Related papers: Circular and non-circular nearly horizon-skimming …
We study numerically in the time domain the linearized gravitational waves emitted from a plunge into a nearly extremal Kerr black hole by solving the inhomogeneous Teukolsky equation. We consider spinning black holes for which the specific…
We present a new approximate method for constructing gravitational radiation driven inspirals of test-bodies orbiting Kerr black holes. Such orbits can be fully described by a semi-latus rectum $p$, an eccentricity $e$, and an inclination…
The Kerr spacetime is symmetric with respect to a well-defined equatorial plane. When testing the equatorial reflection symmetry of an isolated black hole, one is at the same time testing the Kerr hypothesis in General Relativity. In this…
In paper I in this series, we found exact expressions for the equatorial homoclinic orbits: the separatrix between bound and plunging, whirling and not whirling. As a companion to that physical space study, in this paper we paint a phase…
The non-equatorial spherical null geodesics of rotating Kerr black holes are studied analytically. Unlike the extensively studied equatorial circular orbits whose radii are known analytically, no closed-form formula exists in the literature…
We present an improved version of the approximate scheme for generating inspirals of test-bodies into a Kerr black hole recently developed by Glampedakis, Hughes and Kennefick. Their original "hybrid" scheme was based on combining exact…
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…
We have developed a numerical code to study the evolution of distorted, rotating black holes. This code is used to evolve a new family of black hole initial data sets corresponding to distorted ``Kerr'' holes with a wide range of rotation…
Recently, gas giant planets in nearly circular orbits with large semimajor axes ($a \sim$ 30--1000AU) have been detected by direct imaging. We have investigated orbital evolution in a formation scenario for such planets, based on core…
Given the absence of observations of black hole binaries, it is critical that the full range of accessible parameter space be explored in anticipation of future observation with gravitational wave detectors. To this end, we compile the…
We compute the spectrum of linearized gravitational excitations of black holes with substantial angular momentum in the presence of higher-derivative corrections to general relativity. We do so perturbatively to leading order in the…
In this work, we explore the connection between the critical curves ("shadows") and the quasinormal mode frequencies (in the eikonal limit) of Kerr black holes. This mapping has been previously established for non-rotating black holes. We…
We discuss the properties of orbits within the influence sphere of a supermassive black hole (BH), in the case that the surrounding star cluster is nonaxisymmetric. There are four major orbit families; one of these, the pyramid orbits, have…
Recent discovery of kilohertz quasi-periodic brightness oscillations of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) has attracted attention to highly relativistic periodic motion near accreting neutron stars. Most models proposed so far involve…
We argue that supermassive black hole growth in AGN occurs via sequences of randomly--oriented accretion discs with angular momentum limited by self--gravity. These stably co-- or counter--align with the black hole spin with almost equal…
According to a recent proposal, the so-called Barbero-Immirzi parameter of Loop Quantum Gravity can be fixed, using Bohr's correspondence principle, from a knowledge of highly-damped black hole oscillation frequencies. Such frequencies are…
Recently, new exploratory channels have opened up for the physics of highly compact objects, such as gravitational waves and black hole shadows. Moreover, more precise analysis and observations are now possible in the physics of accretion…
We numerically implement a quasi-spherical approximation scheme for computing gravitational waveforms for coalescing black holes, testing it against angular momentum by applying it to Kerr black holes. As error measures, we take the…
Near a black hole or an ultracompact star, motion of particles is governed by strong gravitational field. Electrically charged particles feel also electromagnetic force arising due to currents inside the star or plasma circling around. We…
Zoom-whirl behavior has the reputation of being a rare phenomenon. The concern has been that gravitational radiation would drain angular momentum so rapidly that generic orbits would circularize before zoom-whirl behavior could play out,…