We investigate the effect of spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings on the estimation of parameters for inspiralling compact binaries of massive black holes, and for neutron stars inspiralling into intermediate-mass black holes, using hypothetical data from the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We work both in Einstein’s theory and in alternative theories of gravity of the scalar-tensor and massive-graviton types. We restrict the analysis to nonprecessing spinning binaries, i.e. to cases where the spins are aligned normal to the orbital plane. We find that the accuracy with which intrinsic binary parameters such as chirp mass and reduced mass can be estimated within general relativity is degraded by between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude. We find that the bound on the coupling parameter ${\omega }_{\mathrm{BD}}$ of scalar-tensor gravity is significantly reduced by the presence of spin couplings, while the reduction in the graviton-mass bound is milder. Using fast Monte Carlo simulations of ${10}^4$ binaries, we show that inclusion of spin terms in massive black-hole binaries has little effect on the angular resolution or on distance determination accuracy. For stellar-mass inspirals into intermediate-mass black holes, the angular resolution and the distance are determined only poorly, in all cases considered. We also show that, if LISA’s low-frequency noise sensitivity can be extrapolated from ${10}^{-4}\mathrm{Hz}$ to as low as ${10}^{-5}\mathrm{Hz}$, the accuracy of determining both extrinsic parameters (distance, sky location) and intrinsic parameters (chirp mass, reduced mass) of massive binaries may be greatly improved.

• Received 27 November 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.71.084025