Fortifying gravitational-wave tests of general relativity against astrophysical assumptions

Understand

Most tests of general relativity with gravitational-wave observations rely on inferring the degree to which a signal deviates from general relativity in conjunction with the astrophysical parameters of its source, such as the component masses and spins of a compact binary.

• Due to features of the signal, measurements of these deviations are often highly correlated with the properties of astrophysical sources.
• As a consequence, prior assumptions about astrophysical parameters will generally affect the inferred magnitude of the deviations.
• Incorporating information about the underlying astrophysical population is necessary to avoid biases in the inference of deviations from general relativity.