Parameter estimation for space-based gravitational wave detectors with ringdown signals

Abstract

Unlike ground-based gravitational wave detectors, space-based gravitational wave detectors can detect the ringdown signals from massive black hole mergers with large signal-to-noise ratios, help to localize sources and extract their parameters. To reduce the computation time in the Fisher information matrix analysis, we derive the analytical formulas of frequency-domain ringdown signals for both heliocentric and geocentric detectors by considering the effects of the harmonic phases, the rotation period of the geocentric detector, and the detector's arm length. We explore median errors of the parameter estimation and source localization with ringdown signals from binaries with different masses and different redshifts. Using a binary source with the total mass $M={10}^{7}\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ at the redshift $z=1$, we analyze the dependence of these errors on the sky position. We find that the network of space-based gravitational wave detectors can significantly improve the source localization at the ringdown stage. The results of the Fisher matrix approximation are also checked by Bayesian inference method.