Related papers: A massive binary black-hole system in OJ287 and a …
Variable active galactic nuclei showing periodic light curves have been proposed as massive black hole binary (MBHB) candidates. In such scenarios the periodicity can be due to relativistic Doppler-boosting of the emitted light. This…
Gravitational-wave (GW) observations of binary black holes offer the best probes of the relativistic, strong-field regime of gravity. Gravitational radiation, in the leading order is quadrupolar. However, non-quadrupole (higher-order) modes…
One of the most promising strategies to test gravity in the strong-field, large curvature regime is gravitational spectroscopy: the measurement of black hole quasi-normal modes from the ringdown signal emitted in the aftermath of a compact…
Asymmetric emission of gravitational waves during a compact binary coalescence results in the loss of linear momentum and a corresponding "kick" or recoil on the binary's center of mass. This leads to a direction-dependent Doppler shift of…
Quasars have long been known to be variable sources at all wavelengths. Their optical variability is stochastic, can be due to a variety of physical mechanisms, and is well-described statistically in terms of a damped random walk model. The…
It has been suggested that amplitudes for quantum higher-spin massive particles exchanging gravitons lead, via a classical limit, to results for scattering of spinning black holes in general relativity, when the massive particles are in a…
We report periodic oscillations in the 15-year long optical light curve of the gravitationally lensed quasar QJ0158-4325. The signal is enhanced during a high magnification microlensing event undergone by the fainter lensed image of the…
Searches for empirical clues beyond Einstein's general relativity (GR) are crucial to understand gravitation and spacetime. Radio pulsars have been playing an important role in testing gravity theories since 1970s. Because radio timing of…
Gravitational-wave observations of compact binaries have the potential to uncover the distribution of masses and angular momenta of black holes and neutron stars in the universe. The binary components' physical parameters can be inferred…
Generalizations of the Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes are discussed in an astrophysically viable generalized theory of gravity, which includes higher curvature corrections in the form of the Gauss-Bonnet term, coupled to a dilaton. The…
Pulsar-black hole (BH) close binary systems, which have not been found yet, are unique laboratories for testing theories of gravity and understanding the formation channels of gravitational-wave sources. We study the self-gravitational…
The discovery of a pulsar (PSR) in orbit around a black hole (BH) is expected to provide a superb new probe of relativistic gravity and BH properties. Apart from a precise mass measurement for the BH, one could expect a clean verification…
The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical frameworks for analysing them are reviewed. Einstein's equivalence principle (EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the E\"otv\"os experiment, tests of…
Black hole spectroscopy is an important pillar when studying gravitational waves from black holes and enables tests of general relativity. Most of the gravitational-wave signals observed over the last decade originate from binary black hole…
We consider the observation of stellar-mass black holes binaries with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Preliminary results based on Fisher information matrix analyses have suggested that gravitational waves from those sources…
Gravitational-wave observations of coalescing binary systems allow for novel tests of the strong-field regime of gravity. Using data from the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center (GWOSC) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, we place the first…
Gravitational waves emitted by distorted black holes---such as those arising from the coalescence of two neutron stars or black holes---carry not only information about the corresponding spacetime but also about the underlying theory of…
Several models of physics beyond the Standard Model predict the existence of new ultralight bosons. This thesis investigates a way to discover such particles through observations of gravitational waves from binary black holes. This is…
Accreting binaries containing a black hole are stellar systems composed of a normal star and a black hole. Because of the strong gravitational pull of the black hole, matter is removed from the companion star and falls into the compact ob…
We study the nonlinear dynamics of binary black hole systems with scalar charge by numerically evolving the full equations of motion for shift-symmetric Einstein scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We consider quasi-circular binaries with…