The Ringdown of GW190521: Hints of Multiple Quasinormal Modes with a Precessional Interpretation

Abstract: GW190521 is a short-duration, low-frequency gravitational-wave signal in the LIGO-Virgo catalogue. The signal is consistent with the ringdown and possibly some of the inspiral-merger of an intermediate-mass binary black-hole coalescence. We find that previous models of the quasinormal mode spectrum in the ringdown of GW190521 give remnant mass and spin estimates which are not fully consistent with those of many inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms. In our own analysis, we find that ringdown models which include both the angular ${l=2}$, ${m=1}$ and ${l=m=2}$ fundamental quasinormal modes are in full agreement with most inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms, and in particular with the numerical relativity surrogate NRSur7dq4. We also find some support for including the ${l=3}$, ${m=2}$ fundamental quasinormal mode in our fits, building on Capano et al.'s findings regarding a higher-frequency subdominant mode. We propose an interpretation of our GW190521 ringdown model that links precession to the excitation of ${l\neq m}$ quasinormal modes, but we do not rule out eccentricity or other interpretations.