- Accepted Paper
Testing gravitational-wave signal from verification binaries with space-based gravitational-wave detectors
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 29 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1lhf-vfbx
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 29 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1lhf-vfbx
Space-based detectors will open the millihertz band to survey . (VBs) is a key to verifying the performance of space-based detectors because its parameters are known from electromagnetic observations and it is expected to be a detectable source of . We evaluated 73 VBs, computing their detection prospects and parameter estimation precision for individual detectors and networks. Among single detectors, DECIGO shows the highest sensitivity, detecting 71 sources at signal-to-noise ratio 5, compared to 42 for LISA, 32 for Taiji, and 27 for TianQin, while the full TianQin + LISA + Taiji + DECIGO network improves this to 73 detectable sources. For parameter estimation, individual detectors achieve median precisions on the order of for chirp mass, for distance, for inclination and for sky localization. The complete TianQin + LISA + Taiji + DECIGO network enhances these constraints substantially, reducing the median uncertainties to approximately in chirp mass, in distance, in inclination and in sky localization. The upcoming space-based detectors, especially their networks, have outstanding observational capabilities for , which will advance our research on multi-messenger astronomy and deepen our understanding of in the Milky Way. Space-based detectors, such as TianQin, LISA, Taiji, and DECIGO, will open the millihertz frequency band, promising to detect tens of thousands of Galactic . Among these, , which are systems already observed electromagnetically, are crucial for validating detector performance. Our results demonstrate that among single detectors, DECIGO offers the highest detection sensitivity, identifying 70 sources at 5, followed by LISA with 41, Taiji with 31, and TianQin with 26. In parameter estimation, DECIGO provides the best median sky localization precision with , but exhibits larger average uncertainties for chirp mass and distance due to its sensitivity to fainter populations. Taiji achieves the tightest constraints on chirp mass with median and distance with median . However, multi-detector networks (e.g., TianQin+LISA+Taiji+DECIGO) significantly enhance the detection count, especially for faint sources, and dramatically improve parameter estimation. For instance, such a network can localize sources to and measure chirp masses with $$0.01% precision for high-SNR systems like J0806. This work underscores the scientific necessity of operating a coordinated network of space-based observatories to maximize the scientific return from Galactic binary populations.
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