The tune of the Universe: the role of plasma in tests of strong-field gravity
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
Standard
The tune of the Universe : the role of plasma in tests of strong-field gravity. / Cardoso, Vitor; Guo, Wen-Di; Macedo, Caio F. B.; Pani, Paolo.
I: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Bind 503, Nr. 1, 11.02.2021, s. 563-573.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - The tune of the Universe
T2 - the role of plasma in tests of strong-field gravity
AU - Cardoso, Vitor
AU - Guo, Wen-Di
AU - Macedo, Caio F. B.
AU - Pani, Paolo
PY - 2021/2/11
Y1 - 2021/2/11
N2 - Gravitational-wave (GW) astronomy, together with precise pulsar timing and long baseline interferometry, is changing our ability to perform tests of fundamental physics with astrophysical observations. Some of these tests are based on electromagnetic (EM) probes or electrically charged bodies, and assume an empty Universe. However, the cosmos is filled with plasma, a dilute medium which prevents the propagation of low-frequency, small-amplitude EM waves. We show that the plasma hinders our ability to perform some strong-field gravity tests, in particular: (i) nonlinear plasma effects dramatically quench plasma-driven super-radiant instabilities; (ii) the contribution of EM emission to the inspiral of charged black-hole binaries is strongly suppressed; (iii) EM-driven secondary modes, although present in the spectrum of charged black holes, are excited to negligible amplitude in the GW ringdown signal. The last two effects are relevant also in the case of massive fields that propagate in vacuum and can jeopardize tests of modified theories of gravity containing massive degrees of freedom.
AB - Gravitational-wave (GW) astronomy, together with precise pulsar timing and long baseline interferometry, is changing our ability to perform tests of fundamental physics with astrophysical observations. Some of these tests are based on electromagnetic (EM) probes or electrically charged bodies, and assume an empty Universe. However, the cosmos is filled with plasma, a dilute medium which prevents the propagation of low-frequency, small-amplitude EM waves. We show that the plasma hinders our ability to perform some strong-field gravity tests, in particular: (i) nonlinear plasma effects dramatically quench plasma-driven super-radiant instabilities; (ii) the contribution of EM emission to the inspiral of charged black-hole binaries is strongly suppressed; (iii) EM-driven secondary modes, although present in the spectrum of charged black holes, are excited to negligible amplitude in the GW ringdown signal. The last two effects are relevant also in the case of massive fields that propagate in vacuum and can jeopardize tests of modified theories of gravity containing massive degrees of freedom.
KW - binaries: general
KW - ISM: general
KW - gravitational waves
KW - black hole physics
KW - RADIATION
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stab404
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stab404
M3 - Journal article
VL - 503
SP - 563
EP - 573
JO - Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices
JF - Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices
SN - 0035-8711
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 298633199