Modeling the gravitational wave signature of neutron star black hole coalescences

Accurate gravitational-wave (GW) signal models exist for black hole binary (BBH) and neutron-star binary (BNS) systems, which are consistent with all of the published GW observations to date. Detections of a third class of compact-binary systems, neutron-star black hole (NSBH) binaries, have not yet been confirmed, but are eagerly awaited in the near future. For NSBH systems, GW models do not exist across the viable parameter space of signals. In this work we present the frequency-domain phenomenological model, phenomnsbh, for GWs produced by NSBH systems with mass ratios from equal-mass up to 15, spin on the black hole (BH) up to a dimensionless spin of |χ|=0.5, and tidal deformabilities ranging from 0 (the BBH limit) to 5000. We extend previous work on a phenomenological amplitude model for NSBH systems to produce an amplitude model that is parametrized by a single tidal deformability parameter. This amplitude model is combined with an analytic phase model describing tidal corrections. The resulting approximant is compared to publicly available NSBH numerical-relativity simulations and hybrid waveforms constructed from numerical-relativity simulations and tidal inspiral approximants. For most signals observed by second-generation ground-based detectors, it will be difficult to use the GW signal alone to distinguish single NSBH systems from either BNSs or BBHs, and therefore to unambiguously identify an NSBH system.