The detection of a subsolar object in a compact binary merger is regarded as one of the smoking gun signatures of a population of primordial black holes~(PBHs). We critically assess whether these systems could be distinguished from stellar binaries, for example composed of white dwarfs or neutron stars, which could also populate the subsolar mass range. At variance with PBHs, the gravitational-wave signal from stellar binaries is affected by tidal effects, which dramatically grow for moderately compact stars as those expected in the subsolar range. We forecast the capability of constraining tidal effects of putative subsolar neutron star binaries with current and future LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) sensitivities as well as next-generation experiments. We show that, should LVK O4 run observe subsolar neutron-star mergers, it could measure the (large) tidal effects with high significance. In particular, for subsolar neutron-star binaries, O4 and O5 projected sensitivities would allow measuring the effect of tidal disruption on the waveform in a large portion of the parameter space, also constraining the tidal deformability at ${\cal O}(10\%)$ level, thus excluding a primordial origin of the binary. Vice versa, for subsolar PBH binaries, model-agnostic upper bounds on the tidal deformability can rule out neutron stars or more exotic competitors. Assuming events similar to the subthreshold candidate SSM200308 reported in LVK O3b data are PBH binaries, O4 projected sensitivity would allow ruling out the presence of neutron-star tidal effects at $\approx 3 σ$ C.L., thus strengthening the PBH hypothesis. Future experiments would lead to even stronger ($>5σ$) conclusions on potential discoveries of this kind.
Due to their small mass, subsolar mass black hole binaries would have to be primordial in origin instead of the result of stellar evolution. Soon after formation in the early universe, primordial black holes can form binaries after decoupling from the cosmic expansion. Alternatively, primordial black holes as dark matter could also form binaries in the late universe due to dynamical encounters and gravitational-wave braking. A significant feature for this channel is the possibility that some sources retain nonzero eccentricity in the LIGO/Virgo band. Assuming all dark matter is primordial blac…
We present a search for gravitational waves from the coalescence of binaries which contain at least one subsolar mass component using data from the LIGO and Virgo observatories through the completion of their third observing run. The observation of a merger with a component below $1\,M_{\odot}$ would be a clear sign of either new physics or the existence of a primordial black hole population; these black holes could also contribute to the dark matter distribution. Our search targets binaries where the primary has mass $M_1$ between 0.1-100$\,M_{\odot}$ and the secondary has mass $M_2$ from 0.1…
Binary neutron star mergers with a subsolar mass star
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））；Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics（理论物理前沿研究所）；California State University Fullerton（加州州立大学富勒顿分校）
The frequent detection of binary mergers of $\sim 30 M_{\odot}$ black holes (BHs) by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) rekindled researchers' interest in primordial BHs (PBHs) being dark matter (DM). In this work, we looked at PBHs distributed as DM with a monochromatic mass of $30 M_{\odot}$ and examined the encounter-capture scenario of binary formation, where the densest central region of DM halo dominates. Thus, we paid special attention to the tidal effect by the supermassive black hole (SMBH) present. In doing so, we discovered a necessary tool called loss zo…
Tidal Stripping of Matter Bound to the Secondary in Extreme Mass-Ratio Inspirals
Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics（大学间天文学与天体物理中心）；Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar（甘地纳加尔印度理工学院）；Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie（巴黎西岱大学，法国国家科学研究中心，亚原子粒子与宇宙学）；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）
Subsolar-mass binary mergers of strange stars and neutron stars: gravitational waves and ejecta
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））；Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台暗物质与空间天文重点实验室）；Center of Gravitational Physics and Quantum Information, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University（京都大学汤川理论物理中心引力物理与量子信息研究中心）；School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology（华中科技大学物理学院）；Research Center for the Early Universe, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo（东京大学理学研究科早期宇宙研究中心）
We study the effect of magnetic braking due to a primordial magnetic field in the context of the formation of massive ($\gtrsim 10^{4} M_\odot$) direct collapse black holes (DCBHs) at high redshifts. Under the assumption of axial symmetry, we analytically compute the effect of magnetic braking on the angular momentum of gas collapsing into the potential well of massive dark matter haloes ($\simeq 10^{7-9} M_\odot$) which are spun up by gravitational tidal torques. We find that a primordial magnetic field of strength $B_0\simeq 0.1$~nG (comoving) can remove the initial angular momentum gained b…
It was shown by (Nakamura et al. 1997), (Ioka et al. 1998), and (Sasaki et al. 2016) that primordial black holes (PBHs) binaries can form effectively at the cosmological stage of radiation dominance, and the merge of the PBHs in pairs can explain the gravitational wave burst GW150914. In this paper, the model is re-examined by considering the effect of inflationary dark matter density perturbations which produce additional tidal forces. As a result, the merge rate of PBHs binaries and the corresponding rate of the gravitational bursts are suppressed by the factor $\sim1.5-2$ in comparison with…
A compact object with a mass $\mathcal{O}(1 \sim 1000) M_{\odot}$, such as a black hole of stellar or primordial origin or a neutron star, and a much lighter exotic compact object with a subsolar mass could form a non-standard mini extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) and emit gravitational waves within the frequency band of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. These systems are extremely interesting because detecting them would definitively point to new physics. We study the capability of using LIGO/Virgo to search for mini-EMRIs and find that a large class of exotic compact objects can b…
A population of primordial black holes formed in the early Universe could contribute to at least a fraction of the black-hole merger events detectable by current and future gravitational-wave interferometers. With the ever-increasing number of detections, an important open problem is how to discriminate whether a given event is of primordial or astrophysical origin. We systematically present a comprehensive and interconnected list of discriminators that would allow us to rule out, or potentially claim, the primordial origin of a binary by measuring different parameters, including redshift, mas…
The Life and Death of Stars That Capture Primordial Black Holes
Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院）；Flatiron Institute（平顿研究所）；Princeton University（普林斯顿大学）；New York University（纽约大学）；Stanford University（斯坦福大学）
Probing the QCD axion dark matter (DM) hypothesis is extremely challenging as the axion interacts very weakly with Standard Model particles. We propose a new avenue to test the QCD axion DM via transient radio signatures coming from encounters between neutron stars (NSs) and axion minihalos around primordial black holes (PBHs). We consider a general QCD axion scenario in which the PQ symmetry breaking occurs before (or during) inflation coexisting with a small fraction of DM in the form of PBHs. The PBHs will unavoidably acquire around them axion minihalos with the typical length scale of pars…
A large population of X-ray binaries (XRBs) was recently discovered within the central parsec of the Galaxy by Hailey et al. While the presence of compact objects on this scale due to radial mass segregation is, in itself, unsurprising, the fraction of binaries would naively be expected to be small because of how easily primordial binaries are dissociated in the dynamically hot environment of the nuclear star cluster (NSC). We propose that the formation of XRBs in the central parsec is dominated by the tidal capture of stars by black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs). We model the time-depen…
Reassessing the Spin of Second-born Black Holes in Coalescing Binary Black Holes and Its Connection to the chi_eff-q Correlation
Anhui Normal University（安徽师范大学）；University of Nevada, Las Vegas（内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校）；Zhejiang University of Technology（浙江工业大学）；Université de Genève（日内瓦大学）；Guizhou University（贵州大学）
The abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs) in the mass range $0.1 - 10^3 M_\odot$ can potentially be tested by gravitational wave observations due to the large merger rate of PBH binaries formed in the early universe. To put the estimates of the latter on a firmer footing, we first derive analytical PBH merger rate for general PBH mass functions while imposing a minimal initial comoving distance between the binary and the PBH nearest to it, in order to pick only initial configurations where the binary would not get disrupted. We then study the formation and evolution of PBH binaries before…
Primordial black holes, with masses comparable to asteroids, are an attractive possibility for dark matter. In addition, other forms of dark matter could form compact dark objects (CDO). We search for small tidal accelerations from low mass black holes or CDOs orbiting near the Earth, and find none. Using about 10 years of data from the superconducting gravimeters in the Black Forest Observatory in South-Western Germany and at Djougou, Northern Benin in Western Africa we set an upper limit on the maximum mass of any dark object orbiting the Earth as a function of orbital radius. For semi-major…
The low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) IGR J17480-2446 is an 11 Hz accreting pulsar located in the core of the globular cluster Terzan 5. This is a mildly recycled accreting pulsar with a peculiar evolutionary history since its total age has been suggested to be less than a few hundred Myr, despite the very old age of Terzan 5 (~12 Gyr). Solving the origin of this age discrepancy might be very valuable because it can reveal why systems like IGR J17480-2446 are so rare in our Galaxy. We have performed numerical simulations (dynamical and binary evolution) to constrain the evolutionary history of IGR …
Among the growing list of confirmed exoplanets, the number of planets identified in dense star clusters remains sparse. Previous analyses have suggested this may be due in part to dynamical interactions that unbind large fractions of planets from their host stars, limiting the survival of planetary systems in clusters. Thus, alternative detection strategies may be necessary to study planets in clusters that may no longer be bound to a host star. Here, we use the cluster Monte Carlo code CMC to explore the evolution of planetary systems in dense star clusters. Depending on a number of initial c…
