Line-of-Sight Acceleration-driven waveform corrections for unequal-mass compact binary coalescences

Abstract

A constant line-of-sight acceleration (LOSA) of the centre-of-mass of a quasi-circular compact binary coalescence (CBC) leads to modulations in the gravitational-wave (GW) waveform at $-4$ post-Newtonian (PN) order. In our previous work, we calculated the phase and amplitude corrections only for the $(\ell,m) = (2,2)$ mode. The gravitational wave event GW190814 has recently attracted considerable attention because it has been suggested to provide evidence for a nonzero LOSA. However, several LOSA analyses of GW190814 employ higher-order-mode waveform models, such as \texttt{IMRPhenomXPHM}, while incorporating LOSA corrections only for the dominant (2,2) mode. This approximation assumes that their omission has a negligible impact on parameter estimation. In this paper, we present a self-consistent implementation of LOSA in a higher-mode waveform model by deriving the corresponding phase and amplitude corrections. We show that these corrections are essential for asymmetric binaries such as GW190814 and that neglecting them biases parameter inference. We also discuss inconsistencies in the derivation and implementation of LOSA corrections in waveform models in the literature that include higher-order modes.