Gravitational waves from inspiralling compact binaries: Parameter estimation using second-post-Newtonian waveforms

Abstract

The parameters of inspiralling compact binaries can be estimated using matched filtering of gravitational-waveform templates against the output of laser-interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Using a recently calculated formula, accurate to second post-Newtonian (2PN) order [order $(v/c)^4$, where $v$ is the orbital velocity], for the frequency sweep ($dF/dt$) induced by gravitational radiation damping, we study the statistical errors in the determination of such source parameters as the ``chirp mass'' $\cal M$, reduced mass $μ$, and spin parameters $β$ and $σ$ (related to spin-orbit and spin-spin effects, respectively). We find that previous results using template phasing accurate to 1.5PN order actually underestimated the errors in $\cal M$, $μ$, and $β$. For two inspiralling neutron stars, the measurement errors increase by less than 16 percent.