Directly comparing gravitational wave data to numerical relativity simulations: systematics

We compare synthetic data directly to complete numerical relativity simulations of binary black holes. In doing so, we circumvent ad-hoc approximations introduced in semi-analytical models previously used in gravitational wave parameter estimation and compare the data against the most accurate waveforms including higher modes. In this talk, we focus on the synthetic studies that test potential sources of systematic errors. We also run "end-to-end" studies of intrinsically different synthetic sources to show we can recover parameters for different systems.