Exploring the impact of microlensing on gravitational wave signals: Biases, population characteristics, and prospects for detection

In this study, we investigate the impact of microlensing on gravitational wave (GW) signals in the LIGO-Virgo sensitivity band. Microlensing caused by an isolated point lens, with (redshifted) mass ranging from M_Lz ∈ (1, 10⁵) M_⊙ and impact parameter y (0.01, 5), can result in a maximum mismatch of with their unlensed counterparts. When y < 1, it strongly anticorrelates with the luminosity distance enhancing the detection horizon and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Biases in inferred source parameters are assessed, with in-plane spin components being the most affected intrinsic parameters. The luminosity distance is often underestimated, while sky-localization and trigger times are mostly well-recovered. Study of a population of microlensed signals due to an isolated point lens primarily reveals: (i) using unlensed templates during the search causes fractional loss (20 per cent to 30 per cent) of potentially identifiable microlensed signals; (ii) the observed distribution of y challenges the notion of its high improbability at low values (y ≲ 1), especially for y ≲ 0.1; (iii) Bayes factor analysis of the population indicates that certain region in M_Lz - y parameter space have a higher probability of being detected and accurately identified as microlensed. Notably, the microlens parameters for the most compelling candidate identified in previous microlensing searches, GW200208-130117, fall within a 1σ range of the aforementioned higher probability region. Identifying microlensing signatures from M_Lz < 100 M_⊙ remains challenging due to small microlensing effects at typical SNR values. Additionally, we also examined how microlensing from a population of microlenses influences the detection of strong lensing signatures in pairs of GW events, particularly in the posterior-overlap analysis.