Related papers: Nature Abhors a Circle
Orbital eccentricity and spin precession are precious observables to infer the formation history of binary black holes with gravitational-wave data. We present a post-Newtonian, multi-timescale analysis of the binary dynamics able to…
We study the dynamics of a solar-type star orbiting around a black hole binary (BHB) in a nearly coplanar system. We present a novel effect that can prompt a growth and significant oscillations of the eccentricity of the stellar orbit when…
We derive analytical expressions for the change in the orbital eccentricity of a binary following a distant encounter with a third star on a hyperbolic or parabolic orbit. To establish the accuracy of these expressions, we present detailed…
We analyze the eccentric response of a low mass coplanar circumbinary disc to secular tidal forcing by a Keplerian eccentric orbit central binary. The disc acquires a forced eccentricity whose magnitude depends on the properties of the…
In this review, we describe the physical processes driving the dynamical evolution of binary stars, namely the circularization of the orbit and the synchronization of their spin and orbital rotation. We also discuss the possible role of the…
We study the dynamics of merging compact binaries near a rotating supermassive black hole (SMBH) in a hierarchical triple configuration. We include various general relativistic effects that couple the inner orbit, the outer orbit and the…
The secular stellar mass-loss causes an amplification of the orbital separation in fragile, common proper motion, binary systems with separations of the order of 1000 A.U. In these systems, companions evolve as two independent coeval stars…
We calculate the evolution and gravitational-wave emission of a spinning compact object inspiraling into a substantially more massive (non-rotating) black hole. We extend our previous model for a non-spinning binary [Phys. Rev. D 93,…
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been proposed as environments that can facilitate the capture of extreme-mass-ratio binaries and accelerate their inspiral beyond the rate expected from gravitational wave emission alone. In this work, we…
Transient orbital resonances have recently been identified as potentially important to the inspiral of small bodies into large black holes. These resonances occur as the inspiral evolves through moments in which two fundamental orbital…
It is usually thought that viscous torque works to align a circumbinary disk with the binary's orbital plane. However, recent numerical simulations suggest that the disk may evolve to a configuration perpendicular to the binary orbit…
Tidal dissipation due to convective turbulent viscosity shapes the evolution of a variety of astrophysical binaries. For example, this type of dissipation determines the rate of orbital circularization in a binary with a post-main sequence…
Binary systems of rapidly spinning compact objects, such as black holes or neutron stars, are prime targets for gravitational wave astronomers. The dynamics of these systems can be very complicated due to spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings.…
Short-period binary star systems dissipate orbital energy through tidal interactions that lead to tighter, more circular orbits. When at least one star in a binary has evolved off of the main sequence, orbital circularization occurs for…
In a recent paper Martin & Lubow showed that a circumbinary disc around an eccentric binary can undergo damped nodal oscillations that lead to the polar (perpendicular) alignment of the disc relative to the binary orbit. The disc angular…
Black hole binaries with small mass ratios will be important sources for the forthcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. Models of such binaries also serve as useful tools for understanding the dynamics of compact binary…
We study the dynamical evolution of eccentric massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) interacting with unbound stars by means of an extensive set of three body scattering experiments. Compared to previous studies, we extend the investigation…
A typical stellar mass black hole with a lighter companion is shown to succumb to a chaotic precession of the orbital plane. As a result, the optimal candidates for the direct detection of gravitational waves by Earth based interferometers…
I calculate the classical effects induced by an isotropic mass loss of a body on the orbital motion of a test particle around it; the present analysis is also valid for a variation of the Newtonian constant of gravitation. I perturbatively…
Previous studies have shown that planets that rotate retrograde (backwards with respect to their orbital motion) generally experience less severe obliquity variations than those that rotate prograde (the same direction as their orbital…