Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries
We present the successful recovery of common-envelope ejection efficiency assumed in a simulated population of double white dwarf (DWD) binaries like those which may be observed by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. We simulate the formation of DWD binaries by using the CO...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada9e2 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850079365183832064 |
|---|---|
| author | Vera Delfavero Katelyn Breivik Sarah Thiele Richard O’Shaughnessy John G. Baker |
| author_facet | Vera Delfavero Katelyn Breivik Sarah Thiele Richard O’Shaughnessy John G. Baker |
| author_sort | Vera Delfavero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present the successful recovery of common-envelope ejection efficiency assumed in a simulated population of double white dwarf (DWD) binaries like those which may be observed by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. We simulate the formation of DWD binaries by using the COSMIC population synthesis code to sample binary formation conditions such as initial mass function, metallicity of star formation, initial orbital period, and initial eccentricity. These binaries are placed in the m12i synthetic Milky Way–like galaxy, and their signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the LISA instrument is estimated, considering a Galactic gravitational-wave foreground informed by the population. Through the use of Fisher estimates, we construct a likelihood function for the measurement error of the LISA-bright DWD binaries (≥20 SNR, f _GW ≥ 5 mHz), in their gravitational-wave frequency ( f _GW ) and chirp mass. By repeating this process for different assumptions of the common-envelope ejection efficiency, we apply Bayesian hierarchical inference to find the best match to an injected astrophysical assumption for a fiducial population model. We conclude that the impact of common-envelope ejection efficiency on the mass-transfer processes involved in DWD formation may be statistically relevant in the future observed LISA population, and that constraints on binary formation may be found by comparing simulated populations to a future observed population. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8f89df64522c496a84ab64486fb76942 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-8f89df64522c496a84ab64486fb769422025-08-20T02:45:15ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198116610.3847/1538-4357/ada9e2Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf BinariesVera Delfavero0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7099-765XKatelyn Breivik1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5228-6598Sarah Thiele2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7442-6926Richard O’Shaughnessy3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5832-8517John G. Baker4Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAMcWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics, Physics Department, Carnegie Mellon University , Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USACenter for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, NY 14623, USAGravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAWe present the successful recovery of common-envelope ejection efficiency assumed in a simulated population of double white dwarf (DWD) binaries like those which may be observed by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. We simulate the formation of DWD binaries by using the COSMIC population synthesis code to sample binary formation conditions such as initial mass function, metallicity of star formation, initial orbital period, and initial eccentricity. These binaries are placed in the m12i synthetic Milky Way–like galaxy, and their signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the LISA instrument is estimated, considering a Galactic gravitational-wave foreground informed by the population. Through the use of Fisher estimates, we construct a likelihood function for the measurement error of the LISA-bright DWD binaries (≥20 SNR, f _GW ≥ 5 mHz), in their gravitational-wave frequency ( f _GW ) and chirp mass. By repeating this process for different assumptions of the common-envelope ejection efficiency, we apply Bayesian hierarchical inference to find the best match to an injected astrophysical assumption for a fiducial population model. We conclude that the impact of common-envelope ejection efficiency on the mass-transfer processes involved in DWD formation may be statistically relevant in the future observed LISA population, and that constraints on binary formation may be found by comparing simulated populations to a future observed population.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada9e2Gravitational wave sourcesWhite dwarf stars |
| spellingShingle | Vera Delfavero Katelyn Breivik Sarah Thiele Richard O’Shaughnessy John G. Baker Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries The Astrophysical Journal Gravitational wave sources White dwarf stars |
| title | Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries |
| title_full | Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries |
| title_fullStr | Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries |
| title_short | Recovering Injected Astrophysics from the LISA Double White Dwarf Binaries |
| title_sort | recovering injected astrophysics from the lisa double white dwarf binaries |
| topic | Gravitational wave sources White dwarf stars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada9e2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT veradelfavero recoveringinjectedastrophysicsfromthelisadoublewhitedwarfbinaries AT katelynbreivik recoveringinjectedastrophysicsfromthelisadoublewhitedwarfbinaries AT sarahthiele recoveringinjectedastrophysicsfromthelisadoublewhitedwarfbinaries AT richardoshaughnessy recoveringinjectedastrophysicsfromthelisadoublewhitedwarfbinaries AT johngbaker recoveringinjectedastrophysicsfromthelisadoublewhitedwarfbinaries |