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In this work, we study the stellar-dynamical hardening of unequal mass supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries in the central regions of merging galactic nuclei. We present a comprehensive set of direct $N$-body simulations of the problem,…
We use the open source, community-driven, numerical relativity software, the Einstein Toolkit to study the physics of eccentric, spinning, nonprecessing binary black hole mergers with mass-ratios $q=\{2, 4, 6\}$, individual dimensionless…
We present a comprehensive parameter-space study of binary black hole (BBH) mergers using the SEOBNRv4\_opt waveform model. Our analysis spans $\sim 10^6$ simulated waveforms across a broad range of mass ratios \( q = \frac{m_1}{m_2} \in…
To describe a general bound binary black hole system, we need to consider orbital eccentricity and the misalignment of black holes' spin vectors with respect to the orbital angular momentum. While binary black holes produced through many…
Although supermassive black holes (SMBHs) correlate well with their host galaxies, there is an emerging view that outliers exist. Henize 2-10, NGC 4889, and NGC1277 are examples of SMBHs at least an order of magnitude more massive than…
In this paper we continue the first ever study of magnetized mini-disks coupled to circumbinary accretion in a supermassive binary black hole (SMBBH) approaching merger reported in Bowen et al. 2018. We extend this simulation from 3 to 12…
The detection of gravitational-wave signals from coalescing eccentric binary black holes would yield unprecedented information about the formation and evolution of compact binaries in specific scenarios, such as dynamical formation in dense…
We present the first fully-nonlinear numerical study of the dynamics of highly spinning black-hole binaries. We evolve binaries from quasicircular orbits (as inferred from Post-Newtonian theory), and find that the last stages of the orbital…
The binary black hole mergers detected by Advanced LIGO/Virgo have shown no evidence of large black hole spins. However, because LIGO/Virgo best measures the effective combination of the two spins along the orbital angular momentum…
We present a new method to search for gravitational waves from quasinormal modes in the ringdowns of the remnants of the mergers of the binary black hole systems. The method is based on maximum likelihood estimation. We derive a time-domain…
The spin of the final black hole in the coalescence of nonspinning black holes is determined by the ``residual'' orbital angular momentum of the binary. This residual momentum consists of the orbital angular momentum that the binary is not…
We study the general relativistic periastron advance in spinning black hole binaries on quasi-circular orbits, with spins aligned or anti-aligned with the orbital angular momentum, using numerical-relativity simulations, the post-Newtonian…
Coalescing binary black-hole systems are among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for ground-based interferometers. While the \emph{inspiral} and \emph{ring-down} stages of the binary black-hole coalescence are well-modelled…
The origin and formation of stellar-mass binary black holes remains an open question that can be addressed by precise measurements of the binary and orbital parameters from their gravitational-wave signal. Such binaries are expected to…
The first direct detections of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes open a unique window into the binary black hole formation environment. One promising environmental signature is the angular distribution of the black hole…
I overview the current understanding of the evolution of massive black hole (MBH) binaries in the center of the host stellar system. One of the main questions is whether the stellar dynamical effect can make the MBH binary hard enough that…
Identifying weak gravitational wave signals in noise and estimating the source properties require high-precision waveform templates. Numerical relativity (NR) simulations can provide the most accurate waveforms. However, it is challenging…
Gravitational waves from comparable-mass binary-black-hole mergers are often described in terms of three stages: inspiral, merger and ringdown. Post-Newtonian and black-hole perturbation theories are used to model the inspiral and ringdown…
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…
Recent studies of accretion onto supermassive black hole binaries suggest that much, perhaps most, of the matter eventually accretes onto one hole or the other. If so, then for binaries whose inspiral from ~1 pc to 0.001 - 0.01 pc is driven…