, we investigate whetherthe non-detection of the kilonova is compatible with the source parametersestimated through the gravitational-wave analysis and how one can use thisinformation to place constraints on the properties of the system. Oursimulations suggest that GW190425 is incompatible with an unequal mass binaryneutron star merger with a mass ratio $qmoderately stiff equations of state if the binary was face-on and covered bythe observation. Our analysis shows that a detailed observational result forkilonovae will be useful to constrain the mass ratio of binary neutron stars infuture events.<br

The origin of polarization in kilonovae and the case of the gravitational-wave counterpart AT 2017gfo

The gravitational-wave event GW 170817 was generated by the coalescence of two neutron stars and produced an electromagnetic transient, labelled AT 2017gfo, that was the target of a massive observational campaign. Polarimetry is a powerful diagnostic tool for probing the geometry and emission processes of unresolved sources, and the observed linear polarization for this event was consistent with being mostly induced by intervening dust, suggesting that the intrinsic emission was weakly polarized (P < 0.4–0.5%). Here we present a detailed analysis of the linear polarization expected from a merging neutron-star binary system by means of 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations assuming a range of possible configurations, wavelengths, epochs and viewing angles. We find that polarization originates from the non-homogeneous opacity distribution within the ejecta and can reach levels of 1% at early times (one to two days after the merger) and in the optical R band. Smaller polarization signals are expected at later epochs and different wavelengths. From the viewing-angle dependence of the polarimetric signal, we constrain the observer orientation of AT 2017gfo to within about 65° from the polar direction. The detection of non-zero polarization in future events will unambiguously reveal the presence of a lanthanide-free ejecta component and unveil its spatial and angular distribution

Polarized kilonovae from black hole-neutron star mergers

We predict linear polarization for a radioactively powered kilonova following the merger of a black hole and a neutron star. Specifically, we perform 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations for two different models, both featuring a lanthanide-rich dynamical ejecta component from numerical-relativity simulations while only one including an additional lanthanide-free disc-wind component. We calculate polarization spectra for nine different orientations at 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 d after the merger and in the 0.1-2 μ wavelength range. We find that both models are polarized at a detectable level 1.5 d after the merger while show negligible levels thereafter. The polarization spectra of the two models are significantly different. The model lacking a disc wind shows no polarization in the optical, while a signal increasing at longer wavelengths and reaching ∼ 1-6 per cent at 2 μ depending on the orientation. The model with a disc-wind component, instead, features a characteristic 'double-peak' polarization spectrum with one peak in the optical and the other in the infrared. Polarimetric observations of future events will shed light on the debated neutron richness of the disc-wind component. The detection of optical polarization would unambiguously reveal the presence of a lanthanide-free disc-wind component, while polarization increasing from zero in the optical to a peak in the infrared would suggest a lanthanide-rich composition for the whole ejecta. Future polarimetric campaigns should prioritize observations in the first ∼48 h and in the 0.5-2 μ range, where polarization is strongest, but also explore shorter wavelengths/later times where no signal is expected from the kilonova and the interstellar polarization can be safely estimated

Reanalysis of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 using numerical-relativity calibrated waveform models

We reanalyze gravitational waves from a binary-neutron-star merger GW170817 using a numerical-relativity (NR) calibrated waveform model, the TF2+_KyotoTidal model. By imposing a uniform prior on the binary tidal deformability $\tilde{\Lambda}$ the symmetric $90\%$ credible interval of $\tilde{\Lambda}$ is estimated to be $481^{+436}_{-359}$ ($402^{+465}_{-279}$) for the case of $f_\mathrm{max}=1000~\mathrm{Hz}$ ($2048~\mathrm{Hz}$), where $f_\mathrm{max}$ is the maximum frequency in the analysis. We also reanalyze the event with other waveform models: two post-Newtonian waveform models (TF2$\_$PNTidal and TF2+$\_$PNTidal), the TF2+$\_$NRTidal model that is another NR calibrated waveform model used in the LIGO-Virgo analysis, and its upgrade, the TF2+$\_$NRTidalv2 model. While estimates of parameters other than $\tilde{\Lambda}$ are broadly consistent among different waveform models, our results indicate that there is a difference in estimates of $\tilde{\Lambda}$ among three NR calibrated waveform models. The difference in the peak values of posterior probability density functions of $\tilde{\Lambda}$ between the NR calibrated waveform models: the TF2+$\_$KyotoTidal and TF2+$\_$NRTidalv2 models for $f_\mathrm{max}=1000~\mathrm{Hz}$ is about 40 and is much smaller than the width of $90\%$ credible interval, which is about 700. The systematic error for the NR calibrated waveform models will be significant to measure $\tilde{\Lambda}$ in the case of GW170817-like signal for the planned third generation detectors's sensitivities