Related papers: Measuring the spin of black holes in binary system…
We describe the observation of GW170104, a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of a pair of stellar-mass black holes. The signal was measured on January 4, 2017 at 10:11:58.6 UTC by the twin advanced detectors of the Laser…
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…
Recently, two gravitational wave (GW) signals, named as GW150914 and GW151226, have been detected by the two LIGO detectors. Although both signals were identified as originating from merging black hole (BH) binaries, GWs from systems…
The precessional motion of binary black holes can be classified into one of three morphologies, based on the evolution of the angle between the components of the spins in the orbital plane: Circulating, librating around 0, and librating…
The observational signatures of black holes in x-ray binary systems depend on their masses, spins, accretion rate and the misalignment angle between the black hole spin and the orbital angular momentum. We present optical polarimetric…
We present new techniqes for evolving binary black hole systems which allow the accurate determination of gravitational waveforms directly from the wave zone region of the numerical simulations. Rather than excising the black hole…
I review the current status of X-ray reflection (a.k.a. broad iron line) based black hole spin measurements. This is a powerful technique that allows us to measure robust black hole spins across the mass range, from the stellar-mass black…
Neutron star (NS) binaries can be potentially intriguing gravitational wave (GW) sources, with both high- and low-frequency radiations from the possibly aspherical individual stars and the binary orbit, respectively. The successful…
Spin precession in merging black-hole binaries is a treasure trove for both astrophysics and fundamental physics. There are now well-established strategies to infer from gravitational-wave data whether at least one of the two black holes is…
We investigate the observability of higher harmonics in gravitational wave signals emitted during the coalescence of binary black holes. We decompose each mode into an overall amplitude, dependent upon the masses and spins of the system,…
Asymmetric binary systems radiate linear momentum through gravitational waves, leading to the recoil of the merger remnant. Black-hole kicks have attracted much attention because of their astrophysical implications. However, little…
Pulsar timing is a promising technique for detecting low frequency sources of gravitational waves. Historically the focus has been on the detection of diffuse stochastic backgrounds, such as those formed from the superposition of weak…
Black hole-neutron star (BHNS) binaries are important sources of gravitational waves for second-generation interferometers, and BHNS mergers are also a proposed engine for short, hard gamma-ray bursts. The behavior of both the spacetime…
Abbreviated: We investigate the potential of detecting the gravitational wave from individual binary black hole systems using pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) and calculate the accuracy for determining the GW properties. This is done in a…
The recent detections of the binary black hole mergers GW150914 and GW151226 have inaugurated the field of gravitational-wave astronomy. For the two main formation channels that have been proposed for these sources, isolated binary…
Binary systems of compact objects are strong emitters of gravitational waves whose amplitude depends on the binary orbital parameters as the component mass, the orbital semi-major axis and eccentricity. Here, in addition to the famous…
Wide, highly eccentric ($e>0.9$) compact binaries can naturally arise as progenitors of gravitational wave (GW) mergers. These systems are expected to have a significant population in the mHz band (e.g., $\sim 3-45$ detectable stellar-mass…
The recently reported binary black hole merger, GW231123, has unusual properties that make it hard to explain astrophysically. Parameter estimation studies are consistent with maximally spinning black holes and the dimensionless spin of the…
The vast majority of compact binary mergers in the Universe produce gravitational waves that are too weak to yield unambiguous detections; they are unresolved. We present a method to infer the population properties of compact binaries --…
Merger gravitational waves from binary black hole coalescence carry rich information about the underlying spacetime dynamics. We analyze merger waves from comparable-mass and extreme-mass-ratio binaries, obtained from numerical relativity…