Inconsistent black hole kick estimates from gravitational-wave models

Understand

The accuracy of gravitational-wave models of compact binaries has traditionally been addressed by the mismatch between the model and numerical-relativity simulations.

• This is a measure of the overall agreement between the two waveforms.
• However, the largest modelling error typically appears in the strong-field merger regime and may affect subdominant signal harmonics more strongly.
• These inaccuracies are often not well characterised by the mismatch.