Astrophysical parameter inference on accreting white dwarf binaries using gravitational waves

Abstract

ABSTRACT Accreting binary white dwarf systems are among the sources expected to emanate gravitational waves that the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will detect. We investigate how accurately the binary parameters may be measured from LISA observations. We complement previous studies by performing our parameter estimation on binaries containing a low-mass donor with a thick, hydrogen-rich envelope. The evolution is followed from the early, pre-period minimum stage, in which the donor is non-degenerate, to a later, post-period minimum stage with a largely degenerate donor. We present expressions for the gravitational-wave amplitude, frequency, and frequency derivative in terms of white dwarf parameters (masses, donor radius, etc.), where binary evolution is driven by gravitational-wave radiation and accretion torques, and the donor radius and logarithmic change in radius (ηd) due to mass-loss are treated as model parameters. We then perform a Fisher analysis to reveal the accuracy of parameter measurements, using models from Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (mesa) to estimate realistic fiducial values at which we evaluate the measurement errors. We find that the donor radius can be measured relatively well with LISA observations alone, while we can further measure the individual masses if we have an independent measurement of the luminosity distance from electromagnetic observations. When applied to the parameters of the recently discovered white dwarf binary ZTF J0127+5258, our Fisher analysis suggests that we will be able to constrain the system’s individual masses and donor radius using LISA’s observations, given Zwicky Transient Facility’s (ZTF’s) measurement of the luminosity distance.