gwfish: A simulation software to evaluate parameter-estimation capabilities of gravitational-wave detector networks

• Published in: Astronomy and computing Vol. 42; p. 100671
• Main Authors: Dupletsa, U., Harms, J., Banerjee, B., Branchesi, M., Goncharov, B., Maselli, A., Oliveira, A.C.S., Ronchini, S., Tissino, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.01.2023
• ISSN: 2213-1337
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ascom.2022.100671

An important step in the planning of future gravitational-wave (GW) detectors and of the networks they will form is the estimation of their detection and parameter-estimation capabilities, which is the basis of science-case studies. Several future GW detectors have been proposed or are under development, which might also operate and observe in parallel. These detectors include terrestrial, lunar, and space-borne detectors. In this paper, we present gwfish,11github.com/janosch314/GWFish. a new software to simulate GW detector networks and to calculate measurement uncertainties based on the Fisher-matrix approximation. gwfish models the impact of detector motion on PE and makes it possible to analyze multiband scenarios, i.e., observation of a GW signal by different detectors in different frequency bands. We showcase a few examples for the Einstein Telescope (ET) including the sky-localization of binary neutron stars, and ET’s capability to measure the polarization of GWs.