Investigating the source of inferred parameters' discrepancies between LIGO detectors in GW231123

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Abstract:: GW231123 is a short-duration gravitational-wave (GW) signal, consistent with a binary black hole merger with a total mass of 190-265 \( M_\odot \). It is the most massive binary black hole confidently observed to date. Both components are highly spinning and likely have masses in the mass gap caused by pair-instability supernova processes. The event is challenging to analyze because of its very short duration and the difficulties in modeling such extreme systems. Additionally, significant differences between inferred posteriors for total mass and spins arise when parameter estimation is performed using LIGO Hanford-only and LIGO Livingston-only data, raising concerns about the presence of spurious transient noise overlapping with the GW signal. In this project, we quantify these differences and investigate their causes through simulated signals similar to GW231123. We find that Gaussian noise fluctuations could be the cause of the observed differences, and we deem this a plausible explanation.

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Final report (Investigating-the-source-of-inferred-parameters-discre...pdf, 4.0 MB)

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LIGO Document T2500246-v3