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Systematic Biases in Gravitational-Wave Parameter Estimation from Neglecting Orbital Eccentricity in Space-Based Detectors

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2026-01-13 v1 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Abstract

Accurate modeling of gravitational-wave signals is essential for reliable inference of compact-binary source parameters, particularly for future space-based detectors operating in the milli- and deci-Hertz bands. In this work, we systematically investigate the parameter-estimation biases induced by neglecting orbital eccentricity when analyzing eccentric compact-binary coalescences with quasi-circular waveform templates. Focusing on the deci-Hertz detector B-DECIGO and the milli-Hertz detector LISA, we model eccentric inspiral signals using a frequency-domain waveform that incorporates eccentricity-induced higher harmonics and the time-dependent response of spaceborne detectors. We quantify systematic biases in the chirp mass, symmetric mass ratio, and luminosity distance using both Bayesian inference and the Fisher-Cutler-Vallisneri (FCV) formalism, and assess their significance relative to statistical uncertainties. By constructing mock gravitational-wave catalogs spanning stellar-mass and massive black-hole binaries, we identify critical initial eccentricities at which systematic errors become comparable to statistical errors. We find that for B-DECIGO, even very small eccentricities, e0104103e_0\sim 10^{-4}-10^{-3} at 0.1 Hz, can lead to significant biases, whereas for LISA such effects typically arise at larger eccentricities, e0102101e_0\sim 10^{-2}-10^{-1} at 10410^{-4} Hz, due to the smaller number of in-band cycles. Comparisons between FCV predictions and full Bayesian analyses demonstrate good agreement within the regime where waveform mismatches remain small, especially when extrinsic parameters are pre-aligned to minimize mismatches. Our results highlight the necessity of incorporating eccentricity in waveform models for future space-based gravitational-wave observations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.07739,
  title  = {Systematic Biases in Gravitational-Wave Parameter Estimation from Neglecting Orbital Eccentricity in Space-Based Detectors},
  author = {Jin-Zhao Yang and Jia-Hao Zhong and Tao Yang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.07739},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

17 pages, 9 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T09:01:05.925Z