Suppose a small compact object (black hole or neutron star) of mass $m$ orbits a large black hole of mass $M \gg m$. This system emits gravitational waves (GWs) that have a radiation-reaction effect on the particle's motion. EMRIs (extreme--mass-ratio inspirals) of this type will be important GW sources for LISA; LISA's data analysis will require highly accurate EMRI GW templates. In this article I outline the "Capra" research program to try to model EMRIs and calculate their GWs \textit{ab initio}, assuming only that $m \ll M$ and that the Einstein equations hold. Here we treat the EMRI spacetime as a perturbation of the large black hole's "background" (Schwarzschild or Kerr) spacetime and use the methods of black-hole perturbation theory, expanding in the small parameter $m/M$. The small body's motion can be described either as the result of a radiation-reaction "self-force" acting in the background spacetime or as geodesic motion in a perturbed spacetime. Several different lines of reasoning lead to the (same) basic $Ø(m/M)$ "MiSaTaQuWa" equations of motion for the particle. Surprisingly, for a nonlinear field theory such as general relativity, modelling the small body as a point particle works well. The particle's own field is singular along the particle worldline so it's difficult to formulate a meaningful "perturbation" theory or equations of motion there. I discuss "mode-sum" and "puncture-function" regularization schemes that resolve this difficulty and allow practical self-force calculations, and I outline an important recent calculation of this type.
Most Capra research to date has used 1st order perturbation theory. To obtain the very high accuracies needed to fully exploit LISA's observations of the strongest EMRIs, 2nd order perturbation theory will probably be needed.
When a stellar-mass compact object is captured by a supermassive black hole located in a galactic centre, the system losses energy and angular momentum by the emission of gravitational waves. Subsequently, the stellar compact object evolves inspiraling until plunging onto the massive black hole. These EMRI systems are expected to be one of the main sources of gravitational waves for the future space-based Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). However, the detection of EMRI signals will require of very accurate theoretical templates taking into account the gravitational self-force, which i…
We introduce a new time-domain method for computing the self-force acting on a scalar particle in a Schwarzschild geometry. The principal feature of our method consists in the division of the spatial domain into several subdomains and locating the particle at the interface betweem two them. In this way, we avoid the need of resolving a small length scale associated with the presence of a particle in the computational domain and, at the same time, we avoid numerical problems due to the low differentiability of solutions of equations with point-like singular behaviour.
To detect the gravitational-wave (GW) signal from binary neutron stars and extract information about the equation of state of matter at nuclear density, it is necessary to match the signal with a bank of accurate templates. We present the two longest (to date) general-relativistic simulations of equal-mass binary neutron stars with different compactnesses, C=0.12 and C=0.14, and compare them with a tidal extension of the effective-one-body (EOB)model. The typical numerical phasing errors over the $\simeq 22$ GW cycles are $Δϕ\simeq \pm 0.24$ rad. By calibrating only one parameter (representing…
We explore the ability of future low-frequency gravitational wave detectors to measure the spin of stellar mass and intermediate mass black holes that inspiral onto super-massive Kerr black holes (SMBHs). We develop a kludge waveform model based on the equations of motion derived by Saijo et al. [Phys Rev D 58, 064005, 1998] for spinning BH binaries, augmented with spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings taken from perturbative and post-Newtonian (PN) calculations, and the associated conservative self-force corrections, derived by comparison to PN results. We model the inspiral phase using accurate…
Gravitational waves (GWs) emitted by generic black-hole binaries show a rich structure that directly reflects the complex dynamics introduced by the precession of the orbital plane, which poses a real challenge to the development of generic waveform models. Recent progress in modelling these signals relies on an approximate decoupling between the non-precessing secular inspiral and a precession-induced rotation. However, the latter depends in general on all physical parameters of the binary which makes modelling efforts as well as understanding parameter-estimation prospects prohibitively comp…
We improve the numerical kludge waveform model introduced in [1] in two ways. We extend the equations of motion for spinning black hole binaries derived by Saijo et al. [2] using spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings taken from perturbative and post-Newtonian (PN) calculations at the highest order available. We also include first-order conservative self-force corrections for spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings, which are derived by comparison to PN results. We generate the inspiral evolution using fluxes that include the most recent calculations of small body spin corrections, spin-spin and spin-o…
We develop a waveform model to describe the inspiral, merger and ringdown of binary systems with comparable and intermediate mass-ratios. This model incorporates first-order conservative self-force corrections to the energy and angular momentum, which are valid in the strong-field regime [1]. We model the radiative part of the self-force by deriving second-order radiative corrections to the energy flux. These corrections are obtained by minimizing the phase discrepancy between our self-force model and the effective one body model [2, 3] for a variety of mass-ratios. We show that our model perf…
We study Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs), during which a small body spirals into a supermassive black hole, in gravity theories with additional scalar fields. We first argue that no-hair theorems and the 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. We then exploit this simplification to model the inspiral perturbatively and we demonstrate that the scalar charge of the small body leaves a significant im…
We study binary systems in which a stellar mass compact object spirals into a massive black hole, known as extreme mass ratio inspirals, in scenarios with a new fundamental scalar field. Earlier work has shown that, in most interesting such scenarios and to leading order in the mass ratio, the massive black holes can be adequately approximated by the Kerr metric and the imprint of the scalar field on the waveform is fully controlled by the scalar charge of the stellar mass object. Here we use this drastic simplification in the inspiral modelling and consider eccentric equatorial orbits. We stu…
The observability of gravitational waves from supermassive and intermediate-mass black holes by the forecoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), and the physics we can learn from the observations, will depend on two basic factors: the event rates for massive black hole mergers occurring in the LISA best sensitivity window, and our theoretical knowledge of the gravitational waveforms. We first provide a concise review of the literature on LISA event rates for massive black hole mergers, as predicted by different formation scenarios. Then we discuss what (in our view) are the most urgen…
The inspiral and merger of two orbiting black holes is among the most promising sources for the first (hopefully imminent) direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs), and measurements of these signals could provide a wealth of information about astrophysics, fundamental physics and cosmology. Detection and measurement require a theoretical description of the GW signals from all possible black-hole-binary configurations, which can include complicated precession effects due to the black-hole spins. Modelling the GW signal from generic precessing binaries is therefore one of the most urgent th…
Motivated by events in which black holes can lose their environment due to tidal interactions in a binary system, we develop a waveform model in which the tidal deformability interpolates between a finite value (dressed black hole) at relatively low frequency and a zero value (naked black hole) at high frequency. We then apply this model to the example case of a black hole dressed with an ultralight scalar field and investigate the detectability of the tidal Love number with the Einstein Telescope. We show that the parameters of the tidal deformability model could be measured with high accurac…
Extreme-mass-ratio inspirals, in which a stellar-mass compact object spirals into a supermassive black hole in a galactic core, are expected to be key sources for LISA. Modelling these systems with sufficient accuracy for LISA science requires going to second (or {\em post-adiabatic}) order in gravitational self-force theory. Here we present a practical two-timescale framework for achieving this and generating post-adiabatic waveforms. The framework comprises a set of frequency-domain field equations that apply on the fast, orbital timescale, together with a set of ordinary differential equati…
We introduce a new method for modelling the gravitational wave flux function of a test-mass particle inspiralling into an intermediate mass Schwarzschild black hole which is based on Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind. It is believed that these Intermediate Mass Ratio Inspiral events (IMRI) are expected to be seen in both the ground and space based detectors. Starting with the post-Newtonian expansion from Black Hole Perturbation Theory, we introduce a new Chebyshev approximation to the flux function, which due to a process called Chebyshev economization gives a model with faster converge…
Extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are compact binary systems characterized by a mass-ratio $q=m/M$ in the range $~10^{-9}-10^{-4}$ and represent primary gravitational wave (GW) sources for the forthcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). While their standard formation channel involves relaxation processes deflecting compact objects on very low angular momentum orbits around the central massive black hole, a number of alternative formation channels has been proposed, including binary tidal break-up, migration in accretion disks and secular and chaotic dynamics around a massive blac…
Over the last few years enormous progress has been made in the numerical description of the inspiral and merger of binary black holes. A particular effort has gone into the modelling of the physical properties of the final black hole, namely its spin and recoil velocity, as these quantities have direct impact in astrophysics, cosmology and, of course, general relativity. As numerical-relativity calculations still remain computationally very expensive and cannot be used to investigate the complete space of possible parameters, semi-analytic approaches have been developed and shown to reproduce …
Compact binary systems with black holes are the primary sources of interferometric advanced gravitational wave detectors. Astrophysical models suggest finite possibility of binary systems with appreciable non-zero eccentricity in the dense stellar environment like globular clusters and galactic nuclei. While most of the compact binary measurements have not shown appreciable eccentricity, constrains on the eccentricity have been placed on few detected events. With increasing sensitivity of the gravitational wave detectors, the eccentric binaries are plausible sources in the gravitational wave w…
An outstanding prediction of general relativity is the fact that the angular momentum $S$ of an isolated black hole with mass $μ$ is limited by the Kerr bound, $S\leq Gμ^2/c$. Testing this cornerstone is challenging due to the difficulty in modelling spinning compact objects that violate this bound. We argue that precise, model-independent tests can be achieved by measuring gravitational waves from an extreme mass ratio inspiral around a supermassive object, one of the main targets of the future LISA mission. In the extreme mass ratio limit, the dynamics of the small compact object depends onl…
The Fast and the Frame-Dragging: Efficient waveforms for asymmetric-mass eccentric equatorial inspirals into rapidly-spinning black holes
University of Birmingham（伯明翰大学）；University of Glasgow（格拉斯哥大学）；European Space Agency (ESA)（欧洲航天局（ESA））；University of Southampton（南安普顿大学）；Université de Toulouse（图卢兹大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）；NASA Marshall Space Flight Center（美国宇航局马歇尔太空飞行中心）；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））；National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学）
本文提出了一种高效方法，用于生成非对称质量偏心赤道 inspirals 进入快速旋转黑洞的波形，支持偏心率 e < 0.9 和半焦距参数 p < 200，生成长时程 IMRI 波形，且在 100 毫秒内完成，具有 10^-5 的匹配度。
The significance of first post-adiabatic contributions for scalar charge measurements with intermediate and extreme mass ratio inspirals
University College Dublin（都柏林大学学院）；University of Glasgow（格拉斯哥大学）；Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI)（格兰萨索科学研究所）；INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso（意大利国家核物理研究所，格兰萨索国家实验室）；University of Nottingham（诺丁汉大学）
Within the framework of self-force theory, we compute the gravitational-wave energy flux through second order in the mass ratio for compact binaries in quasicircular orbits. Our results are consistent with post-Newtonian calculations in the weak field and 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. Our results are key for accurately modelling extreme-mass-ratio inspirals and will be useful in modelling intermediate-mass-ratio sys…
Gravitational waves emitted by black hole binary inspiral and mergers enable unprecedented strong-field tests of gravity, requiring accurate theoretical modelling of the expected signals in extensions of General Relativity. In this paper we model the gravitational wave emission of inspiraling binaries in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity theories. Going beyond the weak-coupling approximation, we derive the gravitational waveform to first post-Newtonian order beyond the quadrupole approximation and calculate new contributions from nonlinear curvature terms. We quantify the effect of these terms and p…
The self-force is the leading method in modelling waveforms for extreme mass ratio inspirals, a key target of ESA's future space-based gravitational wave detector LISA. In modelling these systems, one approximates the smaller body as a point particle leading to problematic singularities that need to be removed. Modelling of this singular structure has settled on the Detweiler-Whiting singular field as the gold standard. As a solution to the governing wave equation itself, on removal, it leaves a smooth regular field that is a solution to the homogeneous wave equation, much like its well establ…
Modelling of gravitational waves from binary black hole inspiral has played an important role in the recent observations of such signals. The late-stage ringdown phase of the gravitational waveform is often associated with the null particle orbit ("light ring") of the black hole spacetime. With simple models we show that this link between the light ring and spacetime ringing is based more on the history of specific models than on an actual constraining relationship. We also show, in particular, that a better understanding of the dissociation of the two may be relevant to the astrophysically in…
The Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project is a collaborative effort between members of the numerical relativity and gravitational wave data analysis communities. The purpose of NINJA is to study the sensitivity of existing gravitational-wave search and parameter-estimation algorithms using numerically generated waveforms, and to foster closer collaboration between the numerical relativity and data analysis communities. The first NINJA project used only a small number of injections of short numerical-relativity waveforms, which limited its ability to draw quantitative conclusions. The go…
The gravitational-radiation-induced inspiral of a binary system of compact objects is considered. A scheme is described to model the regime in which the gravitational interaction is too strong to use weak-field approximation methods, but the time scale for decay of the orbits is still long compared to the orbital period, by numerically solving for a stationary spacetime which approximates the slowly evolving one. Equilibrium is to be maintained in the radiating system by imposing a balance of incoming and outgoing radiation at large distances. Numerical results from non-linear scalar field the…
The construction of a model of the gravitational-wave (GW) signal from generic configurations of spinning-black-hole binaries, through inspiral, merger and ringdown, is one of the most pressing theoretical problems in the build-up to the era of GW astronomy. We present the first such model in the frequency domain, "PhenomP", which captures the basic phenomenology of the seven-dimensional parameter space of binary configurations with only three key physical parameters. Two of these (the binary's mass ratio and an effective total spin parallel to the orbital angular momentum, which determines th…
Action-angle coordinates are a tool commonly used in celestial mechanics to systematically parametrize and store general solutions of the equations of motion of astrophysical bodies. I perturbatively construct action-angle coordinates for bound test particle motion in static, spherically symmetric space-times using a post-circular expansion. Then I specialise the expressions to the motion in the gravitational fields of Schwarzschild black holes and give explicit formulas for the Hamiltonian to the 10th power in the radial action (20th power in eccentricity), and the transformation to angle coo…
Black-holes are known to span at least 9 orders of magnitude in mass: from the stellar-mass objects observed by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration, to supermassive black-holes like the one observed by the Event Horizon Telescope at the heart of M87. Regardless of the mass scale, all of these objects are expected to form binaries and eventually emit observable gravitational radiation, with more massive objects emitting at ever lower gravitational-wave frequencies. We present the tool, gwent, for modelling the sensitivities of…
The cataclysmic observations of event GW170817, first as gravitational waves along the inspiral motion of two neutron stars, then as a short $γ$-ray burst, and later as a kilonova, launched the era of multimessenger astronomy, and played a pivotal role in furthering our understanding on a number of longstanding questions. Numerical modelling of such multimessenger sources is an important tool to understand the physics of compact objects and, more generally, the physics of matter under extreme conditions. In this review we present a unified view of various techniques used to obtain equilibrium …
A leading approach to the modelling of extreme mass ratio inspirals involves the treatment of the smaller mass as a point particle and the computation of a regularized self-force acting on that particle. In turn, this computation requires knowledge of the regularized retarded field generated by the particle. A direct calculation of this regularized field may be achieved by replacing the point particle with an effective source and solving directly a wave equation for the regularized field. This has the advantage that all quantities are finite and require no further regularization. In this work,…
A scalar charged particle moving in a curved background spacetime will emit a field affecting its own motion; the resolving of this resulting motion is often referred to as the self-force problem. This also serves as a toy model for the astrophysically interesting compact body binaries, extreme mass ratio inspirals, targets for the future space-based gravitational wave detector, LISA. In the modelling of such systems, a point-particle assumption leads to problematic singularities which need to be safely removed to solve for the motion of the particle regardless of the scenario: scalar, electro…
In this paper we discuss the anatomy of frequency-domain gravitational-wave signals from non-precessing black-hole coalescences with the goal of constructing accurate phenomenological waveform models. We first present new numerical-relativity simulations for mass ratios up to 18 including spins. From a comparison of different post-Newtonian approximants with numerical-relativity data we select the uncalibrated SEOBNRv2 model as the most appropriate for the purpose of constructing hybrid post-Newtonian/numerical-relativity waveforms, and we discuss how we prepare time-domain and frequency-domai…
The modelling of unequal mass binary black hole systems is of high importance to detect and estimate parameters from these systems. Numerical relativity (NR) is well suited to study systems with comparable component masses, $m_1\sim m_2$, whereas small mass ratio (SMR) perturbation theory applies to binaries where $q=m_2/m_1<< 1$. This work investigates the applicability for NR and SMR as a function of mass ratio for eccentric non-spinning binary black holes. We produce $52$ NR simulations with mass ratios between $1:10$ and $1:1$ and initial eccentricities up to $0.7$. From these we extract q…
Inspirals of stellar-mass objects into massive black holes will be important sources for the space-based gravitational-wave detector LISA. Modelling these systems requires calculating the metric perturbation due to a point particle orbiting a Kerr black hole. Currently, the linear perturbation is obtained with a metric reconstruction procedure that puts it in a "no-string" radiation gauge which is singular on a surface surrounding the central black hole. Calculating dynamical quantities in this gauge involves a subtle procedure of "gauge completion" as well as cancellations of very large numbe…
Accurately modelling the complete gravitational-wave signal from precessing binary black holes through the late inspiral, merger and ringdown remains a challenging problem. The lack of analytic solutions for the precession dynamics of generic double-spin systems, and the high dimensionality of the problem, obfuscate the incorporation of strong-field spin-precession information into semi-analytic waveform models used in gravitational-wave data analysis. Previously, an effective precession spin, $χ_p$, was introduced to reduce the number of spin degrees of freedom. Here, we show that $χ_p$ alone…
The Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project is a collaborative effort between members of the numerical relativity and gravitational-wave astrophysics communities. The purpose of NINJA is to study the ability to detect gravitational waves emitted from merging binary black holes and recover their parameters with next-generation gravitational-wave observatories. We report here on the results of the second NINJA project, NINJA-2, which employs 60 complete binary black hole hybrid waveforms consisting of a numerical portion modelling the late inspiral, merger, and ringdown stitched to a post-N…
