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Close encounters between two initially unbound objects can result in a binary system if enough energy is released as gravitational waves (GWs). We address the scenario in which such encounters occur in merging elliptical galaxies. There is…
The proposal of a galactic population of intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs), forming dark matter (DM) ``mini-spikes'' around them, has received considerable attention in recent years. In fact, leading in some scenarios to large…
Dark matter halos can develop a density spike, e.g., around a galactic supermassive black hole, with the profile $\rho \propto r^{-\gamma_{\rm sp}}$ determined both by the galaxy's formation history and the microphysics of dark matter. We…
In this paper, we study the secular dynamical evolution of binaries composed of intermediate-mass and stellar-mass black holes (IMBHs and SBHs, respectively) in orbit about a central super-massive black hole (SMBH) in galactic nuclei. Such…
In this dissertation, we look at environmental effects in extreme and intermediate mass ratio inspirals into massive black holes. In these systems, stellar mass compact objects orbit massive black holes and lose orbital energy due to…
We present a set of preliminary simulations of intermediate mass ratio inspirals (IMRIs) inside dark matter (DM) spikes accounting for post-Newtonian corrections the interaction between the two black holes up to the order 2.5 in $c^2$, as…
Dark matter (DM) environments around black holes (BHs) can influence their mergers through dynamical friction, causing gravitational wave (GW) dephasing during the inspiral phase. While this effect is well studied for collisionless dark…
When particle dark matter is bound gravitationally around a massive black hole in sufficiently high densities, the dark matter will affect the rate of inspiral of a secondary compact object that forms a binary with the massive black hole.…
Extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), where a small compact object inspiralls onto a supermassive black hole, are excellent sources for the space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave (GW) detectors. The presence of dark matter…
We investigate the inspiral of a high mass-ratio black hole binary located in the nucleus of a galaxy, where the primary central black hole is surrounded by a dense dark matter spike formed through accretion during the black hole growth…
Despite their potential role as massive seeds for quasars, in dwarf galaxy feedback, and in tidal disruption events, the observational evidence for intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) is scarce. LISA may observe stellar-mass black hole…
The gravitational wave (GW) signals from extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), a key target for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will be affected in the presence of dark matter (DM) halos. In this paper we explore whether the…
Observations suggest that star clusters often form in binaries or larger bound groups. Therefore, mergers between two clusters are likely to occur. If these clusters both harbor an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH; 10^{2-4} Msun) in their…
The detection of a gravitational capture of a stellar-mass compact object by a massive black hole (MBH) will allow us to test gravity in the strong regime. These sources form via two-body relaxation, by exchanging energy and angular…
Dark matter (DM) search is one of the greatest challenges in physics. If DM consists of particles, it may form a spike around supermassive black holes (BH) prevalent in galaxy centers. This spike could be potentially observed by altering…
In many theoretical scenarios it is expected that intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs, with masses M ~ 100-10000 solar masses) reside at the centers of some globular clusters. However, observational evidence for their existence is limited.…
If binary intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs; with masses between 100 and $10^4 \Msun$) form in dense stellar clusters, their inspiral will be detectable with the planned Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) out to several Gpc. Here…
In extreme/intermediate-mass-ratio inspirals (E/IMRIs) embedded in dark-matter (DM) spikes, the secondary black hole can accrete collisionless particles from the surrounding halo. We study how the companion's spin controls this process, and…
A consequence of a non-zero occupation fraction of massive black holes (MBHs) in dwarf galaxies is that these MBHs can become residents of larger galaxy halos via hierarchical merging and tidal stripping. Depending on the parameters of…
The intermediate-mass-ratio inspirals (IMRIs) may be surrounded by dark matter (DM) minispikes. The dynamical friction from these DM minispike structures can affect the dynamics and the gravitational wave (GW) emission of the IMRIs. We…