Decisive Evidence for the First Overtone Mode in the Ringdown Signal of GW231028

Abstract

The properties of a remnant black hole can be probed by analyzing the gravitational waves emitted during its ringdown phase. This signal provides a direct test of general relativity in the strong-field regime. In this study, we apply a time-domain F-statistic framework to the ringdown of GW231028_153006 and find decisive evidence for the presence of the first overtone mode in the signal. The detection of the $\ell|m|n=221$ mode is statistically significant, achieving a Bayes factor of $193$ for an analysis beginning at $10\,M$ after the signal's peak amplitude--a time consistent with the linear perturbation regime. The inclusion of both the fundamental and overtone modes in our model allows for precise constraints on the remnant's properties. We infer a redshifted final mass of $243.0^{+22.7}_{-22.7}\,M_{\odot}$ and a final spin of $0.80_{-0.11}^{+0.07}$ (at $90\%$ credibility), derived from a ringdown signal with a network signal-to-noise ratio of approximately $10.5$. A test of the no-hair theorem, enabled by this two-mode detection, shows consistency with the predictions of general relativity.