Speaker
Description
The first three observing runs of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration have led to the detection of over 90 gravitational wave (GW) events from compact object binaries, but understanding their formation channels still remains an open question in GW astrophysics. While most inspiraling binaries detected by ground-based detectors likely form through isolated binary evolution and are expected to circularize before entering the detector band, other formation channels may preserve significant orbital eccentricity. Detecting eccentricity in GW signals will provide crucial insights into binary formation and evolution, which requires accurate waveform models for robust parameter estimation.
We present IMRPhenomTEHM, the first time-domain eccentric multipolar phenomenological waveform model for aligned-spin binaries with two eccentric parameters. Built upon the quasi-circular IMRPhenomTHM model, IMRPhenomTEHM includes post-Newtonian eccentric and spin corrections up to third order, providing an accurate and computationally efficient full inspiral-merger-ringdown description. Using this model, we perform a systematic reanalysis of binary black hole and neutron star–black hole mergers from the first three LVK observing runs, focusing on events identified as potentially eccentric, precessing, or significantly asymmetric in mass. Our results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of IMRPhenomTEHM, enabling the first eccentric study using standard parameter estimation techniques for quasi-circular binaries—without relying on resampling or machine learning methods. We identify events with a strong preference for the eccentric hypothesis, highlighting the importance of eccentric waveform modeling in GW astrophysics to avoid biases in parameter estimation.
