Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: While the spin vectors of binary black holes offer insight into the astrophysical formation channels of these systems, individual spins are less precisely measured through gravitational-wave observations than the effective inspiral spin $χ_\mathrm{eff}$ and the effective precession spin $χ_\mathrm{p}$. Reducing to effective parameters discards information in the data, but how much information is lost has yet to be demonstrated. Here we show how to quantify whether individual mergers carry information about component spins beyond the constraints implied by effective parameters (a.k.a. spinformation) and apply the technique to GWTC-5. Thresholding on information loss $\gtrsim 0.25$ bits, over $80\%$ of gravitational-wave events in GWTC-5 have component spin posteriors described by $χ_\mathrm{eff}$ alone. Only $\sim3\%$ of gravitational-wave events have substantial spin information not explained by $χ_\mathrm{eff}$ and $χ_\mathrm{p}$. The catalog's component spin information is effectively two-dimensional in $χ_\mathrm{eff}$ and $χ_\mathrm{p}$. Using simulated signals, we find the noise realization can create or destroy over a bit of beyond-$χ_\mathrm{eff}$ information: the structure in real data may therefore be driven by noise. At current sensitivity, component spins provide interpretive\textemdash rather than informational\textemdash advantage over effective parameters.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: The Operation and Maintenance of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), The Construction of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (AdvLIGO), G4096032060, CAREER: Populations and Systematic Uncertainties in the Era of the Advanced Gravitational-Wave Detectors, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), Collaborative Research: Repair/Maintenance and Setup Capacity - Optimal Size and Operation
OpenAlex ID: W7222316646