Speaker
Description
Accurate modeling of gravitational waves from precessing binary systems is essential for improving signal detection and parameter estimation in current and future detectors. Hybrid waveforms, which stitch together gravitational wave signals from different modeling approaches, provide a way to generate complete inspiral-merger-ringdown signals. While hybridization is well-established for aligned-spin systems, precession introduces additional complexities due to gauge ambiguities, frame-dependence, and spin dynamics.
In this work we present a general and robust methodology for constructing hybrid waveforms of precessing, quasi-circular binaries. Our approach relies on minimal assumptions about the merger waveform, employs the quadrupole-aligned (QA) frame to mitigate mode-mixing, and introduces a systematic alignment of waveform modes and coprecessing frames. We demonstrate the advantages of this strategy through detailed validation across a range of configurations. Our framework expands the applicability of hybridization techniques, facilitating more flexible waveform construction for parameter estimation, model calibration, and gravitational-wave data analysis.
