Related papers: PRECESSION: Dynamics of spinning black-hole binari…
Recent advances in the description of compact binary systems have produced gravitational waveforms that include inspiral, merger and ring-down phases. Comparing results from numerical simulations with those of post-Newtonian (PN), and…
Rapid localization of gravitational-wave events is important for the success of the multi-messenger observations. The forthcoming improvements and constructions of gravitational-wave detectors will enable detecting and localizing…
We present improved post-Newtonian-inspired initial data for non-spinning black-hole binaries, suitable for numerical evolution with punctures. We revisit the work of Tichy et al. [W. Tichy, B. Bruegmann, M. Campanelli, and P. Diener, Phys.…
Although the orbits of comparable mass, spinning black holes seem to defy simple decoding, we find a means to decipher all such orbits. The dynamics is complicated by extreme perihelion precession compounded by spin-induced precession. We…
A small body orbiting a black hole follows a trajectory that, at leading order, is a geodesic of the black hole spacetime. Much effort has gone into computing "self force" corrections to this motion, arising from the small body's own…
We model the overall shape of an accretion disc in a semi-detached binary system in which mass is transfered on to a spinning black hole the spin axis of which is misaligned with the orbital rotation axis. We assume the disc is in a steady…
In dynamically formed binaries, the spins of the black holes tend to be misaligned with the system's orbital angular momentum. This causes the spins to precess and leads to an asymmetric emission of gravitational waves. The resulting…
In general relativity, isolated black holes obey the no hair theorems, which fix the multipolar structure of their exterior spacetime. However, in modified gravity, or when the compact objects are not black holes, the exterior spacetime may…
We present a singularity excision algorithm appropriate for numerical simulations of black holes moving throughout the computational domain. The method is an extension of the excision procedure previously used to obtain stable simulations…
Estimates of the source parameters of gravitational-wave (GW) events produced by compact binary mergers rely on theoretical models for the GW signal. We present the first frequency-domain model for inspiral, merger and ringdown of the GW…
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…
GW190521 is a remarkable gravitational-wave signal on multiple fronts: its source is the most massive black hole binary identified to date and could have spins misaligned with its orbit, leading to spin-induced precession -- an…
We analyze the inspiral dynamics of equal-mass precessing black-hole binaries using multi-timescale techniques. The orbit-averaged post-Newtonian evolutionary equations admit two constants of motion in the equal-mass limit, namely the…
General relativity predicts the gravitational wave signatures of coalescing binary black holes. Explicit waveform predictions for such systems, required for optimal analysis of observational data, have so far been achieved using the…
Recent gravitational wave (GW) detections showing signatures of eccentricity and spin precession underscore the need to model binary black holes (BBHs) possessing these features simultaneously. Most efforts over the past fifteen years to…
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…
Accretion discs are common in binary systems, and they are often found to be misaligned with respect to the binary orbit. The gravitational torque from a companion induces nodal precession in misaligned disc orbits. We calculate whether…
The growing number of gravitational-wave (GW) observations allows for constraints to be placed on the underlying population of black holes; current estimates show that black hole spins are small, with binaries more likely to have comparable…
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…
Several scenarios have been proposed in which the orbits of binary black holes enter the band of a gravitational wave detector with significant eccentricity. To avoid missing these signals or biasing parameter estimation it is important…