A model for determining the dimensionless spin parameter and mass of the black hole remnant of black hole-neutron star mergers with arbitrary initial black hole spin angular momentum, binary mass ratio, and neutron star mass and cold equation of state is formulated. Tests against numerical-relativity results are carried out, showing that both the dimensionless spin parameter and the final mass are accurately reproduced. For the first time, the behavior of both quantities and of the $l=2$, $m=2$, $n=0$ quasinormal mode frequency is inspected throughout the parameter space. Predictions of this frequency may be exploited to guide gravitational-wave modeling and detection efforts and to extract physical information from detected gravitational-wave signals that would help us break degeneracies between binary black hole and black hole-neutron star systems, improve our understanding of compact binary formation, and constrain the neutron star equation of state.

• Received 22 November 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.89.044045