Testing the Kerr hypothesis beyond the quadrupole with GW241011
Abstract
All multipole moments of a Kerr black hole are uniquely determined by its mass and spin. Gravitational wave observations can test this prediction by measuring spin-induced multipole moments imprinted on the inspiral phase of compact binary mergers. In this Letter, we show that the recently reported compact binary coalescence GW241011 enables a simultaneous test of deviations in the spin-induced quadrupole and octupole moments of the binary components from their black hole values. We find no evidence for deviations from the Kerr prediction and place the first constraints on spin-induced octupole moments of the compact binary. This approach complements tests of the Kerr nature of compact binary merger remnants based on quasinormal mode measurements in the ringdown phase.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.09828,
title = {Testing the Kerr hypothesis beyond the quadrupole with GW241011},
author = {Rimo Das and N. V. Krishnendu and M. Saleem and Chandra Kant Mishra and K. G. Arun},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.09828},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
1 figure in the main text, 2 figures in the Supplementary material