Physics

Within the framework of self force theory we compute the gravitational wave flux through second-order in the mass ratio for quasi-circular compact binaries. Our results are consistent with post-Newtonian calculations in the weak field and we find they agree remarkably well with numerical relativity simulations of comparable mass binaries in the strong field. We also find good agreement for binaries with a spinning secondary or a slowly spinning primary.

LISA science will require EMRI waveforms that are accurate to first-post-adiabatic order, which in turn requires the calculation of second-order self-force effects. In this talk I describe a post-adiabatic waveform-generation framework and progress toward its implementation. This lays the groundwork for talks by Durkan, Warburton, Spiers, Leathers, Upton, and others.

Bondi's celebrated mass loss formula measures the rate of change of energy carried away from an isolated system (in asymptotically flat space-time) by gravitational radiation. In this talk, we generalize this idea to the de Sitter setting. We derive a formula for the total canonical energy, and its flux, of weak gravitational waves on a de Sitter background. Based on arXiv:2003.09548 [gr-qc], arXiv: 2103.05982 [gr-qc].

"Extreme mass-ratio inspirals detectable by LISA are unique probes of the nature of supermassive compact objects. We compute the gravitational-wave signal emitted by a point particle in a circular equatorial orbit around a Kerr-like horizonless object defined by an effective radius and a reflectivity coefficient. Teukolsky equations are solved consistently with suitable boundary conditions, and the modified energy fluxes are used to evolve the orbital parameters adiabatically. We show that the gravitational fluxes have resonances corresponding to the low-frequency quasinormal modes of the central object, which can contribute significantly to the gravitational-wave phase. Overall, the absence of a classical event horizon in the central object affects the gravitational-wave signal dramatically, with deviations even larger than those previously estimated by a model-independent analysis of the tidal heating. Talk based on: Elisa Maggio, Maarten van de Meent, Paolo Pani, in preparation"

The detection of gravitational waves from extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) with upcoming space-borne detectors will allow for unprecedented tests of general relativity in the strong-field regime. Aside from assessing whether black holes are unequivocally described by the Kerr metric, they may place constraints on the degree of spacetime symmetry. Depending on exactly how a hypothetical departure from the Kerr metric manifests, the Carter symmetry, which implies the integrability of the geodesic equations, may be broken. In this talk, I will discuss the impact of non-integrability in EMRIs which involve a supermassive compact object with anomalous multipolar structure. After reviewing the features of chaotic phenomena in EMRIs, I will argue that non-integrability is precisely imprinted in the gravitational waveform. Explicit examples of non-integrable EMRIs will be discussed, as well as their role in LISA data analysis.

I will present extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), during which a small body spirals into a supermassive black hole, in gravity theories with additional scalar fields. No-hair theorems and properties of known theories that manage to circumvent them introduce a drastic simplification to the problem: the effects of the scalar on supermassive black holes, if any, are mostly negligible for EMRIs in vast classes of theories. I will show how to exploit this simplification to model the inspiral perturbatively and demonstrate that the scalar charge of the small body leaves a significant imprint on gravitational wave emission. This result is particularly appealing, as this imprint is observable with LISA, rendering EMRIs promising probes of scalar fields.

Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs), binary systems in which a stellar mass compact object inspiral into a massive black hole (MBH), are among the primary targets for LISA, as they harbour the potential for precise gravity test. Although the description of these systems in modified theories of gravity can be dramatically complex, for a vast class of theories with additional scalar fields great simplifications occur. First, the MBH scalar charge is strongly suppressed, so that the background spacetime is simply described by the Kerr metric. Moreover, all information about the underlying gravity theory turns out to be encoded in the inspiralling body’s scalar charge. In this talk I will show how, for these theories, the surviving charge strongly affects the binary dynamics, accelerating its coalescence and leaving an imprint on the emitted gravitational wave. By analysing such singals, I will finally present the extremely promising results on the LISA’s detectability of the scalar charge, which render EMRIs encouraging probes probes of gravity and of new fundamental fields.

"We propose and explore a method for alleviating the scale disparity in numerical relativity simulations with mass ratios in the intermediate astrophysical range ($10^2 \lesssim q\lesssim 10^4$), where purely perturbative methods may not be adequate. A region around the smaller object considerably smaller than its horizon is excised from the numerical domain, and replaced with an analytical model approximating a tidally deformed black hole. We develop the basic idea and try it on the toy model of a scalar charge in a circular geodesic orbit around a Schwarzschild black hole, solving for the scalar field as a linear perturbation in a 1+1D framework. Collaborators: Mekhi Dhesi, Adam Pound, Leor Brack, Harald Pfeiffer"

In this work we compare two approaches to modeling binary black holes (BBHs): 1) small mass-ratio (SMR) perturbation theory, and 2) numerical relativity (NR). We extend recent work on combining information from quasicircular nonspinning NR simulations of BBHs with results from SMR perturbation theory to nonspinning eccentric BBHs. We produce a dataset of long and accurate eccentric nonspinning NR simulations with the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC) from mass ratios 1 to 10, and eccentricities up to 0.7. We analyze these NR simulations, compute gauge invariant quantities from the gravitational radiation, and develop tools to map points in parameter space between eccentric NR and SMR waveforms. Finally, we discuss discrepancies between SMR and NR predictions for the energy and angular momentum fluxes due to eccentricity, and limitations of such comparisons due to the limited parameter space in mass ratio covered by the NR simulations.

We present a method to extract the redshift factor in numerical relativity simulations by means of its connection to the surface gravity. We proceed to analyze the small mass ratio limit and extract 2nd and higher orders in the case of non-spinning, quasi-circular binaries. We also compare our results to analytic post-newtonian and self-force calculations.