Gravitational tuning forks and hierarchical triple systems

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We study gravitational wave (GW) emission in the strong-field regime by a hierarchical triple system composed of a binary system placed in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). The LIGO-Virgo Collaboration recently reported evidence for coalescences with this dynamical origin. These systems are common in galactic centers and thus, are a target for the space-based LISA mission as well as other advanced detectors. Doppler shifts, aberration, lensing, and strong amplitude modulations are features present in the GW signal from these systems, built into our framework and with no need for phenomenological patches. We find that the binary can resonantly excite the quasinormal modes of the SMBH, as in the resonant excitation of two tuning forks with matching frequencies. The flux of energy crossing the SMBH horizon can be significant, when compared with that from standard extreme-mass-ratio inspirals. Therefore, these triple systems are excellent probes of strong-field physics and of the BH nature of compact objects.

Original languageEnglish
Article number081501
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume103
Issue number8
Number of pages7
ISSN2470-0010
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Apr 2021
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • BLACK-HOLE MERGERS, MASS, BINARIES, PARTICLE, PERTURBATIONS, RADIATION, LIGHT, INSPIRALS, EVOLUTION, FIELD

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